Lol. I bet they’re bolted to the floor
I didn’t notice how it was attached to the floor, but it is indeed most likely bolted. The yellow tubular poles on which certain devices are mounted in this building are attached to the floor with four beefy bolts.
The angle from which I took the photo makes it seem like the annunciator is over the table, but the tubular frame goes straight to the floor—there’s nothing beneath the annunciator. It certainly looks fragile with the skinny frame; I’m sure, however, that the frame was designed to remain solidly upright if someone or something leans against the annunciator (it’s likely not much different from a floor-mounted handrail/railing or sign/display board). If it’s still standing perfectly after 28 years, I don’t think there’s much of a risk of the annunciator toppling over.
Last weekend, I attended an event at a former elementary school that was recently converted into a multi-use facility. The building has a new Mircom FX-2000 system. The signals are a mix of bells (mainly Edwards 6100D Durabels, although I also saw Mircom BL-6/10s and an Edwards 439D-10AWC) paired with Mircom FS-400-RR strobes:
I found this combination quite unique. I came across a photo showing this room before the system was upgraded, and it seems that the Mircom strobes are replacing older strobes; the previous strobes look like they were perhaps Wheelock LSMs or Faraday models. I’m surprised that the bells and strobes weren’t simply replaced with FHS-400 horn/strobes during the upgrade.
Considering Canada’s long history of using bells in fire alarm service (long after the US stopped using them as far as I can tell), I’m honestly not surprised at all that they were left in place. Neat combos regardless though.
Newark Liberty International Airport - Newark, NJ
Terminal A
Panel: Siemens Addressable Panel
Pulls: Addressable Chevrons
Detectors: OP921s
AVs: ST-CMC-W-MS-ALERTs, SLSCW-ALs, and SLSWW-ALs (Voice evac tied to main intercom system)
Terminal B (I haven’t been in there since 2021 so either things might’ve changed or I don’t remember correctly)
Panel: Cerberus Pyrotronics Addressable Panel
Pulls: MSI-20Bs
Detectors: DI-X3s and possibly some FP-11s
AVs: UMMT-MCSes, MTL-S17s, and ZH-MC-Rs
Terminal C
Panel: Siemens Addressable Panel
Pulls: Addressable Chevrons
Detectors: FP-11s and FPT-11s
AVs ZH-MC-Rs, ZR-MC-Rs, and AS-HMC-Rs
The local Saks Off 5th got a fire alarm panel upgrade!
The store is part of a planned redevelopment of a former Lord and Taylor, with the planned development having multiple medical offices and storefronts. From 2012 to 2024, the panel was originally a Fire-Lite MS-9200UDLS, the pulls were Fire-Lite BG-12s and BG-6s (original to the building as it was built in 1966), and the notification appliances were SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobes on the wall and the ceiling.
Now, the panel was upgraded to a Honeywell Fahrenhyt series panel, the pulls are now the Honeywell Fahrenhyt rebrand of the BG-12, and the notification appliances remained the same. Quite an interesting system, you may think. The building could have either gotten voice evacuation for its large size or L-Series LED horn/strobes to replace the xenon Advances.
ICWU/UFCW/ Walter L. Mitchell Building–Akron; built in 1969
Panel: Simplex 4247-4 without master code generators
Initiating devices: pull stations–mid-century Simplex “chevron” units (4251-1(1(1); automatic detectors: none or only in mechanical and storage rooms (I have no idea)
Signaling devices: Simplex 4017-03 vibrating 10 inch bells and a few newer Simplex bell/strobes in some of the offices
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Capital Building of North Dakota-
Bismarck, ND
Old System (2012-2023?):
Panel: Simplex 4100U with voice evac
Notification Appliances: Simplex TrueAlert SmartSync speaker/strobes
Initiation Devices: Addressable Simplex TrueAlarms and T-bars
New System (2023?-Current):
Panel: Autocall 4100ES with voice evac
Notification Appliances: Autocall TrueAlertES speaker/strobes
Initiation Devices: Addressable Autocall TrueAlarms and T-bars
Note: This building is from the 1930’s and these are not the only systems.
Fun Fact: This is the tallest building in ND at 242 ft. with 14 floors. There can be no taller buildings built in ND.
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That’s a nice vintage system: wouldn’t surprise me if it’s one of the few left in North America that still has that old of a system still in operation (including with bells).
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there is an elementary school school that’s a few years older not far from this building that has the same hardware, but except with single stroke bells (mounted in the reverse direction). Old School Fire Alarms knows about this building. there are lots of buildings that still have original fire alarm systems in use.
I just found an apartment building in the rubber city that has my holy grail–the IBM/Simplex 4037. This is the second building that I have visited that has those, and I didn’t think they were in my area until recently
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Unfortunately, my area is pretty small so all of the buildings that are old enough to have possibly had some of these rare systems were too small to have a fire alarm system at the time or have just been upgraded.
Oh, okay.
What?
Cool!
Staples - Consumer Square - Mays Landing, NJ
Panel: Unknown
Pulls: FireLite BG-12s
Detectors: System Sensor DH400 duct detectors
AVs: Wheelock MT-24-LSMs
The vibrating bells Simplex STR bells are Installed with the mounting plate set screw at the bottom; single stroke units are upside down
From the way you put it it sounds like both types of bells are mounted upside-down: are they? (& why for that matter?)
no, they are not.
take a look at this brochure page from the mid 60s: https://cdn.thefirepanel.com/original/2X/b/b97af715cb70ee09d27afc6715d39503dd7dfdcf.jpeg you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Oh I see. Huh, unusual choice if you ask me.
Sounds like a very interesting system
Showboat - Atlantic City, NJ
Island Waterpark
Panel: Notifier NFS2-3030
Pulls: NBG-12LXes
Detectors: FSP-951s and FCO-951s
AVs: System Sensor SPSRLs and SPSCRLs, and at least one EST LED Genesis ceiling mount speaker/strobe
Lucky Snake Arcade (Former casino floor)
Panel: Unknown conventional panel (Unless monitored by the 3030) tied to an EST addressable panel
Pulls: I didn’t see many, but I saw a Simplex 4251-30 and a SIGA-278
Detectors: ESL 711Us, At least one System Sensor 2451, and at least two SIGA-PSes
AVs: Wheelock ET-1080-WM-24s speaker/strobes, ET-1080 speakers, WMT-24 strobes, Genesis speaker/strobes, Integrity speakers, and Integrity strobes
