Oh? Definitely another component to save for sure then!
I’d like to see one with out the chrome plate. I’m trying to draw one and the chrome plate is making it more difficult.
What makes it dangerous? It does look quite odd.
Some of the older ones use radium instead of americium-241. Radium is a lot more radioactive and can be dangerous to be around for long periods of time even at the distances you might be at in that room.
Ah. That makes sense. Don’t want to stay close to that detector for too long!
Not only that but they also have an electric shock hazard since their shell is made out of metal rather than plastic! (which can happen if they’re miswired according to a Reddit user)
In addition to that several Reddit users say that if knocked even a little bit they may leak said radiation, which is incredibly dangerous to inhale (there really were lower manufacturing standards back then weren’t there?).
Buffalo Wild Wings- Moorhead, MN
Panel: Mircom FX-400 (Probably)
Notification Appliances: Mircom FHS-240R horn/strobes
Pull Stations: Mircom MS-710APU devices
Detectors: I didn’t see any, but him sure there are some somewhere (although it is a sprinklered building)
Delta Hotel- Fargo, ND
Original System (1996-2022?):
Panel: Cerberus-Pyrotronics MXL-V
Notification Appliances: Wheelock E-70 speaker/strobes (With vertical LSM strobes) and remote speakers
Pull Stations: Cerberus-Pyrotronics MS1-10B addressable pull stations
Detectors: Cerberus-Pyrotronics FP-11 smoke detectors and FPT-11 heat detectors
New System (2022?-Current):
Panel: Likely a Potter AFC-1000V
Notification Appliances: Potter SPKSTR-24WLP speaker/strobes, S-24 remote strobes, FASPKR remote speakers, and some Wheelock E-70 remote speakers from the old system that are being reused
Pull Stations: Potter PAD100-PSSA addressable pull stations
Detectors: Potter PAD200-PD addressable smoke detectors and Potter PAD100-HD addressable heat detectors
This is the largest Potter system that I have seen. This building is pretty large. It is 6 stories and at has many rooms, restaurants, bars, a large indoor pool, and a very large convention center. I believe they were just finishing up the install on this new Potter system when we stayed here in the fall of 2022.
Midway Lanes- Mandan, ND
Sorry I’m posting so much at once lol.
This is a fairly large building. It consists of a fairly big bowling alley (52 lanes), an arcade, a restaurant, a bar, two stores, and 6 party rooms of various sizes, among other things. It was originally opened in 1961 as an average size-small bowling alley with 20 lanes, but it has been expanded many times since then and had many renovations. The most recent expansion was in 2021. That added a store, the restaurant, and the arcade. That 2021 expansion is also what brought the fire alarm system. Before 2021, the building had no fire alarm system (although it has had a sprinkler system since an addition in 2004). Interestingly, it had the same owner from 1967 to 2023, when he finally retired.
Panel: Probably a Potter AFC-100
Notification Appliances: Everywhere except the newest addition has Potter CHS and CS ceiling-mount horn/strobes and remote strobes. The newest addition has Potter HS-24 and S-24 wall-mount horn/strobes and remote strobes.
Pull Stations: None (possibly a PAD100-PSSA pull station by the panel, but I can’t go in the panel room as it is behind a locked door in the arcade)
Detectors: Potter PAD200-DUCT duct detectors (there is probably a PAD200-PD smoke detector in the panel room)
I also saw this interesting fail in one of the party rooms the other day:
Also, I think they should have installed ceiling-mounted horn/strobes in the arcade because most of the wall-mounted ones are blocked by arcade machines.
I recently attended an event at a hotel near my house. In addition to a hotel, the building, which was completed in 2018, houses condos and an art gallery. The system is Notifier NFS2-3030 with at least two LCD-160 annunciators. The initiating devices are Notifier N-MPS-2A pull stations (some of which are mounted next to FT-300 firefighters’ phones, as shown below) and FSP-851 smoke detectors.
The signals are the most interesting part of the system, as they consist of a mix of SpectrAlert Advance and L-Series devices:
- The small reception room in which the event was held has a ceiling-mount Advance speaker and a ceiling-mount L-Series speaker/strobe, while the elevator lobby/hallway leading to this room has a wall-mount Advance speaker/strobe and a ceiling-mount L-Series speaker/strobe.
- The washroom near the reception room has a ceiling-mount Advance speaker and a wall-mount Advance strobe.
- The main lobby has ceiling-mount Advance speaker/strobes.
- According to photos I’ve seen online, the hotel suites use wall-mount Advance speaker/strobes, while the condo units use wall-mount L-Series speaker/strobes.
The signals are white, and the speaker/strobes and remote strobes feature bilingual lettering.
While the devices themselves aren’t particularly interesting, it’s peculiar to see a system that uses a mix of two different generations of devices in such a random manner. Systems featuring different generations of devices aren’t an uncommon sight, but this one is unusual as the mix is original to the building rather than being the result of devices that were replaced or added over time.
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I’ve seen a similar mix of devices on a Johnson Controls rebranded 3030 system in my area. The system was installed around the same time. Most of the building has red Advance speaker/strobes, but some areas have white L-Series speaker/strobes.
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I have a few of these flush mount assemblies and about fifty detectors. All of mine are the less potent Americium 241 variety, although they still contain 80 microcuries. That’s at least eighty times more potent than standard 1 microcurie or less detectors.
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Yeah: no wonder Statitrol had more success with their low-radiation ionization detectors even if Cerberus was technically the first maker of them!
The Terrace | Basic Care Community- Bismarck, ND
Sorry I’m posting so much at once lol.
This is an assisted living center that was built in the 90’s. It is meant for lower income residents. Despite this, it is an extremely nice place. Although they haven’t really done any updates in the life of the building, it still feels pretty nice and modern. It has I nice and atmosphere. It was a state-of-the-art building when it was built, and it has held up incredibly well. They also still have the original fire alarm system, which is pretty much unchanged from opening day, aside from a few replacement devices.
Panel: Simplex 4002 (with a two-bay cabinet). It is located in the front entrance.
Notification Appliances: Mostly white Simplex 4903 mechanical horn/strobes (can be seen in some of the photos above). They also have a few red TrueAlert horn/strobes that have replaced failed devices.
Pull Stations: Simplex 2099-9754 pull stations
Detectors: Mostly Simplex 2098-9201 smoke detectors. They have a few replacement TrueAlarms.
This is a sprinklered building.
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J.A. Lanigan Elementary School (Farmington Hills, MI; built in 1965 with a gym wing expansion circa late 1990s)
Annunciators/panel:
Original system: Unknown, presumably a National Time and Signal Corporation (Natsco) 2000-series unit
Current system: Natsco 7000-series unit
Detectors:
<System Sensor 2400-series photoelectric units
<One Notifier NP-100R photoelectric unit replacing a broken 2400
Pull stations:
Original system: Unknown, presumably Natsco 3500Ns or 620Ms
Current system: Natsco 541-S t-bars (rebranded Sigcom units) with one in the gym wing expansion protected by an unknown plastic cover
Notification appliances:
Original system: Natsco 411F horns, all of which remain intact albeit disconnected
Current system:
<Gentex SHG horn/strobes
<Gentex GMX strobes
<Natsco SG-C4HSZ horn/strobes (rebranded Gentex units)
<One red Natsco 4" trouble bell (rebranded Faraday unit), most likely replacing an original P804 unit
Other:
<Natsco P806R class change bells from the original system, all of which are still intact
<One white, surface-mount Natsco 6" class change bell (rebranded Faraday unit) in the gym wing expansion
<It is unknown if this school ever used outdoor class change bells, but there are wall-mount square Dukane speakers which may have replaced them
Washington-Dulles International Airport (IAD) - C and D Gates
Panel: Siemens Addressable Panel (Likely an MXL)
Pulls: MSI-20Bs
Detectors: DI-X3s (Or ILI-1s) and FP-11s
AVs: UMMT-MCSes
International Music Camp- Dunseith, North Dakota/Boissevain, Manitoba
This is a summer camp that is located in the International Peace Graden on the border of the United States and Canada. I attended this camp in the summer of 2022 (their first year open since the pandemic).
Camp Map:
As you can see in the above map, I have circled each building that has a fire alarm system.
Alme International Arts Centre/Frances Leach Library (Opened in 2008):
Panel: Simplex 4010
Notification Appliances: Simplex TrueAlert SmartSync horn/strobes
Pull Stations: Simplex 4099-9001 addressable pull stations
Detectors: Simplex TrueAlarm addressable smoke detectors
Burdick Center for the Performing Arts (Opened in 1995):
Panel: Probably an EST 6616 or similar
Notification Appliances: EST “Pre-Integrity” 792 series horn/strobes and the remote strobe equivalents
Pull Stations: EST 270-SPO conventional pull stations
Detectors: Edwards 6270B (or similar looking) smoke detectors and Edwards mechanical heat detectors
Wright Hall, Boundy Hall, Feldbrill Hall, Hathaway Hall, Mayer Hall, and Bert Hall (As far as I can tell, all opened in 1994):
These are all similar dorm buildings with almost identical systems.
Panels: Either Simplex 4001 panels or 4004 panels
Notification Appliances: Simplex 2901-9838 horns on 4903-9105 strobe plates. These are even in the bathrooms. Most of them are mounted on the ceilings with ceiling fire lettering, but the ones in the bathrooms are on the wall with wall lettering. Interestingly, all of the horns are mounted sideways on the strobe plates.
Pull Stations: Simplex 4251-20 conventional pull stations
Detectors: Simplex 2908-9201 conventional smoke detectors on 2098-9211 bases
Side Note: I bet the mechanical horns work similarly to low frequency sounders when it comes to waking people up.
Storm Warning System: In 2022 (actually a few days before I attended the camp), a Federal Signal 2001-130 siren was added on the west side of the Burdick Center. This siren will sound in case of any life threatening weather to warn people to get to the shelter. It is actually a very important siren because the camp has a strict no electronics policy. Because of this, the siren is the only way to know about an emergency situation.
This is a follow-up to the post I made about MCC Omaha FOC building 23. Here are some pictures of the system.
So the directory and bell behind the grill is probably going to get removed in a future renovation, and the school is going to get L series led speaker strobes.
Alright. Will you be salvaging/saving them when that happens though?