With the closure and demolitiion of Brockton’s historic high school building, the alternative high school program that was there had moved into a building that once served as a private therapeutic school, built some time in the 1980s and with a gymnasium added in the early 2000s. The facility still has the existing Notifier system that was installed when the gymnasium was built. I didn’t clearly see the panel, but it looks to be an AFP-100 or AFP-200. The alarm signals are Wheelock AS horn/strobes, the smoke detectors are FSP-851s, and the pull stations are NBG-12LXs (many with Stopper II covers).
I’m surprised the system was left as-is; I thought they would’ve at least replaced the panel with a newer model (like an NFS-320 or something).
Botsford Elementary School (Livonia) - opened in 1953
Annunciators/panel:
Original system: Unknown, presumably a National Time & Signal Corporation (Natsco) 2000 series or earlier
Current system: Older GE/EST addressable model (circa mid-to-late 2000s?)
Detectors:
None noticed
Pull stations:
Original system: Unknown–wall plates in the original building where the old devices were are more square shaped than they are rectangular, though the old devices could have had mounting plates. If I had to guess, they were most likely Natsco Type 3500N break-glass stations. At some point, the school had a classroom wing addition, and wall scars from the old devices suggest there were Natsco Type 620M models.
Current system: GE/EST SIGA-278 models
Notification appliances:
Original system: Based on wall scars, they were Natsco Type 310, 311, or 331 horns. The classroom wing addition used Natsco Type 411F horns, and while the flush plates still exist, the horns themselves are long gone. Unlike other places I’ve visited, I did not notice any Natsco trouble bells.
Current system: GE/EST red ceiling-mount Genesis horn/strobes and strobes; there are at least three red wall-mount horn/strobes with the ‘FIRE’ lettering scattered about, however.
Other notes:
The school has a working Natsco bell system that is almost all original! It consists of P806 (black gongs), P806F (classroom wing addition only), and P810FG models, plus one red P804 in the gymnasium, but whether it was used for the original alarm system or is tied into the current bell system is unknown. All bells, to my knowledge, have the -LAKE- labeling on their tags, and are controlled by a Natsco master clock panel from the 1990s.
Very peculiarly, there are two hallways that meet with the main hallway in t-intersections that have two unknown bells at their corners! One has a 6" gong that was painted over with white paint and a flat square mounting plate. The other one is nearly identical, except that the gong is missing, but the gong’s mounting mechanism is still there. Both are mounted next to what I believe are recessed vintage emergency lighting, and both are very close to P806 bells nearby, so I have no idea what these could have been used for, if they’re even still used at all.
Just saw this today.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park, NY:
I- Visitor Center (built 2003)
- Panel: Simplex 4100U with Voice Evac
- Pulls: Simplex 4099-9006 dual-action T-bars
- N/As: TrueAlert speaker/strobes
- Smokes: TrueAlarms
II- Presidential Library and Museum (built 1941)
- Panel: Simplex 4100U with Voice Evac
- Pulls: Simplex 2099-9754
- N/As: TrueAlert Speaker/Strobes (on walls and ceilings)
- Smokes: TrueAlarms
III- Springwood Estate (this is where FDR lived and grew up) (Built 1826)
- Panel: Tied into security system or a small Notifier panel
- Pulls: Notifier BG-12s
- N/As: L-Series Speaker/Strobes
- Smokes: FSP-951s
IV- Stables (built 1880s)
- Panel: Unknown
- Pulls: Fire-Lite BG-12s
- N/As: Wheelock AS horn/strobes
If the smokes are FSP-751’s, then it has to be a notifier panel and then the pulls are BG12lx’s
Something strange happened with the fire alarm system at my doctor’s office.
They recently replaced all the Simplex 4903-9219 horn/strobes with conventional TrueAlert horn/strobes… but they’re the Autocall rebrand! Yet the system is still Simplex! And they still have the original Simplex 4020 panel from when the medical center was built in 1995, with a new Simplex 4009 IDnet NAC extender installed for the TrueAlerts! They also kept the existing pull stations (Simplex dual-action 2099-9761s and at least one replacement single-action 4099-9001) and smoke detectors (Simplex 4098-9701 (old-style) TrueAlarm detectors on 2-wire bases and at least one replacement 4098-9714 (new-style) TrueAlarm).
I’m guessing somewhere down the line they’ll be replacing the Simplex 4020 panel. Since Johnson Controls/Simplex is still servicing the system, it wouldn’t surprise me if they go with a Simplex 4010ES.
Very strange if you ask me since Simplex & Autocall addressable devices are supposedly not compatible with each other (unless the system is conventional, though that would mean that everything’s hooked to the 4020 via modules since the 4020 is addressable).
Autocall and Simplex conventional systems can be cross compatible with each other but I think the relay would be a temporary measure until they get the new Autocall system in place.
I dont think JCI still services this system or a different provider did the replacement.
Yeah. Given the Autocall TrueAlerts, it was likely NSG Life Safety, the local Autocall distributor (and currently the largest in the country), especially since they’re just one town over and they also have some former JCI/Simplex techs on staff (which is likely how they were also able to get those Simplex 4009 IDnet NAC extender panels). Autocall’s starting to become popular, since you’re basically getting Simplex products for a lower cost than directly from JCI.
Bartlett Arboretum Silver Educational Center, Stamford, CT:
- Panel: GE-rebranded EST3 (without voice evac)
- Voice Evac Panel: GE ANS100 (a rebranded Potter EVAX panel)
- Pulls: GE Vigilant SIGA-278s
- N/As: Genesis speaker strobes inside and Integrity speaker/strobes outside
- Smoke Detectors: GE/EST SIGA-PSes
I spotted this Autocall 4100ES at an apartment building that’s in the final stages of construction near my house. This is the first Autocall-branded system I’ve seen, and it’s the first time I’ve come across a 4100ES with the touchscreen display option.
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Autocall has become increasingly common in my area. I think they are starting to take off now.
Starion Sports Complex- Mandan, ND
Background Information:
This is a large sports complex that was built around 2017 to replace various other outdated sports facilities throughout the city, such as the All Seasons Arena (before it was changed from a hockey arena, to basketball courts), Farris Field (football), and the old gymnastics area on the upper level of the building that the city hall is in. That building is from the early 1900s, and currently has an 80s Edwards system with mechanical horn/strobes. The new building is owned and operated though a joint partnership with my city’s school district, and my city’s parks and recreation district. It has a gymnastics area, two hockey arenas, a meeting room, locker rooms, and one outdoor football field.
System:
Panel: Siemens Cerberus PRO Modular with voice evac
Notification Appliances: Most of the building has Siemens SE-MC-R speaker strobes, but the hockey arenas and gymnastics area have Siemens S-15WR 15w speakers, and ZR-MC-R remote strobes (many mounted on the ceilings). For whatever reason, the basement hallways also have separate speakers and strobes in the form of ZR-MC-R strobes on the walls, and SE-R speakers on the ceilings. There is also one small hallway that has two SE-MC-CR speakers/strobes, and one SE-MC-R speaker/strobe all just a few feet from each other in the hallway leading to the gymnastics gymnasium.
Detectors: Siemens OH921 addressable smoke and heat detectors (only outside of the elevator, as this is a fully sprinklered building)
Pull Stations: Siemens HMS-D pull stations
Pretty much every new 4100ES system made within the past decade will have it’s smart touchscreen rather than the old style with a basic LCD with some control buttons on it. Although an Autocall branded version of the 4100ES definitely is a rare find.
The colour touchscreen is a fairly recent option for the 4100ES, as the press release for the ES TSD on Johnson Controls’ website is dated September 2020. I’ve seen countless older (non-touchscreen) InfoAlarm displays on 4100Us and 4100ESs—they have indeed been around since the 2000s—but this is the first time I’ve come across the newer colour touchscreen in person. I’ve seen very few photos/videos of panels with ES TSDs in the wild.
Found this at my local Petco
St Catherine of Siena Parish Event Center, Trumbull, CT:
- Panel: EST2 with Voice Evac
- Pulls: SIGA-278s
- N/As: Genesis speaker/strobes
- Detectors: SIGAs
The Rt. 128 train station in Westwood, MA still has its’ original Simplex 4100 voice-evac system form 1999 in use, with a few replacement initiating devices. The panel is in one of the main entrance vestibules, and has a newer Johnson Controls service sticker on it.
The alarm signals in the station building are Simplex horizontal 4903 speaker/strobes. The pull stations are largely Simplex single-action 2099-9795s, but I saw a couple of replacement 4099-9001 single-action pulls and a replacement 4099-9006 dual-action pull (with LED indicator). The smoke detectors are 4098-9714 TrueAlarms; while most are the early version with the somewhat shiny head, there was also a newer model with the opaque white head.
The parking garage and train platforms have Space Age TVMAA speakers on A32 strobe plates and Simplex 2099-9138 pull stations (Sigcom rebrand) with Stopper II covers.
The Blue Hills Regional Technical School in Canton, MA was built in 1963 and added onto in 1976, and currently has a Notifier NFS2-3030 system. I didn’t see any traces of whatever the old system(s) were, but given the adjacent college building used to be part of the high school and was built in 1976 with a Standard Electric Time system, I’m guessing the rest of the campus also had that at the time.
The school’s Notifier system was installed around 2018-19, and it actually kind of unusual in that it has a mix of horns and voice-evac! Not the typical kind of setup where there’s voice-evac in high-occupancy areas like the gymnasium and auditorium, but some random occurrences of horn/strobes and speaker/strobes in several areas. There’s an NCA-2 annunciator in the main entrance vestibule, and the alarm signals are a mix of System Sensor P2RL horn/strobes and SPSRL speaker/strobes. Outside the main entrance is a SpectrAlert Advance SPSRK speaker/strobe, and in the main entrance next to the annunciator is a P2RL horn/strobe! Generally, the hallways, large rooms and classrooms have speaker/strobes, but there are also a few random horn/strobes in hallways and in offices. (They can’t be remote strobes, because they have the sounder grille on them.)
The pull stations are NBG-12LXs, and not surprisingly, they have Stopper II covers over them. The smoke detectors are FSP-851s on the later cone-shaped base.
As I already mentioned, the building that now serves as a satellite campus for my college also had a Notifier NFS2-3030 system installed, but this was in the mid-2010s, and it’s all horn/strobes (mostly P2R SpectrAlert Advances, but at least a couple that failed later on were replaced with P2RLs), except for the restrooms having remote strobes.
ACME Markets, Greenwich, CT (former A&P):
This system is super weird, and it just gets weirder! Originally, the panel was an EST2, the backup panel was a Fire-Lite MS-5012 (mandated by A&P), the pulls were SIGA-270s or 270-SPOs, and the notification appliances were Integrity horn/strobes.
Now, the panel has been replaced with an ES-50x and the old communicator panel still remains:
The pull stations are now BG-12s:
The notification devices are still the same:
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