Fire Alarms in Buildings (2.0)

[BigKayCea]

Timothy Lutheran Church (Livonia) (Opened 1957)

Detectors:
One First Alert SA150-series smoke detector in the basement (with an incandescent light!)
One Kidde 0915K smoke detector, also in the basement
(A public photo on the church’s Facebook page from 2017 shows a Fyrnetics 0905 smoke detector located on the first floor [look for the Hands & Hearts banner].)

Notification appliances:
Perhaps the most surprising thing I saw while I was here was a silver Ademco A.D. 10 bell! Located in the basement near a stairwell, I presume this is used as part of a security system, because I did not notice any other devices, including pull stations and annunciators/panels, located nearby.

[Dale]

My high school

Main building:
-Notifier NFS2-3030 installed in 2017. The original fire alarm replacement happened in 1994. The 1923-1994 areas of my school that haven’t been renovated for the most part have System Sensor MA12/24 horns mounted above Gentex GXS strobes. Most of these horns are on hi lo. None of these devices have failed but most of these areas still have System Sensor SpectrAlert advances to add alarms to classrooms and boost audio/visual coverage. Pull stations are Notifier BGX101L’s for the most part although about six were added at a later date therefore they are NBG12LX’s. Detectors are Notifier and addressable. These areas obviously have door closers, fan shutdowns, and rolling doors that close upon a fire alarm.
-1999 addition has all of the same devices except A/V’s are SpectrAlert classic series horn strobes and strobes. This area also has the most rolling doors of any area.
-2007 renovations and additions. These areas simply have the newer version of everything. Newer detectors, NBG12LX’s, and SpectrAlert advance A/V’s.
-2017 additions and renovations. This area has the exact same stuff as the 2007 areas except this is the only area of the building with synchronized alarms.

Building two:
-Built in 1916, this three story building is on its third system. Notifier AM-2020 with conventional NBG-10L’s, addressable detectors, and System Sensor MA12/24 horns mounted next to Gentex GXS strobes. These are on 800hz continues

Aquatic center:
-This building has a Notifier NFS2-3030 with DVC. Modern everything with System Sensor SpectrAlert advance speaker strobes and speakers both wall and ceiling mount.

Stadium:
-Just an NFS-320 and advances to cover a sprinkler system. Nothing else.

All in all, these systems are connected together and all have many annunciators on campus. Outdoor alarms are consistent with indoor alarms with a few Wheelocks here and there.

[Michael_Gatien]

Wheelock NSs are what we had in high school and they were VERY loud to the point where if your ears were not plugged, they would be ringing afterwards.

[randomperson]

Walt Disney World - Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, FL

Post 2 of 2 - This post will focus on the parks, as well as the shopping/dining area known as Disney Springs.

Before describing the systems, here’s some general information about how the fire alarm systems in Walt Disney World attraction and theater buildings are configured.
These SAE IAV-series strobes are part of the fire alarm system, even though they’re orange. They can be found at the attraction entrance, loading area, and other locations.

In these buildings, if a smoke detector activates, it causes a silent alarm where these orange strobes flash. After a few minutes, the main signals activate. If a second smoke detector activates, the main signals activate immediately. The sequence is only for smoke detectors - if the alarm is activated in any other way (e.g. a manual pull station), the main signals activate immediately. In other buildings at Walt Disney World (e.g. standalone shops/restaurants, resorts, etc…), there are no orange strobes, and any activation causes the main signals to sound immediately.
Here’s a video I found with this setup in action.

FLIGHT OF PASSAGE FIRE EMERGENCY EVACUATION OCTOBER 2019

Now that I’ve explained this, let’s detail the systems.
General notes:

1. Many buildings have similar/identical setups, so I’ll refer to these with type codes.
2. Several systems were initially installed with horn/strobes but were later converted to voice-evacuation.
3. The best way to tell whether the panel is an MXL or XLS if the system installation date is unknown or ambiguous (early 2000’s) is to check the address labels on initiating devices. The MXL has a limit of 60 peripheral devices per loop. If you see labels like 22-10 (loop 22 device 10), you’re definitely looking at an MXL system. Conversely, if you see labels like 1-107 (loop 1 device 107), you’re definitely looking at an XLS system.

Non-Voice Type 1A
Panel: Siemens FireFinder XLS or Desigo Fire Safety Modular
Pulls: HMS-S’

…and rebranded RSG RMS-1T’s in outdoor areas where present.

Detectors: FirePrints

Signals: Gentex Commander 2 or 3 horn/strobes…

…and the weatherproof version where applicable. (Interestingly enough, I remember reading somewhere that the weatherproof covers were actually designed by Disney!)

Non-Voice Type 1B
Panel: Siemens/Cerberus Pyrotronics MXL
Pulls: MSI-10B’s

Detectors: FirePrints (the MXL-compatible version)

Signals: Gentex Commander 2 horn/strobes

Non-Voice Type 2
Panel: Siemens FireFinder XLS or Desigo Fire Safety Modular
Pulls: HMS-S’
Detectors: FirePrints
Signals: Wheelock ZNS horn/strobes (rebranded)

Non-Voice Type 3
Panel: Siemens FireFinder XLS or Desigo Fire Safety Modular
Pulls: HMS-S’

Detectors: FirePrints

Signals: Wheelock AS horn/strobes and ZRS strobes (rebranded)

Non-Voice Type 4
Panel: Cerberus Pyrotronics MXL
Pulls: MSI-10B’s

Detectors: FirePrints (the MXL-compatible version) and/or ILP-1’s
Signals: MC-series horn/strobes

Non-Voice Type 5
Panel: Cerberus Pyrotronics MXL
Pulls: MSI-10B’s

Detectors: FirePrints (the MXL-compatible version) and/or ILP-1’s
Signals: Gentex SHG horn/strobes

Non-Voice Type 6
Panel: Pyrotronics XL3
Pulls: MSX-2’s
Detectors: PEX-3000’s and/or DI-X3’s
Signals: Wheelock EHS-DL1 horn/strobes

Non-Voice Type 7
Pulls: EST SIGA-278’s
Detectors: SIGA2’s
Signals: Genesis horn/strobes

Voice Type 1A/1B
These use the same panel types and initiating devices as their non-voice counterparts.

Some of these systems were originally non-voice and were retrofitted in the mid-to-late 2010’s. Systems converted to voice before 2018 kept the MXL panels, as evidenced by the evacuation message used.
Signals: Wheelock E50 and E60 speaker/strobes (rebranded)…

…some E50 remote speakers…

…and ET70WP’s outside, where applicable.

Voice Type 2
Panel: Siemens FireFinder XLS or Desigo Fire Safety Modular
Pulls: HMS-S’

Detectors: FirePrints

Signals: Wheelock E70 and E90 speaker/strobes (rebranded)

Voice Type 3
Panel: EST3
Pulls: SIGA-270’s (and rebranded RSG RMS-1T’s in outdoor areas where present)

Detectors: SIGA-PD’s or Signature Opticas
Signals: Genesis speaker/strobes, and Integrity speaker/strobes outside.

Voice Type 4
Pulls: Cerberus Pyrotronics MSI-10B’s

Detectors: ILP-1’s or FirePrints
Signals: MC-series speaker/strobes

Now I’ll explain what can be found where.
Magic Kingdom

Non-Voice Type 1A:
Haunted Mansion
Space Mountain (exception: last portion of exit corridor has Wheelock ZNS horn/strobes)

Splash Mountain (exception: gift shop has an HMS-D pull instead of HMS-S… also: RIP)

Non-Voice Type 1B:
Most buildings in Magic Kingdom that are not specifically mentioned

Voice Type 1A:
All buildings in the “New Fantasyland” area
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Cinderella Castle (well, sort of. Since MXL parts had been discontinued by the time the castle got the voice-evacuation upgrade, the panel was replaced. However, the MXL-compatible initiating devices were kept using the MLC card.)
Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (however, the adjoining Mickey’s Star Traders gift shop has the Non-Voice Type 1A or 1B setup)
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
The monorail station

Voice Type 1B:
Fantasyland “East” show building (except Winnie the Pooh, which has Wheelock NS horn/strobes and RSS strobes)
Main Street Bakery/Plaza Restaurant
Main Street Confectionery
Town Square Theater

Unique systems:
Fantasyland “West”/Liberty Square show building (Yes, this is all housed in one building. It’s not obvious from a guest’s perspective, but look on Google Maps and you’ll see.)
Panel: Siemens/Cerberus Pyrotronics MXL
Pulls: MSI-10B’s
Detectors: FirePrints (the MXL-compatible version)
Signals: U-MMT-MCS horn/strobes in Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Wheelock E50 speaker/strobes (rebranded) in Peter Pan’s Flight, and E70 speaker/strobes (rebranded) in the Hall of Presidents.

Epcot

Non-Voice Type 1A:
Most buildings in Epcot that are not specifically mentioned
Spaceship Earth (exception: the VIP lounge area has Siemens S-HPMG-MCS speaker/strobes. I found this out via online pictures. No rules were violated in the creation of this post.)
Morocco Pavilion

Non-Voice Type 3:
International Gateway area Guest Relations location
Italy Pavilion

Voice Type 1A:
Connections Cafe/Creations Shop/Club Cool (old Innoventions East building)
Epcot Experience pavilion
Germany pavilion (Except for some shops which have the Non-Voice Type 1A or 2 setup)
Norway pavilion (Except for Akershus which is Non-Voice Type 1A)
The monorail station
The Disney Skyliner gondola station

Voice Type 1B:
Test Track (exception: there are several remote speakers, and there are also some E70’s in the queue. Before the 2012 refurbishment this had Gentex SHG horn/strobes in most areas and SPK4 speaker/strobes in the post-show areas.)

Voice Type 3:
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Space 220 Restaurant

Unique systems:
France pavilion - old portion e.g. Boulangerie Patisserie
Panel: Siemens System 3 or SXL-EX
Pulls: MS-151’s or MS-51’s
Detectors: PE-11’s

Signals: Wheelock ZNS horn/strobes, along with some MC-series horn/strobes in Les Chefs de France.

Gelateria Toscana (the Italy pavilion’s recently-added ice cream kiosk)
This building’s interior isn’t accessible to guests, so only limited details can be seen from a guest’s view. I’m going to assume this is a Notifier system as a local Notifier distributor’s website states that they were recently awarded their first fire alarm contract for Disney. They mentioned this at the very bottom of a case study for an unrelated project. EPCOT Harmonious Electrical Bonding System | Sciens
Signals: L-Series horn/strobes

Mission: SPACE
Pulls: EST SIGA-278’s

Detectors: SIGA’s

Signals: Integrity horn/strobes in most areas…

…and Genesis horn/strobes in the gift shop.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Non-Voice Type 1A:
Most buildings in Disney’s Hollywood Studios that are not specifically mentioned. Rock n’ Roller Coaster (which now has this setup) had a rather short-lived MXL system when it first opened in 1999, as in the loading area near the control booth, there’s a gutted MXL annunciator cabinet.

Non-Voice Type 2:
Mickey Shorts Theater
Most of the shops on Sunset Boulevard

Non-Voice Type 3:
Tower of Terror

Non-Voice Type 6:
MuppetVision 3D
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater/ABC Commissary/BaseLine Tap House (although some of the old EHS-DL1’s have been replaced with Commander 3’s)
Stage 1 Company Store

Voice Type 1A:
The Disney Skyliner gondola station
Star Wars Launch Bay
Non-attraction buildings in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
Toy Story Mania

Voice Type 2:
Star Tours

Voice Type 3:
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
Most buildings in Toy Story Land

Unique systems:
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Panel: EST3, located near a service corridor by the first preshow room.
Pulls: SIGA-270’s

Signals: Integrity speaker/strobes in the first half of the queue…

…and a mix of Genesis (wall) and Integrity (ceiling) speaker/stobes in other areas.

The standalone restroom near the bus drop-off area
Pulls: RSG RMS-1T’s rebranded by Edwards

Signals: WG4 horn/strobes and Integrity remote strobes.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Non-Voice Type 1A:
Rainforest Cafe

Non-Voice Type 2:
The standalone restroom in the east end of the Pandora: The World of Avatar area

Non-Voice Type 3:
DINOSAUR (Exception: there are a couple ZNS’)

Non-Voice Type 4:
The standalone restroom near Kali River Rapids

Non-Voice Type 5:
Many of the original buildings in the park (built in 1998), such as guest relations

Voice Type 1A:
Most buildings in the Pandora: The World of Avatar area

Voice Type 4:
Conservation Station (this building has live animals so I’m guessing the signals are speaker/strobes.)

Unique systems:
Expedition Everest
Detectors: Siemens OOHC941’s

Signals: Wheelock Exceder LED speaker/strobes (rebranded), in the queue, along with E60’s in the loading area and ET70WP’s in the ride areas.

Disney Springs
I didn’t spend much time here, so there are some other systems here too.

Non-Voice Type 1A/1B:
Most buildings in areas other than Town Center

Non-Voice Type 2:
Most buildings in the Town Center area and some buildings in other areas

Non-Voice Type 4:
Some of the older buildings in the Marketplace area

Non-Voice Type 7:
Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ Restaurant

Voice Type 1A:
Some buildings with larger occupancy, including some restaurants
Cirque de Soleil
Parking garages (all 3 of them)

Voice Type 3:
Maria & Enzo’s Ristorante/The Edison (Exception: pulls are SIGA-278’s)
Paddlefish Restaurant
Splitsville Luxury Lanes

Voice Type 4:
Rainforest Cafe (there’s also at least one Wheelock E70)

Unique systems:
AMC Theatres
Panel: Simplex 4100
Pulls: 2099-9795’s
Detectors: Older TrueAlarms
Signals: 4904 strobes throughout, and a mix of 4902 and Wheelock E70 speakers, and some 4903 speaker/strobes here and there. An outdoor balcony near one of the entrances has Wheelock WM3T-24 strobes and ET-1010 speakers.

Boathouse Restaurant
Panel: Notifier NFS-320 or NFS2-640 (a guess, could be either)
Pulls: NBG-12S’
Detectors: FSP-851’s
Signals: SpectrAlert Advance speaker/strobes

T-Rex Cafe
Panel: Siemens FS-250 (there’s an annunciator at the entrance)
Pulls: HMS-S’
Detectors: FirePrints
Signals: SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobes. Very unusual for a Siemens system.

[Lightning_Fox]

EST Genesis at my high school

[kalebalarms]

[GentexGMH24]

this is one reason that Wheelock sued CP and Siemens back in 2008

[TheCarson116]

As far as any of us know the main reason Wheelock sued Siemens in the late 2000s was because Cerberus Pyrotronics/Siemens supposedly stole &/or knocked off Wheelock’s sync protocol (though you’re right, the design of their NAs might also have had something to do with it).

[GentexGMH24]

I started this because i recently saw an FCI rebranded FOS/Faraday 6120/5511 horn strobe and that got me wondering, should i create a post about rare fire alarms in buildings that other enthusiasts spotted?

[wiley209]

My college’s satellite campus in Canton, MA had a fire alarm upgrade several years ago, as part of the college migrating from Faraday to Notifier. But let me start from the beginning…

The building was originally built in 1976 as part of a vocational/technical high school, acquired by the college in 1985. It originally started out with a Standard Electric Time system (most likely an SET-7000 system, given the time period). I didn’t see any of the original pull stations, but the alarm signals were Standard-rebranded Wheelock 34 horns on SAV-4-5 light plates. There were also some Chemtronics 400-series heat sensors rebranded by Standard, and maybe an older smoke detector of some kind.
In the 1990s, the building upgraded to a Faraday MPC-2000 system, with an RDC-700 annunciator located at the main entrance. During that time and the 2000s, the pull stations were replaced with Faraday F1GT “Chevron” pulls, most of them surface-mounted with new backboxes and conduit. System Sensor 2451TH smoke detectors were also installed.
In the 2000s, many of the Standard horn/lights had the original incandescent light replaced with a Faraday 5508-B single-gang strobe as an attempt at being ADA-compliant. At least one (in the library) retained the original light. Some of the horn/lights got replaced with whatever Faraday called the U-MMT horn/strobes, mounted right onto the plate and with the light removed and taped over. One of the alarms was also replaced with a Space Age VA4 horn/strobe, and there was also a U-MMT horn/strobe surface-mounted on a 4x4 backbox (appearing not to replace any old alarms).

Some time in the early-to-mid 2010s, the building had a total fire alarm system overhaul. Of course, it’s a Notifier system, like the kind found in Brockton’s campus. I didn’t see the panel, but at a couple of entrances there was a Notifier LCD-160 annunciator with a Space Age Electronics graphic annunciator tied into it and curiously showing zone indicators, despite the system being addressable (I suspect it could be for the RTUs). I saw a few closet doors with “FIRE ALARM EQUIPMENT INSIDE” signs on them, so I suspect they might be transponder panels, and that the building has an NFS2-3030 system.
All of the old alarm signals and pull stations were removed and plated over. For the most part, the alarm signals are System Sensor SpectrAlert Advance P2R horn/strobes mounted in many areas; there is even one in each classroom. The restrooms have SR remote strobes. The pull stations are NBG-12LXs, and all but one of them have Stopper II covers with sounders installed over them. The smoke detectors are Notifier FSP-851s on the newer cone-shaped base, but there are also some on CO sounder bases. There are also some FST-851 heat sensors in the appropriate areas.

[BigKayCea]

St. James Episcopal Church (Grosse Ile Township)

Annunciators/panel:
<One older First Alert annunciator next to an eastern entrance (model unknown)

Detectors:
<One photoelectric detector in the garage (make and model unknown, but may be a System Sensor 2351 model)
<Several System Sensor 2424TH detectors in the northern fellowship hall

Pull stations:
<One older Edwards 270-SPO with the triangular Edwards logo in the education wing
<Two rebranded Sigcom t-bars–one by Ademco, and the other by First Alert

Notification appliances:
<System Sensor MASS2215ADA horn/strobes throughout the building
<One System Sensor MA-12/24 horn in a foyer connecting the education wing with the northern fellowship hall
<One Gentex GMS horn/strobe above an eastern entrance outside
<One Edwards 340 6" Adaptabel (circa 1960s?) in the education wing, presumably for class change

[BigKayCea]

Plymouth Arts & Recreation Complex (Plymouth) - This is probably among some of my favorite mixes of devices I’ve ever seen in the wild. Casually known as the PARC, this building served as the original Plymouth High School until 1970, then was converted to Central Middle School before closing in 2015 (most likely) in favor of a new middle school in Canton Township. Since that time, the property was taken over by a non-profit organization which converted the school into a mixed-use arts and recreation center. Most of the devices that I describe here are available for viewing in a 360-degree Google Street View virtual tour that a user created.

The main academic building was constructed in 1917; the current gymnasium, pool, and music room wings were added in 1951, and the last addition–commonly known as the “Annex”, came in the mid-1960s.

Annunciators/panel
<The current annunciators/panel are unknown, but presumably some kind of a National Time voice-evacuation panel (900 or 902-series) that may be tied into another panel.
<Given the devices I’m about to describe below, I’m guessing there was a Simplex panel that served as the electronic original control center for the system, but it most likely would have been added in the 1951 or mid-60s additions. According to some old fire evacuation plans still posted in some of the rooms, the signal coding for the old system consisted of “…a series of Claxton [sic] horns”, which suggests the panel may have been coded or set to a slow march time.
<Considering that the 1917 building is multi-story, it is plausible that there was a fire alarm pull-rod system in place at one time, but any traces of such a system are long gone.

Detectors:
<Gentex photoelectric/ionization detectors above elevator doors

Pull stations:
<National Time 641 devices throughout the building; there is one located inside The Z Spot Fitness Studio protected by a Sentry Manual cover, and is also the only pull station to have any sort of protection anywhere in the building.
<Interestingly, the 3rd floor of the 1917 wing contains remnants of a National Time 620M device; whether this replaced a broken pull station before or after a supposed Simplex system is completely unknown.
<All parts of the building have square/rectangular metal plates and/or backboxes over where the old pull stations used to be; while I don’t what devices (if any) were used in a pull-rod system, I would guess that the later electronic system used Simplex 4251-1 or 4263 coded or non-coded initiating devices.

Notification appliances:
<When the 1951 wing opened, Simplex 4037-2B horns were installed in that area as well as the 1917 wing (but possibly not both at the same time); most of these horns are still intact, but most have been painted over. The mid-1960s wing also had these same horns installed.

<There were also class change bells, too; most of them are gone, but still have the mounting plates intact. Given their design, I believe they were Standard Electric Time ASJ6 or MAJ6 models.

<In the Google virtual tour, the first floor of the 1917 wing had an exhibit by the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district showcasing the building’s history, which included two Standard Electric ASJ6/MAJ6 bells as well as a newer Edwards 340 4" Adaptabel! Sadly, this exhibit was gone when I visited the building.

<Outside, above the boiler room on an exterior wall facing north, there are two bells still in place; one is 6", while the other is 10". Both of these were mounted too high up for me to ID them, but I’m guessing they were Standard Electric devices, with one of them likely being used for the boiler room.

<The current system throughout most of the building consists of SSPK-9070W speaker/strobes, presumably rebranded by National Time under their own model. Many of these are weathered from age, and all of them have non-ADA strobes! They are also sparsely-placed, too; most of the classrooms–including the bathrooms, stairwells, and other places–do not have any sort of NAs inside them. Some of these speaker/strobes were wall-mounted over the old 4037-2B horns, interestingly enough.

<Weirdly enough, the Annex along with the 3rd floor of the 1917 wing contain National Time 624W-AV horn/strobes (rebranded from Faraday) mixed in with the SSPK-9070Ws. Even more weird is that these particular alarms don’t appear anywhere else in the building.

<Some of the SSPK-9070Ws broke over time and were replaced either with white National Time C4-series horn/strobes, or in the case of the men’s locker room, a red National Time C2/C3-series horn/strobe (rebranded Gentex Commander) that replaced a wall-mount SSPK-9070W. The main hallway of the 1951 wing has red C4-series horn/strobes replacing the SSPK-9070Ws and nowhere else.

<The third floor of the 1917 wing has one red Simplex 2901-9322 bell near a 624W-AV for some odd reason; whether this was used as a trouble bell or even a class change bell is completely unknown.

<According to the Google virtual tour, the Jack Wilcox Theatre (the 1917 wing’s auditorium space) used to have a National Time-branded Wheelock 7002T horn/strobe on the eastern wall. As part of a renovation project, it was removed and replaced by several white C4-series horn/strobes on the ceiling.

<Finally, the main hallway of the 1951 wing still contains remnants of a Standard Electric ASJ6/MAJ6 next to a projector horn! The projector cone is a Federal Signal P2R, while the horn itself is unknown–most likely a Simplex 4040 or 4050. Both of these are mounted on a rectangular plate.

Crazy system, isn’t it?

[Metrolink_YT (Metrolink Productions)]

Probably a beam smoke detector. The device “shoots” out an invisible laser beam and is reflected off that plate, to the device. When smoke breaks the beam, the system is activated. It is similar to the system used on automatic doors.

[BigKayCea]

Meadowbrook Congregational Church (Novi) - The original structure was built in 1984 with an expansion in 2002.

Annunciators/panel:
<Honeywell 6808 addressable panel, most likely replacing a smaller (and original) National Time panel based on paint scars

Detectors:
<None noticed

Pull stations:
<National Time 641 models

Notification appliances:
<Faraday 6120-5511 horn/strobes (with the non-ADA strobes, all rebranded by National Time)

It is unknown what the 2002 addition has since it was not publicly accessible, but assuming that the Honeywell panel is newer (the official website still offers this panel) and the rest of the system overall, it most likely would be Sigcom t-bars and Gentex Commanders/GMSs/SHGs, all rebranded by National Time.

[wiley209]

@wiley209

Blockquote
Well, that school has been undergoing a massive reconstruction project for a few years now. Much of the original 1961 campus has been demolished, except for the gymnasium wing, which is being renovated. A beautiful new state-of-the-art middle school campus is taking the place of the old structure. But what’s unique in this is case is the fire alarm system being utilized. Usually when such a school construction project happens in the Greater Boston area, they go with an EST voice-evac system. But here they bucked the trend and went with a Simplex voice evac system! And that’s not all; going from the photos online, the new system has TRUEALERT ES SIGNALS! These are really rare in the Greater Boston area, as usually they go with conventional TrueAlert signals, even if the Simplex system they’re on is addressable (and it usually is). It appears the norm is the lobbies and corridors and any larger areas having white Simplex TrueAlert ES speaker/strobes, each one with a TrueAlert ES remote amber “ALERT” strobe mounded underneath (no doubt as part of a new lockdown system or something). Classrooms have white ceiling-mount TrueAlert ES speaker/strobes and “ALERT” remote strobes. They also have Simplex TrueAlarm detectors, probably 4098-9714s. I didn’t see pull stations in any of the pictures, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they went with addressable dual-action T-bar pulls (i.e. the 4009-9006). The panel is obviously a Simplex 4100ES.

The way Weymouth went with a Simplex system for the rebuilt middle school greatly surprised me, as I was expecting them to go with EST as well, like when they built a newer elementary school and also expanded and renovated their high school at one point. But several of the other elementary schools already have older Simplex systems in place, as I mentioned before (mostly 4208 systems, if the panels hadn’t been replaced yet, usually with 4051 horns on 4040-60 light plates). Maybe that’s why they’ve started using Simplex again? (The other middle school building that once housed fifth and sixth grades had their Simplex 4208 system from 1974 fail at one point, so they replaced it with a Fire-Lite or Notifier system of some kind with SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobes.) I know Atlas Alarm Corp., a local fire alarm service company that once serviced Brockton’s school district’s fire alarm systems, was once based in Weymouth, but they’ve since been folded into the Arlington-based American Alarm and Communications Co., and for a while they continued servicing the Weymouth schools.

A correction; I found a video on YouTube showing some of the new safety measures in place…

New Weymouth school designed with safety and security in mind

The system is actually branded by Autocall! At 1:02 is a good shot of a “Mass Notification Local Operating Console” with an Autocall-branded 4603-9101 LCD annunciator integrated into it, and at 1:12 you can see one of the “ALERT” amber TrueAlert remote strobes with the Autocall logo on it.
I figured it was only a matter of time before I’d see an Autocall-branded fire alarm/mass-notification system installed in a Massachusetts school. Of course, “Autocall” is Johnson Controls’s idea of distributing Simplex products to non-Simplex fire alarm service companies that offer a proprietary alarm manufacturer option (like EST). I wonder if this means maybe here in the Greater Boston area, they’ll start using “Autocall” for new fire alarm/mass notification systems for newly-constructed schools or major renovation-expansion school projects instead of EST? (Though currently Lowell’s big high school is undergoing such an expansion-renovation project and they appear to be using “regular” Simplex, but that’s probably only because it’s a gradual project and the existing school alarm system uses a Simplex 4120 network, and so the completed renovated/expanded Lowell High will also use Simplex.)

[EdwardsFan]

I have seen Autocall stuff as early as 2019/2020. We used to service low income housing buildings, and they had me do these inspections at three 2 story walkups, with FA-1000s each. Only thing was, I felt useless doing so, as they were replacing the systems as I was there. They had a new Autocall 4007ES in the lobby (the FA-1000 was in their elec room), and they were installing new wiring, and all addressable devices. I saw a few of the Autocall T-Bars with the lip handle.

[randomperson]

Some more MBTA stations…
Alewife (Red Line)
I’ve previously mentioned this one, but there’s an upgrade happening!
The new system appears to have some sort of BG-12’s and Wheelock ET70WP speaker/strobes.

Ashmont (Red Line)
Pulls: FCI MS-7AF’s

Signals: Wheelock AS horn/strobes - the ones in the platform area are mounted in a rather unique way.

Boylston (Green Line)
Pulls: FCI MS-7’s (single-action)

Signals: Wheelock MT-24-LSM horn/strobes

Copley (Green Line)
Pulls: FCI MS-7’s

Signals: Wheelock MT horn/strobes

Haymarket (Green & Orange Lines)
Panel: Cerberus Pyrotronics PXL (a 1990’s-era non-addressable system), located in a closet near the Green Line platform.
Pulls: MS-501’s

Detectors: Chemetronics heat detectors and some System Sensor 5603’s

Signals: MC-series and Wheelock MT and AS horn/strobes, and some RSS strobes

Kendall/MIT (Red Line)
Pulls: FCI MS-7’s

Signals: SAE A32 strobe plates and Faraday 6140 horns…

…and one SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobe.

Revere Beach (Blue Line)
Pulls: Notifier NBG-12’s

Signals: Wheelock MT horn/strobes

Wollaston (Red Line)
Panel: Simplex 4100U, located near the back entrance past the fare gates. (Yes, it’s a 4100U, even though most of this system was installed in a 2019 renovation.)
Pulls: 2099-9139’s

Detectors: Thermoflex heat detectors

Signals: Wheelock ET70WP speaker/strobes

Wonderland (Blue Line)
Panel: EST3 (annunciator in lobby)
Pulls: RSG RMS-1T’s

Signals: Integrity speaker/strobes

[BigKayCea]

Frost Middle School (Livonia) - Originally built in 1963, the school follows a floor plan similar to that of Holmes Middle and Johnson Upper Elementary. A southwestern classroom wing, library, and the old West Gym (now the Auxiliary Gym) were added in the late 60s-early 70s; the most recent addition, the current West Gym, came in the early 2000s.

The school is currently on its third fire alarm system, which was added when the school was renovated in the summer of 2014.

Annunciators/panel:
<Unknown, presumably a National Time 900, 901, or 910-series voice-evac model

Detectors:
<Unknown, none noticed

Pull stations:
<Based on a couple of wall scars, the original pull stations were Standard Electric 200179 devices.
<The second system consisted of National Time 641 devices.
<The current system consists of National Time 541S-series t-bars (rebranded Sigcom models) behind Sigcom Stoppers.

Notification appliances:
<The original system most likely used Standard Electric 4-350 horns (surface-mount with trim plates) based on wall scars.
<In addition, there most likely were Standard Electric ASJ6/MAJ6 bells used for class change.
<The second system would have held on to the Standard Electric bells while replacing the horns with National Time-branded Faraday horn/strobes and strobes. This would have occurred during the 1990s.
<It is unknown if the later 60s-70s additions to the school would have had Standard Electric or National Time devices.
<The current system consists of National Time SG-CXLPSS-WH and SG-CXCLPSSZ-WH speaker/strobes throughout the building, plus National Time SG-CWPH-S75Z horn/strobes in the courtyards.
<The southeasternmost part of the school outside has a Viking sprinkler bell paired with a System Sensor P2RK device added as part of the 2014 renovation.
<Interestingly, there is a National Time 306 bell (rebranded Faraday 3430/Simplex 2901-9332 bell) still remaining in the new West Gym, but it is most likely disconnected since a new public address system was installed as part of the 2014 renovation.
<Prior to the 2014 renovation, the new West Gym would have had National Time C2-series horn/strobes and strobes installed.
<Outside, there are still 6" bells installed from the original system! Unfortunately, all the ones I saw were weathered to the point I could not make out the make/model, but I presume they would have been Standard Electric, or possibly National Time or even Edwards.

St. Timothy Presbyterian Church (Livonia) - This church was built in 1967 and renovated in 1998 per cornerstones outside. Despite the building’s age, the system here appears to be original.

Annunciators/panel:
<One black National Time panel in the main entrance vestibule (model unknown, 7000-series?)

Detectors:
<System Sensor 2424 photoelectric smoke detectors
<One First Alert SCO5CN detector wall-mounted in a fellowship hall

Pull stations:
<National Time 541S-series t-bars (rebranded Sigcom models)

Notification appliances:
<National Time 624W-AV horn/strobes
<Two unknown white, ceiling-mount speaker/strobes in the large room; they are similar in appearance to the Faraday/Wheelock/Siemens round speakers, but with the Faraday bubble strobe attached. Presumably, both are National Time rebrands.

[randomperson]

Those round Faraday “speaker/strobes” might be horn/strobes if they’re the only ones in the building. The horn/strobes and speaker/strobes use the same housing.

[s01sauc3]

Recently, I went with my dad to the dermatologists office. While I was there, I found some interesting life safety equipment.

Fci BG-12

White Wheelock NS

Cintas fire extinguisher. (Funny how Cintas makes clothes too.)

Some sort of a remote strobe.

Wheelock AS ceiling mount.