The sprinkler system likely serves in lieu of the detection circuit, in that case only one pull station is required. In my area, this can only be done in buildings with a maximum occupancy less than 200, but AHJ codes in your area may be different.
I’ve seen weird systems like that quite a bit in Ohio. Many buildings constructed before the mid-2000s (and in some cases later) contain very few or no visible NAs. There’s a Walmart in Columbus that had one AS near the front of the store and nothing else visible, for example.
The 8-floor apartment building where my grandfather used to live in Brooklyn had no visible fire alarm devices other than standard household smokes inside each unit. Quite a far cry from typical New York practice, where everything gets a system with visible devices.
At a minor league sports stadium i went to last Saturday, they had SystemSensor SPSRK SpectrAlert Advance speaker strobes. I got pictures as up close as i could. I think they are set to 110 candela. In the interior parts of the stadium, they had Notifier NBG-12LX pull stations and flush-mounted. SPSR speaker strobes as well as FSP-851(A) addressable smoke detectors on B210L(A) bases. I am guessing the panel is a Notifier NFS/NFS2-3030. In one interior section, their was a flush-mounted Notifier LCD-160 annunciator. I have only seen those annunciators used with NFS/NFS2-3030’s, but i fail to see why the stadium, which is far from gigantic, would need a campus-class panel. An NFS-320 or NFS/NFS2-640 would of sufficed for the application, but i’ve never seen an LCD-160 used with either of those panels before, usually LCD/LCD2-80’s would be used with them. Also, on a quick non-fire alarm related note, they had BigAssFans Essence ceiling fans, which is awesome! First time i saw one in real life. Even on low, those things move a ton of air!
Links to pictures: SPSRK: https://s4.postimg.io/5wx382zd9/System_Sensor_SPSR_3https://cdn.thefirepanel.com/legacy/3092_6fd21bb48ddcf136c9e6c757ef70e19b.jpg
SPSRK 2: https://s13.postimg.io/ulvnfn6o7/System_Sensor_SPSRhttps://cdn.thefirepanel.com/legacy/3092_6fd21bb48ddcf136c9e6c757ef70e19b.jpg
SPSRK 3: https://s9.postimg.io/xsvmrvjdb/System_Sesnor_SPSRhttps://cdn.thefirepanel.com/legacy/3092_6fd21bb48ddcf136c9e6c757ef70e19b.jpg
Ceiling Fan: https://s10.postimg.io/649mveg21/Big_Ass_Fans_Essencehttps://cdn.thefirepanel.com/legacy/3092_6fd21bb48ddcf136c9e6c757ef70e19b.jpg
Ugh, my apartment building’s system went off for the first time I’ve lived here and it was pure hell. Alright, here’s what’s inside:
NAs: Simplex TrueAlerts set to continuous. Mind you, this building opened in 2013, so I don’t know why it’s continuous. Horn/strobes are in the hallways, common areas, and living room of each apartment.
Smokes: Simplex TrueAlarms. Smokes in the units are on sounder bases. There appears to be a ~5 minute delay from when the smoke activates to when it sets off the building. All sounder bases activate when the entire system activates and sounders are Code 3. Each bedroom has a smoke with sounder, as do living rooms and hallways inside units.
Pull Stations: Simplex dual-action T-bars under Stoppers. Unknown if Stoppers sound, nor do I intend to find out.
Annunciator: Simplex 4606 series located in lobby
Panel: Unknown, not in a publicly-accessible space. Likely Simplex 4010 or something similar.
i’d be surprised if there was a delay. normally one smoke sets off the local unit and sends a supervisory to the facp, and two smokes set off the entire building.
You’re probably right. 1 definitely sends a supervisory.
Alright, saw an interesting system today at the Mohonk Preserve Visitor Center in Gardiner, NY:
Pulls: Simplex single-action T-bars
NAs: White EST Genesis LED horn/strobes and remote strobes. This is the first time I have seen any LED device in person, so it was quite the treat. Markings on the walls indicate that the building likely once had the rectangular Simplex horn/strobes when built in 1998.
Panel: Unknown, but likely Simplex
Alarm went off again and I’m still questioning why they need to put a horn/strobe in each unit if all of the smokes have sounders that activate with the building alarm. Simplex sounders are bad enough. TrueAlerts on high volume continuous are deafening.
i’d be surprised if there was a delay. normally one smoke sets off the local unit and sends a supervisory to the facp, and two smokes set off the entire building.
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You’re probably right. 1 definitely sends a supervisory.
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Alarm went off again and I’m still questioning why they need to put a horn/strobe in each unit if all of the smokes have sounders that activate with the building alarm. Simplex sounders are bad enough. TrueAlerts on high volume continuous are deafening.
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Are you sure that all of the smoke detector sounders go off together? Usually for these applications, they are isolated sounder based that only activate if THAT smoke trips. And by the way, I’m pretty sure TrueAlerts don’t have volume selections
Alarm went off again and I’m still questioning why they need to put a horn/strobe in each unit if all of the smokes have sounders that activate with the building alarm. Simplex sounders are bad enough. TrueAlerts on high volume continuous are deafening.
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Are you sure that all of the smoke detector sounders go off together? Usually for these applications, they are isolated sounder based that only activate if THAT smoke trips. And by the way, I’m pretty sure TrueAlerts don’t have volume selections
I’m certain. Unsynched code 3. Panel is coded to continuous for the horns.
Northville Lumber Co. (Northville)
This business features the vintage black & silver Chemtronics heat detectors on the ceilings, which I thought was neat since I’ve never seen one of them in person before. There were no other NAs, pull stations, or other devices I noticed.
St. Kenneth Catholic Church (Plymouth Township)
-The church building contains National Time 641 pull stations, National Time-branded 7002T horn/strobes on trim plates, and the older-style ESL/System Sensor 2451 series photoelectric detectors.
-The social hall/grade school building (separate from the church) contains mostly NS horn/strobes, RSS strobes, and Grinnell RMS-series pull stations, which I thought was kind of unusual. Additionally, there is a white Gentex Commander device in the kitchen, and a National Time (Sigcom) 541-series pull station at a main entrance, presumably replacing one of the Grinnell pulls.
BCMS (6th-grade Middle School)
Fire-Lite MS-5UD FACP, which replaced the ESL 1500 that was in service when I was a student there.
Main Academic Hall (1941)
System Sensor P2R horn/strobes, replacing System Sensor MA sounders.
System Sensor MHR in the band room (installed 2011, no signal there previously).
System Sensor “Doorknob” Smokes (1451?)
ESL-branded RSG RMS-1T pulls.
Cafeteria (1941-below Main Academic Hall)
System Sensor MA sounders (Swept Frequency).
ESL-branded RSG RMS-1T pulls.
Ansul kitchen fire-suppression system.
Academic Annex–6 Classrooms (1962)
System Sensor MA Sounder (Swept Frequency).
System Sensor “Doorknob” Smokes.
ESL-branded RSG RMS-1T pulls.
Media Center (1962–below Academic Annex)
Gentex GMS-110WR (NOS—replaced an MA sounder in 2011…I watched the replacement during a media center visit in History class :lol: ).
System Sensor “Doorknob” Smokes.
ESL-branded RSG RMS-1T pulls.
Gymnasium–Both Levels (1937)
Faraday 5640 Horn (replaced an MA Sounder…have no idea where it came from :? ).
System Sensor MA Sounder (800Hz).
System Sensor “Doorknob” Smokes.
3 System Sensor i3 Smokes (replacements).
ESL-branded RSG RMS-1T pulls.
2 Fire-Lite BG-12 pulls replacing ESL pulls.
An abandoned Faraday (Couch-made) coded pull in a stairwell.
Mobile Units (7 classrooms+1 restroom unit)
Gentex Commander1 HS24-15/75WR Horn/Strobes.
Gentex Commander3 GEC3-24WR Horn/Strobe (replacement).
Wheelock AS-24MCW-FR Horn/Strobe (replacement).
System Sensor “Doorknob” Smokes.
No pulls.
Exterior
System Sensor MA Sounders (weatherproofed)(Swept Frequency).
System Sensor P2RK Horn/Strobes (replacements).
There are several abandoned Faraday Type 2 single-projector horns visible in the eaves.
All signals are unsycnhronized and either sound in self-Temporal or Continuous.
Elementary School-
(system upgraded 2010)
Simplex 4010 (w/annunciators)
Truealerts
Truealarm smoke detectors
4099-9003/9001 pull stations
Middle School-
(system installed 1999)
Simplex 4010 (w/annunciators)
Simplex 4903-9237 horns.
Truealarm smoke detectors (two are conventional in elevator lobby)
High School-
(system upgraded 1993)
Siemens Cerberus Pyrotronics MXL-IQ (w/annunciators)
Ummt’s
Siemens re branded Wheelock AS’s
hms-d and hms-s pull stations
fp-11 heat/smoke detectors
Edwards adaptahorn- not related to fire alarm system
Church-
(Original system- 1970’s?)
Edwards 6616
892-?b’s
270-spo’s
6250b smoke detectors
System Sensor i3’s
Some Edwards duct detector- don’t know the model number
Building Expansion (1999)
Silent Knight sk-5208 w/5232 annunciator
Gentex commander 2/3’s
Firelite bg-12’s
System Sensor i3’s
System Sensor duct detectors
Spectralert classic strobes (bathrooms only- other classrooms have Gentex strobes)
Wheelock 6" sprinkler bell
Wheelock 34-t on some sort of electrical box outside.
My work has a Simplex Voice system. Not exactly sure where the main panel is located, but we have pretty basic alarms. We have an annuciator located in the main lobby.
Trualarm smokes located near the elevators for recall (we have sprinklers in our building so we don’t have smokes located elsewhere). Simplex 2099-9797 T-bars for manual addressable initiation devices. For the notification devices we have a few.
Ground Floor:
TruAlert 4906-9153 Speaker Strobes
TruAlert 4903-9356 Speaker Strobes
Blue TruAlert Speaker Strobe on the blue wall in the main hall
TruAlert 4906-9103 Remote Strobes
TruAlert 4906-9101 Remote Strobes (cafeteria, training/meeting rooms)
In the stairwells you will find white TruAlert 4902-9717 speakers and TruAlert 4903-9103 remote strobes on the ground floor.
Each bathroom on every floor has a TruAlert 4903-9103 remote strobe.
Floors 2-7
4906-9104 Ceiling mount remote strobes
4906-9153 Speaker Strobes on the walls
The adjacent parking garage has Wheelock AS notification appliances and Silent Knight smokes for elevator recall.
America’s Budget Storage (Canton Township)
The office/retail building features a Faraday 6120-5511 horn/strobe on a trim plate and an Edwards 281A-series heat detector. I did not notice any other devices.
Lorraine Fabrics where my sister works is inside what used to be an old mill. The alarms in there are Wheelock MTs and the pull stations are Simplex “Lift and Pull” pull stations. Near the stockrooms there is also what looks to be Commander3 with an amber strobe. Not sure if that is part of the fire alarm system or if it is for another alarm. There are MT strobes in the restrooms.
What I found interesting was that around one or two of the MTs, I could make out a rectangular imprint on the wall. From an old system perhaps?
The Roche Bros. supermarket in Easton, MA where my brother used to work had a fire alarm upgrade of sorts. Previously they had an addressable Gamewell system of some sort, with addressable Gamewell Century pulls (some branded by Easton Electronics) under Stopper II covers, and a mix of wall-mount Wheelock NS and ceiling-mount Wheelock AS horn/strobes, all on Code 3. Now they have some kind of Silent Knight system; the Gamewell pulls were all replaced with Silent Knight -branded addressable BG-12 pulls (they kept the Stopper covers), and I also saw a newer System Sensor/Silent Knight addressable detector (whatever SK calls the addressable 2151T.) They kept the Wheelock AS and NS horn/strobes in all of this.
My local church finally got a fire alarm upgrade. The original system was an Edwards 2280, with Edwards 270-SPOs and A mix of Edwards 439Ds and Edwards Durabels. The entire system was replaced with a brand new Notifier system. The new alarms are now Spectralert Advances, with Notifier ‘T-BAR’ style pull stations. Seems that a lot of systems around my city are being replaced with a Notifier one.
I’m pretty sure that soon SpectrAlert Advances will be the ONLY alarm anybody ever sees.