Recent/Upcoming Changes in My Aera:
(Old) Mandan High School- Mandan, ND:
Most people that have been on here for a while probably know the story of this school well by now. It was built in 1957 and had several additions over the years. It is now almost completely demolished. The system can be seen in my post on it from around a year ago. In the diagram below, all of the parts that have been covered in the red scribbles have been/will soon be demolished.
Here are two photos I took when I was at the All Seasons Arena (which is still very much in current use) for a soccer game a couple of weeks ago:
Custer Elementary- Mandan, ND
It was just announced that, due to lowering enrollment of elementary students in the upcoming years, the smallest school in the district will likely be closing at the end of this school year. The school currently has around 100 students and 13 teachers. The students can be easily absorbed into the surrounding schools that are larger, and the staff are much needed around the district. No staff members will be loosing their jobs. It currently costs the taxpayers around twice as much per student at this school compared to the district’s other schools. It is unclear what will happen to the building, but the selling off of the land and the renovation or demolition of the building are very real possibilities within the next decade or so. If they don’t renovate the building, the fire alarm system would likely remain untouched for at least another decade or two. If they do, it’s possible that they would need to upgrade to a voice evac system. That would likely require a complete overhaul of the wiring, as I believe there are only two wires for the notification appliances, as they are still using the original wiring from the 70s Simplex 4207/4208 system (which there is still evidence of with some electrical boxes in a storage room). My mom and aunt went to this school in the early-mid 80s, so they would have experienced that system. Here is the current system:
The system in between the original and the current one was a late 90s EST system (probably an LSS4 or something), but there is no evidence of that left. I just remember seeing it. If the current system is replaced, it will be the first of the 5 4007ES systems that were installed 8-11 years ago in all of the existing elementary schools in my district to be replaced.
Portable Classrooms- Fort Lincoln Elementary- Mandan, ND
Over this previous summer (summer of 2025), the portable building at my former elementary school that contained 4 classrooms was demolished in place due to the new elementary school in the district being completed and it no longer being needed. Apparently, it was an older portable that would have been less profitable to sell off and transport than to demolish. When they first bought it, it had Siemens MXL/H-Series devices and SpectrAlert Classic horn/strobes from the previous owners. Those devices were removed. It was connected to the school’s Simplex 4007ES system when it was purchased in 2019, and had Simplex SmartSync TrueAlerts with their modern addressable initiating devices. Before it was demolished, the district removed the fire alarm, IT, and intercom devices that they had installed to be used as spare parts in other schools with compatible systems. If enrollment goes back up, it is possible that they could eventually add an addition to the school in its place, but that would be talking like at least 15 years into the future. At that point, the school’s system would likely be obsolete (even if it weren’t for the fact that it’s not code compliant even now due to not being a voice system).
Burleigh County Memorial Armory- Bismarck State College- Bismarck, ND
This building was built in 1962 by the U.S. Army. It served as a recreational, athletic, and dorm facility. It was purchased by the college in the 80s, and has been the college’s athletic center and gymnasium ever since. It still has some dorm rooms. A new building is set to replace it with over triple the seating capacity and much needed updated facilities. The fire alarm system is a Simplex 4100U system with mostly SmartSync horn/strobes, but the gymnasium itself has speaker/strobes. The building is set to be renovated and repurposed when the new building opens in a few months. The last games ever being played in the gymnasium will be this weekend. That will probably, mean a new/updated fire alarm system. I’m guessing that they would probably upgrade to a 4100ES system, and maybe switch to a full voice system with addressable notification. Some smoke and heat detectors could likely get removed, as a sprinkler system is part of the planned renovation. They would also probably add low-frequency notification to the sleeping areas if they don’t go for a voice system.
Here are some photos I was able to find online:
The photo below shows a campus view. The camera is facing to the northeast, and the red arrow points to the building in question. The blue circle shows where the new building is. This photo faintly shows a FS Thunderbolt on the west side of the roof. That was replaced by a 2001-SRN over 20 years ago. Based on other similar recent examples in my area, that siren will likely be moved to a pole nearby if it is affected by the renovation.
Bavendick Center- BSC- Bismarck, ND
This is the new ~100,000 square foot building that will replace the Armory. Other than one privately owned building with a Bosch system, the college has all Simplex and Siemens systems. The newest building on campus that opened in 2025 has a Simplex 4100ES voice system with ES notification. That’s very possible for this new building, or it could also be Siemens, as the Siemens dealer in my area also does most of the tech integration that would be necessary in a building like this. Only time will tell.