This is at a Connecticut Middle School, with a NFS2-640! It looks like it used to be some gamewell system, most likely a 7200 with voice, since the gym has e70’s, its intresting how the bathroom has mini-horns.
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That pull station should really be removed if it’s not in service. A nun-functional pull station could cause confusion, and could be very dangerous.
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Yeah, BUT this is in a non-student area, and almost NOBODY goes in the hallway, this is far from the classrooms
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Arts Academy in the Woods (Fraser, MI) - This was one of the more interesting places I visited (for an inaugural rummage sale), and also has one of the more unusual systems, too. Originally built as a grade school for Fraser Public Schools, this building later became a satellite campus for Macomb Community College (per an old labelscar on Caroline Street) before becoming an arts school since at least 2008. It was likely expanded at some point, too.
My visit was limited to the school’s cafetorium/gymnasium, but I found out about some of the other devices per photos of this school’s Google Maps entry and Facebook page.
Annunciators/panel:
<At minimum, a National Time & Signal Corporation (Natsco) 902 series annunciator tied into a vintage Honeywell annunciator with red trim. As evidenced by the devices below, there should be at least a Natsco 7000 series, a Natsco 2000 series, or a Honeywell panel still in use!
Detectors:
<At least one modern, but older Honeywell photoelectric detector (model unknown) down one hallway.
Pull stations:
<Natsco 641 units throughout the building. It isn’t known what the original pull stations were, but my guess is the ‘LOCAL ALARM’ variants of Honeywell’s S464A series, and/or Natsco Type 3500N units.
Notification appliances:
<Currently, Wheelock 34T-24 horns throughout the building, though some are Natsco rebrands. Previously, it would appear some parts of the school used Simplex 4037-1 horns or Honeywell’s rebranded version of them. Additionally, some Facebook photos show a Natsco P804 trouble bell in one hallway, and possibly evidence of Natsco 311 horns and at least one Natsco P806R or 411R unit once being used in other parts!
Other:
<Simplex STR 4017-60 class change bells in some parts of the building.
<Some Facebook photos show black Natsco P806 bells–some of the earliest P806 units Natsco produced!
<Outside, there are two Natsco recessed grilles, most likely containing Natsco P806 units.
Russell Industrial Center (Detroit, MI) - Originally built in 1915 as an auto body manufacturing plant, this complex was later converted to an arts and retail center. I could not find any pull stations, detectors, or annunciators/panels, but I did find a mix of old and new devices being used.
Notification appliances:
<System Sensor PC2R series horn/strobes or speaker/strobes throughout the complex.
<System Sensor P2RK horn/strobes outside.
<Black Grinnell and silver Viking sprinkler bells throughout the complex, which are also original units.
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O’Charleys (Elizabethtown, KY)
Wheelock MT-24-LSM Horn Strobes Thought The Dining Area
Wheelock RSS Strobes In The Restrooms
1 Fire Lite ANN-80 Annunciator In The Entrance
The Pulls Are Fire Lite BG-12LX
Sky’s The Limit (Elizabethtown, KY)
System Sensor Red Spectralert L-Series Wall Mount Horn Strobes In The Trampoline Park, And Party Rooms
Red Spectralert L-Series Wall Mount Strobes In The Restrooms
Red L-Series Ceiling Mount Horn Strobes In The Sky’s Cafe Area
1 Bosch Annunciator In The Entrance
2 Fire Lite BG-12LX’s In The Back Of The Trampoline Park
The Entrance And Sky’s Cafe Had Bosch Rebranded Sigcom T-Bars (Without The Push)
Hardin County Animal Care And Control (Elizabethtown, KY)
Spectralert Advance (Red, Wall Mount) Horn Strobes
DMP Rebranded Sigcom T-Bars
Bluegrass Sportsplex (Elizabethtown, KY)
Honeywell Annunciator At The Entrance
This Is Weird………… But They Had Red L-Series Celling Mount Horn Strobes But They Were Also On The Wall
The Pulls Were Honeywell BG-12LX’s
Menard’s (Elizabethtown, KY)
2 Fire Lite ANN-80’s At 2 Entrance
The Pulls Are Fire Lite BG-12LX’s
White Ceiling Mount L-Series Horn Strobes Throught The Area
Red Wall Mount L-Series Strobes In The Restrooms
Hobby Lobby (Elizabethtown, KY)
There Are White Ceiling Mount Spectralert Advance Horn Strobes
But There Were No Pulls, But I Don’t Know If There Was A Annunciator
Sam’s Club (Elizabethtown, KY)
There Was 1 Bosch Rebranded Sigcom T-BAR (With The Push) On The Entrance
There Were 3 Bosch Annunciators (2 At The Entrance, And 1 At The Pharmacy)
White Wheelock E90’s Throught The Store, Bakery, Cafe, And Auto Center
Red Weatherproof Wheelock E70’s Outside, THEY ALSO HAD THESE IN THE RESTROOMS
Kroger (But The One On Towne Drive, Elizabethtown, KY)
Only I Saw 1 Red L-Series Wall Mount Horn Strobe At A Entrance
Elizabethtown Peddlers Mall (Elizabethtown, KY)
Only I Saw 1 Bell And A Sprinkler Outside
Yeah! (not to mention the system being in alarm, as the BG-12 below that SpectrAlert is visibly activated as well!)
Yeah, as well as how that system is literally both voice & non-voice! (at least if that first NA is a speaker/strobe) Those Gamewell-branded Wheelock devices are rare too!
Wow…you oughta try to get that & anything else that’s in that bulding out if you can! (for preservation of course)
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Unfortunately, i am far from the school, so its unlikely if i would go to the school again.
That’s probably because the gym is considered an assembly occupancy while the rest of the school is considered educational. Large assembly occupancies have required voice evac for decades, but educational occupancies only began requiring it more recently. There was a similar situation in How do I find out what panel my school uses? - #12 by Mhgk
It is. The ES series was a series of horn strobes that looked like speaker strobes, but I believe those were discontinued by the time Wheelock switched to UL 1971 strobes and replaced with the MT.
It’s a reference to You've seen funny names for animals... - #69 by Mhgk
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Local pharmacy near me:
Originally, the location most likely had a Merlin Gerin type 4 system (basically a single-loop, panel with basic supervision, you open the detection loop, the panel goes in alarm) albeit a battery-powered one (with an integrated call point), although my memory is sort of fuzzy on that.
Interestingly, this location also has a very old security system, though what kind, I cannot tell, I know there is a Detection Systems branded PIR detector and an ESL 4x9-series (most likely a 449 w/ heat detection) detector. The security system is most likely a DSC system of some kind as those were fairly popular in my area.
That original fire alarm “system” (just a box with a sounder and a call point running off a 9V battery) has gone between 2018 and 2012 (the 2012 streetview of the location in question still show the old interior, then after this there’s no streetview past 2018) following renovations.
Now, for the current system:
- Panel: Most likely a Nugelec Type 4 “Planète”
- Call points: Nugelec MDS3000, only spotted one near the entrance, there may be more in the staff areas
- Sounders: Nugelec DSB3000
Nothing too unusual.
Now for the security system, as far as I can tell it’s abandonned in place, there was a outdoor siren on the building but it’s been gone for about a decade now. If they do take down the remnants of the security system, I’ll ask around (some of the staff here are friends of my family) and see if I can salvage it. Security systems aren’t my cup of tea but hey, I won’t say no to free devices.
City hall:
Same scenario, they had a hardwired (220V) Merlin Gerin system (type 4), although now that’s gone and replaced with a Nugelec Planète type 4 panel. Interestingly they kept the original KAC call points with the Merlin Gerin-branded “break glass” plates. What’s even more amusing is that in my collection, I have the EXACT same panel that they originally had (!)
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I’ve always been interested in the older European systems from the 70s and earlier. What sort of audible signals were common in France? Do you know more about other areas of Europe?
For the most part, we always had electronic sounders (and rarely voice evac systems, in larger buildings hooked up to the PA system, this is called a SSS or “Système de Sonorisation de Sécurité”), but from what little info I have way, way back before everything was standardized, it could either be mechanical horns (there was some Simplex 4051s found in France, and I know of a building that still has some, albeit abandonned in place). Sometimes it was mechanical outdoor warning sirens tied to a Masterbox-like system (long gone from all I know, and surviving info about the one in Paris is hard to find), in larger cities such as Paris you’d pull the masterbox, and it would activate a siren fitted with a coding damper at the nearest fire station and in smaller cities there was a call point on the city hall that was directly hooked up to the siren (matter of fact, I live near two towns that still have this system, Laigneville and Coye-la-Forêt) which would alert the nearby fire station.
I only have one such picture of a “siren call point” that I took in Mouy, I have not dared checking if it’s still active or not! (Mouy’s fire station has changed location, but the plaque shows the old address)
I can’t really speak for other parts of Europe besides UK (I used to watch a lot of UK fire alarm system videos too), but I trust @Croatian_fire_alarms can.
The UK has a mix of sounder, bells and sirens (yes, sirens, infamously the Gents of Leicester 1500 “the Strident”, I also have one in my collection) whereas in France it’s all standardized electronic sounders.
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I’d hope that it’s active. Otherwise, they should really remove that plaque and button. If someone tries to report a fire using that, and it doesn’t work, things could go very badly.
Radcliff Police Department (Radcliff, KY)
What I Saw Is A Unknown Horn On A 2903-9101 Light Plate And It Was Flush Mounted
Belk (Elizabethtown, KY)
There Are Several White Ceiling Mounted Spectralert Advance Horn Strobes Throught The Store
But There Were No Pulls
JCPenney (Elizabethtown, KY)
Outside The Salon Is A Red Autocall Bell
There Was Also A Bosch Annunciator Next To The Back Exit
Ralphie’s Fun Center (Glasgow, KY)
There Is A Notifier Annunciator At The Entrance
The Alarms Are Wall And Ceiling Mount Red Spectralert Advance Horn Strobes
The Pulls Are Notifier NBG-12LX
Rural King (Elizabethtown, And Glasgow KY Locations)
Both Have Honeywell Fire Annunciators
Both Have Fire Lite BG-12LX
The Elizabethtown Location Has Red Celling Mount Spectralert Advance Horn Strobes
While The Glasgow Has Red Ceiling Mount L-Series Horn Strobes
Best Buy (Okolona Location In Louisville, KY)
The Pulls Are Simplex 4099-9001
The Alarms Were Simplex Early Truealert (Quickalert) Wall Mount On The Ceiling They Are Horn Strobes
Dillard’s (Jefferson Mall, Louisville KY)
There Are No Pulls…….Sigh
The Alarms Are A Mix Of White Celling Mounted Spectralert Classic Horn Strobes
And Wheelock MT-24-LSM
And At Least A Red Wall Mount L-Series Horn Strobe That Replaced A Broken MT
Where Ya Bin (Formerly Bargain Hunt That Replaced Sears)
The Pulls Are Edwards SIGA-278
The Alarms Are White Wall Mount Edwards Genesis Horn Strobes Without The Fire Lettering
Former Big Lots (Southwest Louisville, KY)
There Was A Fire Lite ANN-80 Annunciator At The Check Out
No Pulls
The Alarms Are White Ceiling Mount L-Series Horn Strobes
Would you please make use of proper punctation, including commas, periods, & not capitalizing every single word? The rest of us would greatly appreciate it.
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Agreed. Though I recall the small grey rectangle above the button was a speaker/microphone assembly of some kind, maybe they repurposed it as an intercom? I haven’t set foot in Mouy since 4 years, so my memory is a bit hazy on this detail… I’ll have to go back there and check.
Though if it’s indeed not an intercom, I’ll forward that concern to the Mouy city hall, but as far as I know, if it were active, I would probably guess they would’ve removed it either way due to the potential of abuse.
Oh and fun fact, if you look up the address on the plaque, it leads to a gate that leads to some commercial building, the Mouy fire station itself moved elsewhere a long time ago (I’d guess somewhere in the 70s or 80s).
I believe some German fire stations also have a similar system, but I don’t have any more information other than that.
Anyways, I found some pics of my hometown’s city hall alarm system, I didn’t check if there was any sounders though.
First is the Nugelec (this one is new enough to be a Eaton branded one) panel, that replaced an earlier Merlin Gerin type 4 panel, second the original merlin gerin call point (which amazingly uses a glass pane rather than a membrane!) and finally a Legrand emergency shutoff station (break glass + button push) which is used to cut off power to the building in an emergency.
Merlin Gerin fire alarm systems were pretty common in my hometown, along with Legrand, but nowadays it seems that Nugelec/Eaton has slowly started popping up left and right, with the occasional Chubb system thrown in.
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That’s pretty interesting. I’ve never heard of anything like that before. Is that more common in France?
It’s also interesting to hear that Legrand makes fire alarm systems. They are one of the most common brands for electrical devices, such as outlets and switches in North America, but they don’t sell their fire alarm systems over here. Their electrical products do seem to be some of the highest quality in my experience, though, so hopefully the same can be said for their fire alarm systems, and their French market products. They are a French company, right?
Here are some examples of some new Legrand products that I installed in my grandparents’ house a few months ago:
This one has been doing its job well for over 32 years, and will likely continue to for decades to come:
Here’s a new 20 amp switch that we never actually used still in its box:
