Zones for Fire-Fighting System.

I think first you have tomore precisely define your question.

You shouldn't. The liability issue alone should tell you that this is not a subject for amateurs. On the remote chance that you are an apprentice in a firm that designs fire fighting systems, ask your mentor why or which fire fighting standard is relevant for you to read.

You can use a lettering or numbering system like the one below.

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4

or

Zone A

Zone B

Zone C

Zone D

There you go, do you need anything else?

In your case, it's the twilight zone.

Who is "we" ?

Designing a fire protection system is complicated, and as stated above, comes with a high degree of liability.

It takes years of training, and constant study of evolving Codes and Statutes.

If you cannot even define your zones, you should leave this projecct to others.

It depends upon the layout not on area. If there are several rooms each room can be a zone,also corridor,toilets,basement,garage etc can be classified as zones. If it is a large open hall(warehouse)each portion can become a zone. Nowadays each detector is connected to the panel so that you can pinpoint which detector has operated.

Do you mean sprinkler system? If so, zone can be anywhere you want it to be. It is usually used to indicate the different parts of a wet system as the branches come off the main supply. Sort of like a tree. Trunk is the main is the piping as it comes off the water supply and/or the fire pump. Branches of the tree/system are the zones.

If you mean fire-fighting zones as in actual fire extinguishment, zones are delineated by the sides of the structure and the floors. ALPHA is the front of the structure, BRAVO is the left side of the building, CHARLIE is the rear of the building, and DELTA is the right side. Corners of the structure are indicated by the sides that make up the corner. Example the corner at the front and left side is called the ALPHA-BRAVO corner. Floors are called DIVISIONS. 1st floor is Division 1, 2nd Division the second floor and so on. Basements are minus divisions.These are standard fire fighting nomenclature. Some people have implemented this system for their sprinkler systems so everyone speaks the same "language".

A zone can also indicate which building a particular sprinkler system is in. Example bldg. 1 is Alpha zone, bldg. 2 is Bravo zone and so on.

Lastly, zones can indicate anything you want them to be.

When doing anything with "zones" or sprinkler systems, repairs, or installations, DON'T DO IT YOURSELF OR HAVE ANYONE WHO IS NOT A LICENSED SPRINKLER ENGINEER or his workers touch the system. Fire is a big risk, can destroy property and worst of all kill people. Sprinklers are extremely effective, especially when the zones are delineated by zones or other area names. In a few years all states will require sprinkler systems in residents. Several states have this now for new construction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_sprinkler_system

Good Luck, Old Salt

See :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_firefighting

Zone definition

After 20 years of firefighting, including several years as chief, I can assure you that there are many uses for the term "ZONES" in firefighting besides a sprinkler system. A review of ICS-700 (Incident Command System), ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-300, ICS-400, STRATEGY AND TACTICS, FIRE OFFICER 1 & 2, PUMPING, ADVANCED PUMPING, LADDER COMPANY OPERATIONS, ENGINE COMPANY OPERATIONS, etc. among others, many other training courses and aspects of firefighting use it. The use of "collapse zone" is only one of the other uses. That is the area that would be directly effected if a burning structure were to collapse.

The complete reference to zone in the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_firefighting is:

Zone: Section of structure indicated on a fire alarm control panel where sensor was activated, which may also have separate HVAC and fire suppression controls. May also refer to the act of zoning a geographic area in which certain types of occupancies are restricted or preferred, due to concerns for fire safety and the availability of fire protection and emergency evacuation routes.

This only gives a brief description of "zone".

Since the OP didn't provide further information of his concerns, the term "zone" covers much more than just a sprinkler system.

Good Luck, Old Salt