Public Address and Voice Alarm Systems for Commercial Premises
People respond more effectively to spoken instructions than to sirens or bells. Research consistently shows that building occupants are more likely to evacuate promptly and calmly when they receive clear voice messages telling them what is happening and what to do, rather than an undifferentiated alarm tone that could mean anything from a fire to a test to a fault.
A public address and voice alarm (PAVA) system delivers precisely targeted spoken messages to specific areas of a building during an emergency. It can instruct one floor to evacuate while telling other floors to stand by. It can broadcast live messages from a control point or play pre-recorded instructions automatically when triggered by the fire alarm. And it serves a dual purpose - providing day-to-day public address functionality alongside its emergency voice alarm role.
Electrifire designs, installs and maintains PAVA systems for commercial premises across London, Kent and the M25 corridor. For buildings with Honeywell Gent Vigilon fire alarm systems, the Honeywell Voice Alarm platform integrates directly with the fire alarm network, providing a fully coordinated detection and evacuation response.
-
BS 5839-8 compliant voice alarm design and installation
-
Zoned messaging for phased evacuation
-
Direct integration with Honeywell Gent Vigilon fire alarm systems
-
Combined public address and voice alarm functionality
-
Pre-recorded and live emergency messaging
-
Ongoing maintenance and speech intelligibility verification
Discuss voice alarm for your premises >>
A traditional fire alarm system uses sounders, bells or electronic tones to signal an evacuation. In simple, single-storey premises with a straightforward evacuation procedure, this is often sufficient. But in larger, more complex buildings - multi-storey offices, retail centres, transport hubs, healthcare facilities, education campuses - a tone-only system has significant limitations.
- Occupants may not know what the tone means or what action to take
- A single tone cannot differentiate between 'evacuate now' and 'stand by'
- Phased evacuation is impossible without zoned voice messaging
- In high-noise environments, tones may not be heard or recognised
- Unfamiliar visitors, customers or patients may not respond to a tone they do not recognise
A voice alarm system addresses all of these limitations. It delivers clear, intelligible spoken instructions that tell people what is happening, what they should do, and where they should go. For buildings with phased evacuation strategies, it is not just preferable - it is essential. See our evacuation testing page for more on phased evacuation procedures.
Phased evacuation requires the ability to deliver different messages to different zones simultaneously. When a fire is detected on one floor, the voice alarm must broadcast an evacuation message to that floor and the floors immediately above and below, while broadcasting a separate alert or standby message to the remaining floors. As the situation develops, the evacuation can be extended to additional zones.
BS 5839-8 defines five classes of voice alarm system (V1 to V5), ranging from fully automatic evacuation systems to fully configurable systems with maximum manual control. The appropriate class depends on the building's evacuation strategy and the level of operator intervention required. Electrifire will advise on the correct system class for your building based on the fire strategy and the requirements of the fire risk assessment.
Honeywell Voice Alarm and Vigilon Integration
For premises with Honeywell Gent Vigilon fire alarm systems, the Honeywell Voice Alarm platform integrates directly with the Vigilon network via fibre optic connection. This means fire detection, alarm signalling, and voice evacuation are managed as a single coordinated system rather than separate platforms with an interface between them. When a detector activates, the Vigilon cause-and-effect logic triggers the correct voice alarm zone automatically, delivering the right message to the right area without manual intervention. See our fire alarms page for more on the Vigilon platform.
This level of integration is a significant advantage over systems where the fire alarm and voice alarm are separate platforms connected by relay contacts or serial interfaces. A fully integrated system reduces the risk of miscommunication between systems, simplifies commissioning and testing, and provides a single point of maintenance responsibility.
PAVA system design requires careful attention to speech intelligibility - the system must deliver messages that are clearly understood in every zone, under all conditions, including high ambient noise. This involves acoustic modelling, correct speaker selection and placement, amplifier sizing, and speech transmission index (STI) measurement during commissioning. A voice alarm that cannot be understood is worse than no voice alarm at all, because it creates confusion rather than clarity.
Electrifire designs PAVA systems to BS 5839-8, specifying EN 54-16 certified equipment and EN 54-24 certified loudspeakers. We carry out STI measurements at commissioning to verify speech intelligibility meets the required standard, and we repeat these measurements during maintenance to confirm that system performance has not degraded over time.
Day-to-day public address functionality - announcements, paging, background music - is designed into the same system, with automatic priority switching that ensures emergency voice messages always override routine use.
PAVA system maintenance can be incorporated into your wider fire alarm planned maintenance contract. See our planned maintenance page.
Discuss PAVA installation or maintenance - call 01622 535845.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Reading
Planned Maintenance
Planned Maintenance for Fire and Security Systems Every fire and security system in a building needs regular,…
FM Companies
Fire and Security Maintenance for FM Companies Since 2009, Electrifire has supported facilities management companies across London…
Disabled Refuge Systems
Disabled Refuge Systems for Commercial Premises Not everyone in a building can use the stairs during an…