I was at Massasoit Community College today, and so far not much has changed for the alarms in most of the buildings, with one major exception, which I will get to in a bit…
I found this in the Fine Arts building. A ceiling tile was moved, and I could see into it. There is a System Sensor i3 smoke detector right in it! I guess it replaced one of those older Simplex/ESL smokes originally used as makeshift duct detectors when the building was first built. You’d think they would’ve replaced it with a real duct detector though. Nothing else has changed in this building.
The Field House building had a surprise upgrade: they replaced all of the existing SAE VA4 horn/strobes with System Sensor SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobes! I don’t know why they did that; maybe to make it seem more like a Fire-Lite system? (Remember, they now have a Fire-Lite MS-9600UDLS panel.) Most of the horn/strobes have the candela rating set to 15…
…but the horn/strobes in the gym have them set to 110 candelas! They still have those SAE alarm protection cages from when the system was previously upgraded.
Surprisingly, the old Simplex 4251-20 pull stations are still intact for the most part…
…as are the Faraday F1G Chevron pulls and Stopper IIs in the pool room. The old heat sensors are still intact, too.
Previously before the new alarm was put here, the existing SAE VA4 horn/strobe was on a weatherproof backbox and hanging down a bit as a result. Now they have the SpectrAlert Advance here on a DIFFERENT backbox.
Overall, I was very surprised they went and redid all the signals in this building, while the others didn’t. Could the Field House be in for a full-blown upgrade in the future?
Turns out there’s been ANOTHER new SpectrAlert Advance installation in my city installed into an existing system. The Shaw’s Supermarket near Massasoit College recently had the Wheelock MT horn/strobe in the kitchen area near the deli replaced with a SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobe! IDK why this happened, but it must’ve been when they switched fire alarm service companies (according to a sign on the FACP, it was initially Interstate Electrical Corp, but now it’s someone else.) Nothing else in the system has been changed though; the existing SAE horn/strobes are still intact (mostly Wheelock EH horns behind AV32 strobe plates and at least one VA4 horn/strobe), as are the pull stations (a couple of Simplex 4251-20s, an Edwards 270-SPO and an FCI MS-2) and the original Simplex 2001 fire alarm panel!
At the Racino, they’re rennovating the food court and turning it into a new restaraunt. Well, apparently it’ll be a new layout, because they removed a lot of the speakers and installed them in backboxes on the ceiling. A wall-mount speaker/strobe was also moved to the ceiling and the colums where the alarms were just have empty backboxes. Interestingly enough, the backboxes didn’t have extension rings - they just stuck the backboxes deep into the colums and installed the signals with really long screws. I can’t wait to see the setup once everything’s done.
Here’s another update I’ve been meaning to post for some time: the North Junior High School, where my 5th grade teacher used to work at after leaving Downey Elementary (before they moved her to South Middle School this year). Initially, the building was built in 1957-1958 and had an old Gamewell fire alarm system with flush-mount Faraday horns (similar to the Type 2 but flush-mounted) and the old dual-action pull stations. Last summer they had a semi-upgrade to the fire alarm system:
They now have one of those Notifier ONYX fire alarm panels. I can’t really tell the exact model number when it comes to several Notifier systems (compared to a Fire-Lite panel or something). Unlike the other three schools that had Notifier systems installed a while back, this one is a non-voice evac system. There is some kind of conduit box where the original fire alarm controls were in the main office, probably now used as a relay/junction box tied into the Notifier panel.
The new pull stations are NBG-12LXs. They were installed at many entrances and exits and presumably in other areas too. The main entrance vestibule had two of these installed. (I know they are NBG-12LXs due to them all blinking green LEDs.)
Addressable Notifier smoke detectors were also installed in many areas. Again, I’m not sure what the model number is (usually I know the Fire-Lite and System Sensor model numbers for them.)
BUT… the old Faraday horns are still intact and active! I am surprised they did that instead of just installing new horn/strobes (or speaker/strobes if they went with voice-evac). There are no new signals in the building so far (I didn’t see any strobes installed anywhere either.) As you can see, the old IBM 6" bells are still intact and working (as I’ve been told), as are many of the original IBM clocks (the master time panel is still the Simplex 6400). The outdoor bells don’t work anymore though.
Also, the old Gamewell pull stations are still intact as well! Strange they kept these when they installed the NBG-12LXs. I don’t know if the old pulls still work, but I assume they do.
Overall, this is a very interesting and rather unusual alarm upgrade. I’m guessing this could be a temporary fire alarm setup before they upgrade soon to a full voice-evac system or something (chances are it’ll be another Notifier system.) Now hopefully East Junior High School will get a new fire alarm system this summer! (They planned to last summer but never got around to it.) East is now the only original middle school left in the city with its original fire alarm system intact!
Of course, the Raymond K-8 school across the street had NO updates to its fire alarm system, and probably won’t for some time. But, I noticed that on one of the signals that had the lens removed, I got a better look at it and noticed writing on the light frame:
I noticed something on it that said “120 - 240 VAC.” So that would mean these are actually Simplex 4050-82 light plates or something! Kinda unusual how they’d use DC horns (they are definitely Simplex 4051s; I saw the tag on one of them) but AC retrofit plates. I wonder if Simplex 4208s or any other panel are capable of operating in a manner like that? (They still have the original 4208 and the 4010 panel for duct detectors.) The only new devices in the building not including the Simplex 4010, duct detectors or annunciator include a Simplex 4903-9236 horn/strobe in the boiler room (as well as two Autocall/Federal pull stations and a Simplex 2098-9439 heat sensor) and an Edwards/AIP 270-SPO pull station in the kitchen.
Just thought I’d feel like sharing.
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[img]http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/2476/img1151r.jpg[/img]
They now have one of those Notifier ONYX fire alarm panels. I can't really tell the exact model number when it comes to several Notifier systems (compared to a Fire-Lite panel or something). Unlike the other three schools that had Notifier systems installed a while back, this one is a non-voice evac system. There is some kind of conduit box where the original fire alarm controls were in the main office, probably now used as a relay/junction box tied into the Notifier panel.
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It could be a Notifier OYNX 640. Maybe also the school will replace all of the older Faraday horns with SpectrAlert Advance P2R and put some SR strobes in the classrooms and bathrooms re-branded by Notifier.
I have an update to the Middlebelt Road Costco system; when I was behind the dairy section of the store, near a stockroom in the back, I saw two 4" bells mounted high up on the wall; one of them appeared to be a 4" Federal Signal bell, and the other one is unknown, although it has a red tag on the front, so it could possibly be used for a fire alarm.
I stopped by at my old middle school today to talk with the vice principal (also one of my former health teachers). It turns out that this summer they will continue their big fix-up project, and this is going to include a total overhaul of the clock system setup. They are going to get rid of the old Edwards bells and chimes, and probably use the PA system (to be honest, I was pretty surprised to hear that!) Additionally, they are also finally going to install the new fire alarm system as well as a sprinkler system! Now I DEFINITELY can’t wait to see the final result this September!
And yes, he said that he will save several of the old alarm parts for me, as well as some of the old bells and chimes!
Panel: 4100U with Voice and 4009 IDNet NAC Extender.
Security let me see the panel!
It was located in a Electrical/Mechanical Room where I had special security clearance.
Signals:
Red Simplex TrueAlert Speaker/Strobes and Speakers in all of the food court, Speaker/Strobes in the bathrooms and throughout the new wing.
Even More Updates in the mall!
Panel:
Conventional 4006 Fire Alarm Control Panel in the back of a store.
Signals:
White Simplex TrueAlert Ceiling Mount Rectangular Horn/strobes.
Indicating Devices:
Simplex 2099 Series Pull Stations.
In another store:
Simplex TrueAlert Horn/strobes tied in the 4006 Panel at the other store.
Initiating Devices:
Simplex 2099 Series Pull stations.
Going back to the College Mall today. I’m going to see if they are going to have a fire alarm technicians install TrueAlerts and look at the fire alarms.
The Conrad Hilton building of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester got an upgrade (finished).
Old system: Honeywell
•Honeywell S464A pulls
•SS 2400 smokes
•Wheelock Vandal-Proof ETs, most with the WH strobe, one did have an ADA compliant strobe (possibly replaced an older model). Ceiling mount speaker in the subway leading to the Baldwin building.
New System: Notifier (Seems Mayo likes Notifier, as their systems are being installed/are already installed in the clinic’s buildings.)
•NBG-12LX Pulls
•Notifier FSP-851 detectors
•SpectrAlert Advance SPSR speaker-strobes, SPSC ceiling-mount units in some areas, including the aforementioned subway.
My Grandpa’s apartment got an FA upgrade, the old system consisted of Edwards 10" Adaptabels, Edwards 270-SPOs, and an Edwards 6500 panel. Well, The signals got replaced with Mircom Select-A-Horns, and each unit got this like smoke alarm thing, it’s mounted low, and it emits a sound whenever there’s a fire. The pulls stayed the same, and I was surprised that they had also kept the Edwards 6500. Most apartments would’ve bought a new panel.
Well, the construction work at the racino is just about done. It seems they just wanted to mount what was on the wall on the ceiling probably to provide better signal coverage, although that wall-mount speaker/strobe being mounted on the ceiling still strikes me as odd. They did provide better coverage in the atrium though as there’s now two speaker/strobes instead of one.
Interestingly enough, when I was in the stairwell, I looked up an an i3 and the alarm LED blinked on and off twice (at a march-time rate), but nothing ever went off…
At your high school? That sounds crazy how they’d replace a voice-evac alarm with a horn/strobe.
Maybe the old 4051+4050-80s are breaking down, or they are upgrading the non-ADA compliant alarms. I’ve seen a couple of places I can tell that used to have 4051+4050-80s but then upgraded to TrueAlerts.
Yes, at my high school. Sorry, I forgot to mention that.
I have no clue why they replaced the speaker with a horn. Maybe they weren’t able to hook the speaker up, for whatever reason, and used it as a strobe-only device.
I have two theories about why the upgrade was done. The first is that due to complaints of the old horns being too quiet, they decided to replace them with TrueAlerts. The second theory is that the old alarms were causing troubles (which is highly unlikely because the system has been normal for as long as I can remember).
A minor update to the Little Bangkok Cuisine in Plymouth, MI; the pull station is actually a Fire-Lite BG-10 model, and there is also one System Sensor i3 photoelectric detector and two Edwards GS series smoke detectors.
Another update to the Costick Activities Center in Farmington Hills, MI; there is a weatherproof Integrity horn/strobe near the main entrance, one Radionics annuciator (security) at the main entrance, and ceiling-mounted EST detectors throughout the building.
