Has anyone ever been in a random building when the fire alarm went off? It can be a false alarm. I personally have not, but I have been near a building that I think had an activation.
I was at a Wal-Mart one day while they were doing testing if that counts.
I have a few events that I can faintly remember, but only one comes to mind at this moment.
I used to attend swimming lessons at a YMCA near my hometown. It was some time in December, we were warming up for lessons that day when the fire alarms went off! It wasn’t a drill, since we stayed outside for awhile. I think we were told to leave and lessons got cancelled, and I also believe the fire department was notified. Never heard about a fire, and things were back to normal not long after this.
No clue what system they had since it’s been years, but I believe they have Wheelock ASs; likely weatherproof in some areas since there’s a few pools in the facility. I just remember it being very loud on continuous.
P.S. While I was in the water before the fire alarms started, I think we warmed up enough that going outside in December winter temperatures wasn’t all that bad, surpisingly.
My town’s event center/indoor stadium has a Simplex 4002 or 4005 system. The area I was in at the time has Simplex 4903-9101 strobe plates with Wheelock eh series horns on them. I was at an event when the alarm went off. The horns sounded in continuous but we’re not all that loud because the devices were mounted on the ceiling about 40’ up. It was crazy because there were probably 50 unsynchronized strobes in the same room.
for me I remember when the alarm went off during a job interview for my current job they were just doing testing.
Back in December, I was at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium for the ZooLights event. Right after I got my chicken tenders and fries and sat down (Which is my favorite food of all time) the EST Genesis activated and later I could smell something burning. However it was just a false alarm.
It was the first time I got to experience an EST Genesis horn strobe as well since none of my schools had it.
Another time several years ago when South Hill Mall still had it’s Regal theater ( @CaptainChris I think you might remember this too) Right after I got out of the movie theater into the mall I saw the SpectrAlert Classic Speaker Strobes on the ceiling were all flashing but not making any sound at all. Keep in mind this mall also has a seperate speaker system that music and announcements play over but the voice evacuation system probably wasn’t working or it may have been silenced right away. It took like 10 minutes for the strobes to be turned off and nobody knbew why it was flashing.
Wait so your another Washington enthusiast ay?
And yes I have seen alarms going off outside of school before.
I think the first time was during the 2013 or 2014 color run at the Washington State Fair in the showplex. The powder set off the beam detectors. They have a SK System with a safepath with Wheelock Speaker strobes.
The next time I think was at a wrestling, and there was a kid who was kinda bad who one day pulled the alarm again, I never saw him again so I think he got arrested. It was in a portable at a high school or college near midland. I remember there was a BG12 and Advances.
And I have heard some of the alarms at South Hill mall, I was in the bouncy house place I think they used to have IDK if its still there. And they where do a walk test I think. That area has White Advance Horn Strobes.
Lastly, my aunt used to work for Security at Pierce College, and I was there for a bell test in the Library building in 2018. Which they have a Simplex 4100ES and Simplex 4903-9219’s. I do have a video from thar day on my YT.
I did not go to the zoo lights in 2022. I have been there before. EST is pretty normal for the area tbh.
Isn’t that the same video you put on my Google Photos album?
1 Like
I was in NYC for a vacation and I was walking down the sidewalk and the fire alarms went off in the building right next to me, I think they were Wheelock ZNSs. I might be able to provide a video.
1 Like
Yes I also examine quite a lot of systems in my state (I think we also both live in the same county even).
I remember the Mattress Firm ShowPlex there has Wheelock STH-4MS-R on it’s very tall ceilings with some Wheelock - ET70-241575W-FW on the walls with some of the rooms towards the back have a SpectrAlert Classic speaker strobe on the ceiling.
The bouncy house area that South Hill Mall has I think you’re referring to is Super Jump Party Zone and yes it is still there fully operational. There was a play area several years ago right in between that area and WiggleWorks (which has SpectrAlert Classic speaker strobes in it.
And yes this is the same video I put in your album of the EST Genesis activation, all the media I save to my android devices automatically back up to google photos so I select the ones I save from my camera into there. I’ve seen EST Genesis horn strobes and SIGA pull stations at Multicare’s Sunrise medical campus as well and I’ve found 3 EST distributors in Tacoma so yeah it’d be pretty common.
BTW I’m planning on making a YouTube video of the South Hill Mall’s Fire Alarm Systems just like I did with Capital Mall in Olympia, IDK when I will yet.
1 Like
Had this happen today at Aventura Mall, just before I was about to leave for the night, the main sections fire alarms went off. In case you’re wondering, it’s a Siemens system, Replacing an older Pyrotronics system, With a mix of Siemens/Wheelock and CP speakers, speaker/strobes, and strobes. I honestly thought this was the Real thing when I first heard it, and initially proceeded to head out for the emergency exit but it’s shut off as I was about to head through so I assumed it was a false alarm. Secondly, there was no public address system announcement saying something like “Attention all customers: this is a false alarm, please disregard the alarms“ Or “EVACUATE! To a location. EVACUATE! To a location.” Oh, and the fire department showed up too, as I was about to get my Uber back to the hotel.
A similar event occurred at Florida Mall Back in 2016, Simplex system, of course, with true alert horn strobes And strobes.
Word of advice if you’re ever in a mall And the fire alarm sounds… Don’t sit still, Do the drill!
1 Like
Yes, me and my family were driving to Hudson Yards, we pased through a advanced going off outside.
1 Like
Ooooooh cool I am yet to hear an advance in person
i was inside of a restaurant that had a system and they burnt food and i heard spectralert classics
Aside from the EST3 voice evacuation system that activated at the Hyatt Regency recently, you’ll get to hear a lot of Gentex Commander 3 NA’s in downtown Seattle quite oftenly.
Someone pulled the fire alarm at my brother’s piano recital a long time ago. They had an sk system with ASes and SpectrAlert advances