Today, we had a school fire drill (unannounced and they used the PA system as well as the alarms because there are no alarms in classrooms). On the first drill, I did not know there were outdoor 7002Ts there, but since then I have seen and photographed them. When I walked outside, I veered toward a 7002T (While staying in line) and it was not working. I know that “They did not want to alert somebody walking by” or “It’s not a real fire!” but may I remind you that fire drills are almost always system tests too. Also, the fire department is right across the street, so it would have been very easy to notify them if that was the case. But I believe that the alarms were faulty because of their age and condition. (http://quickalert.weebly.com/school-alarms Picture on my site)
I personally think this is a safety hazard, because it is a broken alarm, and those are frowned upon.
What do you think about buildings/service dealers not properly checking and maintaining their life safety system?
Not sure if it is that, because it probably was checked…
On your blog you said you also saw an SA Classic outside… did you notice if it was working, or did you notice if any of the other 7002Ts were working?
What I am thinking is it could have been they have a button in the panel to shut off the outdoor signals that they use before a fire drill. That would explain why none of them would be working… if none of them were working.
That was the only alarm nearby. Maybe if they have a fire drill during lunch, I could see if the SA worked.
I can totally see where you are coming from. At my HS, when they switched to Code-3, the outdoor ASWP stopped working (since it was already Code-3). I told somebody, they switched it back to continuous and the AS started to work again.
Sure it’s not a 7004T used in place of a sprinkler bell?
I’m pretty sure. There are multiple units on the building.
I don’t think it can be a 7004T, because a Spectralert replaced a broken one.
Also, why would there be 5 sprinkler horns?
System Sensor did make a 120VAC Spectralert Advanced, the P2RHK-120. Also, if the building is big enough, it could have multiple sprinkler risers.
It seems like 7002T’s don’t stand up that well to weather. My former high school (now a middle school) has around 5 or 6 of them outside. When I attended from 2001-02, I only encountered one that worked at all, and it sounded like someone banging repeatedly on a flagpole. The one outside the boiler room in my elementary school didn’t seem to work that well either; the one at the front entrance did, but there was a roof above.
I’m surprised they never replaced the broken 7002T’s in my high school, especially since another elementary school in my town replaced one of their outdoor 7002T’s with a SpectrAlert Advance a few years ago. Maybe it’s because that school is across from a firehouse. Of course, all of the schools in my district with pre-ADA systems are apparently due for upgrades, so this should all be moot soon enough.
I checked, there are 2 bells and a 7002T in one location. One must be a sprinkler bell.
This is a middle school, and it’s a SA Classic that is also very discolored.
I doubt the building could have more than one zone on the sprinklers, because only hallways have sprinklers. Actually, only the main hallways. The academic wings have none.
Wait a Minute…
How could you gain access into the school if ALL schools were closed today?
The horns are on the outside?
Anyways, he knows about the hallways because he’s been there before.
In my area horns are not visible from the outside…
Honestly, this is not the first time he has posted a “story” Im not trying to be a D**k but i just want the truth.
Many school’s don’t take Veteran’s Day off, such as mine (which is sort of ironic since where I live has one of the highest percentage of population that is in the military in the US).
By this, do you mean that buildings don’t have NA’s on the exterior of them or something? I think it is considered normal in most areas for a building with an alarm system to have at least one NA on the outside of it.
Something else to consider, the 7002T’s could have been disconnected from the system and left purposefully inoperable. As long as there is there is a working form of outdoor notification, I bet that they can just get away with not having to deal with the hassle of taking the old signals down.
Interesting…
I was watching the news today and they said “All Schools Throughout the US are closed today to honor veterans day”
Well, in that case i take back what i said.
We celebrated Vet’s day in school…
I find it odd they would not take it down, this is a pretty picky district. All other schools I have seen have functioning outdoor appliances. They also took down a Simplex smoke near the art room and covered the space with a plate. I will have to ask them about it when I get the chance.
Not here in canada. No buildings here have any exterior NAs on them. There is a few that might, but not for schools at all. I never thought it would matter to even have outdoor NAs, as long as the FA system notifies the people inside and dispatches the fire department.
It may not depend on the size of the building, but on the amount of additions. For example, a very large building I know has 13 sprinkler risers, and my high school, which is not that large of a building, has, to my knowledge, 15 risers, due to many additions over the years…
This school is 100% original.