I would like to know what panel my school uses. I think it is some sort of EST panel, but I want to ask to make sure. Who should I ask and how should I ask them? I asked my school if I could help out with the next fire drill, but they said no, so I don’t know how else I can ask.
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You might be able to go with the clues that the system itself is giving you, such as what devices are visible (since systems often have devices that are the same brand as the FACP).
If it’s a voice evac system then you can also compare the voice message to ones found online. It’s not 100% reliable but it is another data point.
If the detectors are addressable, then they must be from the same brand as the FACP, so this is probably the most reliable feature to check. I assume you didn’t find an annunciator near the main entrance.
Yes, though of course you have to actually hear the system sound to know what the message is, which is very unlikely to happen, heh.
Yes, but really any of the devices, whether it’s detectors, manual stations, or annunciators, are often fairly-reliable indicators of what kind of panel a system has.
Can you give us an overview of everything you do know about the system? Maybe we can help you then. The rough time period that it would have been installed would also be helpful if you have any idea.
The system has EST 270-SPO pull stations and EST Genesis Xenon strobes/horn strobes in most areas. There are also EST Genesis Xenon speaker storbes in the gym and cafeteria, but I don’t know what message they use. The portables have 270-SPOs with SpectrAlert Advances/L-Series, as well as heat detectors that I don’t know the brand of. The new building has EST Genesis LED horn strobes and EST 278 pull stations. I don’t know if the initiating devices are conventional or addressable, but the system is most likely addressable since it has voice evac. The school opened in 2006 and the new building was completed in 2023.
I’m thinking there’s a good chance it’s an EST3. If there’s annunciator that you can see, that could also help us narrow it down.
There are no visible annunciators. An EST3 does sound right for my school.
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yeah, either an EST3 or an EST2 is most likely just from the devices. Probably a 3
dentalpharynx tried asking to help with the next fire drill, so the system presumably sounds during every drill. It seems that the school doesn’t have voice evac though.
What is the occupant load of the new building? NFPA and ICC both require voice evac in new educational occupancies and when systems are replaced in existing educational occupancies, unless the occupant load is under 100.
ICC requires new systems above a certain size to be addressable, which makes it more likely to be addressable.
The school does have speaker strobes, but I have never been anywhere where they are located when the fire alarm system was activated.
The gym and cafeteria seem like they could double as assembly occupancies, which is why voice evac would be installed there (and I don’t think the requirement for voice evac in educational occupancies existed when the school first opened). I don’t know how the school was able to not have voice evac in the new building, though.
I know my area adopted the new code quite a few years ago, but some areas still have not.
This has been in IBC since 2012 and NFPA 101 since 2015. The 2012 IBC required voice evac in all Group E occupancies with occupant loads over 30, but that was changed to 100 in 2015. I think most jurisdictions have adopted those codes by now, but oddly enough, it looks like NYC used the 2009 IBC until 2022, and they now use the 2015 IBC, so there are probably still a few remaining.
Yeah. I think my area required voice evac in larger schools before they did in all of them. I know of a few middle and high schools from the early 2000s-2010s that have full voice evac, but all of the elementary schools up until the 2020s have had horn/strobes.
The cafeteria/gym/auditorium/theater/library may have been required to be classified as an assembly occupancy, as the space could also be rented out to the public for non-educational purposes during weekends. ICC has required voice evac in assembly occupancies with occupant loads exceeding 1000 since the original code publications in 2000, and NFPA has required voice evac in assembly occupancies with occupant loads exceeding 300 since 1981 (approximately 8 years after voice evac systems were invented). I suspect that this is the reason the gym and cafeteria in dentalpharynx’s school have voice evac.
Also, IBC appears to have required voice evac in assembly, educational, and mercantile occupancies with 3+ story atriums since 2003. I’m not 100% sure if this is true, since ICC hosts the November 2011 revision of the 2003 code, and section 907.2.13 is not highlighted in blue, despite being completely different in the 2000 code.
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My 2nd elementary school, which opened in 2017 almost had full voice evac except for in the portables.
My middle school’s new building, which also opened in 2023, does have voice evac. That school also has an EST system and it has EVAX voice evac.
The portables probably have occupant loads under 100.
How many classrooms are in the new building of your high school? If it has fewer than 4-5 classrooms then the occupant load might be low enough to not require voice evac (assuming each classroom holds 20-25 occupants).
The new buildings in both the middle school and the high school have 20-25 rooms.