Fire alarm pics from my elementary school! (Updated 9/15!)

A couple more pics…


The mysterious smoke/heat detector in the cafetorium. I’m almost positively sure it’s a Simplex…


This is in the music classroom. Apparently the Simplex 4051 horn originally there broke down some time this decade, and they replaced it with a Wheelock NS horn/strobe. I assume the light is disconnected (the bulb is still there, but they ripped the lens off), but I do wish that they removed the whole light and just put electrical tape over it; leaving it like that just summons vandalism and the elements.


All the other 4051+4050-80s are still intact. That indeed proves that one alarm in the music room was just a breakdown. The others apparently still work really well. I assume this is how all of the alarms initially looked back when the school was built in 1974; it was all 4051+4050-80s and 4251-30s, with no test stations and a Simplex 4247 panel or whatever. (I apologize for the image size, this is meant to be a detail shot of sorts.)

Oh, and TSS, regarding that 4251-30 with the loose frame, I wonder if the Davis K-8 school ever had a fire at one point and that alarm was pulled because of it?

Wow! When I was a kindergarten student at the Davis School, they never set those off once in a while, so I never heard them blaring.

I heard them a couple of times when I had kindergarten there. They were LOUD! Not as loud as the Simplex 4040s at Brockton High School, but still enough to make your ears bleed! And it definitely didn’t help that my classroom had an alarm right inside the room! When I was there, they were on Slow March Time, but the staff there told me they are now on Continuous; I guess they replaced the panel at some point (odds are it’s a Simplex 4005, or maybe even a 4010 like the Raymond School has!)

It’s been a while, but here’s some new pics!


As you can see, nothing has been changed so far. You can see the school bell and the 4051+4050-80 horn/light in my old kindergarten classroom (but it’s now a junior high classroom of some sort, complete with Smart Board and video projector.)


They also still have these Simplex clocks intact. I am also very sure the Simplex 6351 master time panel is still in use.


They also still have this unusual install job near one of the exits. I doubt this is going to be changed anytime soon.


The Simplex 4051+SAE AV32 horn/light setup in the small gymnasium (a.k.a. the “Playroom.” Note that the alarm is a bit crooked compared to last time.


Here is the 4251-30 pull station in the old multi-purpose room (now it’s a computer lab.) I distinctly remember this pull missing the hammer when I last saw it back in 2000 at that summer program.


Simplex 4051+4050-80 and the 4090 school bell behind it. There is a few minor cracks on the lens, but most of the alarms appear to be in pretty good condition.


They still have the replacement Edwards 270-SPO pulls in the hallway outside the computer lab and the Playroom (they also have those two Simplex 2099-9103 break-glass pulls in the cafeteria as well.)


Close-up of the 4051+AV32 in the main gymnasium. This one looks a bit better than the one in the “Playroom.”


Notice something about the pull station underneath? I remember back in 2000, this 4251-30 had the break-glass mechanism and the metal cover over it, but now the metal cover has been removed and the break-glass feature is missing! At first glance I thought maybe they replaced it with a single-action pull station until I got a better look.


The 10-inch Simplex bell above the alarm. I still find it crazy why they’d put 10-inch bells in a room where it is sure to be louder due to the echo! Were they trying to make everyone’s ears bleed?


The other two Simplex 4051+4050-80s in the gym are still intact, and the 4251-30 pulls have not been changed.


The school bell next to that alarm.


The school bell and the 4051+4050-80 in the mens’ locker room (which has since been reopened again.) Unlike at the Raymond school, this one has NO “FIRE” lettering. None of the 4050-80s at this school do.

They also still have the Simplex test stations, so that means the duct detector system was not altered, and they still have that Simplex graphic annunciator in the main lobby. I didn’t see the panels (again), but I DO know they have two of them; a Simplex 4208 for the pull stations and heat sensors, and a newer Simplex panel (either a 4005 or 4010) for the duct detector units.

OK, so it’s been over a year since I got new pics from this school, but I managed to take the opportunity to take some when I was reporting a malfunctioning outdoor school bell when I passed by this afternoon! To start off on a few familiar stuff…


They still have this weird install job outside the junior high pod. I’m still not sure how this happened, but I know it definitely wasn’t original, it was either when the modular was added in 1996, or during a panel upgrade. (They did a similar rewiring job at their rival school, but they put both the 4051 horn and 4050-80 plate on a large red backbox.)


The small gymnasium’s SAE AV32 light plate still looks a tad crooked (guess they need an extra mounting screw.) I know that’s obviously not original, as I could kind of see the imprint left by the old 4050-80.


The Wheelock NS-24-MCW in the music room that replaced a Simplex 4051 horn that obviously broke down. I still think removing that light bulb may not be a bad idea, and then try to cover up the light socket (I’ve seen a few install jobs like that, and it doesn’t look so cheap that way.)
This also wasn’t the only newer alarm I found in the main building…


I also found THIS in the boiler room. It’s a Simplex 4903-9236 horn/strobe! IDK if this runs off either the 4208 or whatever the new Simplex duct detector panel is (not sure if it’s still either a 4004 or 4005.) I can’t imagine hearing this and a bunch of 4051s going off at the same time.


They also have a couple of these Federal Signal pulls in the boiler room. I am now sure these were installed when the 4903 horn/strobe was installed, which was when the boiler room was renovated in 1998 (I believe that was also when the current fire alarm panel and duct detectors were installed.) Wonder why they didn’t use Simplex pulls? I am also not sure if these run off the old 4208 or the new panel.


This can be found in the kitchen. The 4051 horn is tilted down a bit for some reason, and the 4251-30 pull is missing the glass (wouldn’t be surprised if they put replacement glass in it some time in the future.)


This alarm in one of the classroom pods now has the lens missing! Note the size of the light bulb. Could this be an older version, or maybe even the 120VAC 4050-82? (But then why would they be using 4051 horns? Unless 4208s had some kind of feature that allowed for use of DC horns and AC visual signals. I DO know they’re 4051s because I’ve heard them go off, and it says so on the tags.)


One of the 4251-30 pulls in the main gymnasium (the one with the break-glass part removed) STILL has no cover on it like the other two do! Also note the AV32 light plate on the 4051 above it, how this one has the “FIRE” lettering while the one in the small gym doesn’t? (In fact, only three alarms in the main building have “FIRE” lettering; this AV32, the Wheelock NS and the Simplex 4903-9236.)


The alarm setup in the computer lab located nearby. I still seriously doubt that 4251-30 with the missing hammer is ever gonna be fixed. At least the alarm above it is in excellent condition (the system generally is, here.)


Simplex clock and PA speaker in the same computer lab. For some reason, the hands are different on my IBM version of that clock (which also lacks a second hand.)


While the fire alarm system is still Simplex, the clock system isn’t anymore! It’s an American Time and Signal AllSync master time panel. My middle school got this same model installed last year to replace their broken Simplex 2350 (this one is replacing a 6100.) This might possibly explain why this bell was malfunctioning…