Aspirating smoke detector with test module

An aspirating smoke detector system, comprising:

• a test particulate or gas generation chamber including:
• an inlet connection to a first pipe of an aspirating smoke detector pipe network;
• an outlet connection to a second pipe of the aspirating smoke detector pipe network;
• and a test particulate or gas release apparatus configured to introduce a predetermined amount of test particulate or gas into the test particulate or gas generation chamber;
• and
• a smoke or gas detecting chamber including a sensor configured to measure an amount of the test particulate or gas.

A method comprising:

• generating a test particulate or gas in a test particulate or gas generation chamber of an aspirating smoke detector system;
• moving the test particulate or gas toward and into a smoke or gas detecting chamber of the aspirating smoke detector system via a pipe;
• sensing the test particulate or gas in the smoke or gas detecting chamber using a sensor;
• and
• determining whether a blockage exists within the aspirating smoke detector system by a processor of the aspirating smoke detector system based on the sensed test particulate or gas.