Imagine if we had some custom bitmaps to add to this.
warning, this will be quite a detailed post, you have been warned
Marlborough Shopping Centre:
First built in 1900 as the Marlborough Central Shopping Centre, the shopping centre is split into about 4 different sections but is all in one building.
Section 1:
First built: 1900
Opened: 1902
Main fire alarm system:
First fire alarm system: none until 1956
Second fire alarm system: 1956-1965
FTW Fire Alarm Company Model 3 electronic fire alarm system installed in 1956, consisted of manual ‘smash glass with hammer and press button’ call points, FTW Fire Alarm Company Model 2 electromechanical fire sirens, the system had no detection and relied solely on a person smelling smoke or seeing flames, the system died in 1965 due to a massive power surge but the panel wasn’t removed.
Third fire alarm system: 1965-1980
Newer version of the original panel, same devices as before but smoke detectors were added, system was replaced in 1980 when a new section was built.
Fourth fire alarm system: 1980-1992
Gent System 32000 addressable fire alarm system with Gent System 32000 devices, replaced in 1992 but the panel was merely gutted.
Current fire alarm system: 1992-
FTW Alarms FireAlert 36 zone intelligent addressable fire alarm control panel, FTW Alarms FireAlert addressable resettable manual call points, FTW Alarms 34490-O-H-S addressable optical smoke/heat sensor sounders set to alternating, FTW Alarms 34490-O-H optical smoke/heat sensors only in the staff/maintenance corridors, the main panel is located in the control room next to the Gent System 32000 panel which was gutted and used as an interface unit so when the FireAlert panel goes into alarm it can trip the alarms in the stores and vice versa.
Individual systems:
Asda system:
Original system: none, store built in 2009
Current system: Protec addressable fire alarm system
Devices:
Protec branded new style KAC addressable call points with resettable plastic element, Protec addressable optical smoke/heat sensors with sounder only, no voice in all public areas with smoke detectors only in customer toilets, Protec sounders in some public areas including customer toilets.
Asda burglar alarm:
Honeywell Galaxy branded by ADA Fire and Security with Rokonet CoSMoS DT dualtec motion sensors, CQR door contacts on the fire exits set as a 24 hour zone which will trigger an internal alarm only, some electronic confirmed panic buttons with key reset, ADA bell box with xenon strobe and piezo sounder.
Consider a large high school first built in the mid-late 1990s. It has two stories, plus a basement.
The main building has a Simplex 4005 panel, that is completely filled with cards to cover the entire facility. The panel has 32 zones, 6 NACs, and 2 relays. There is a 4602 series annunciator at the school’s main entrance, while the main panel is located in the basement electrical room. Signals are 4903-9219s, 4903-9236s, 4903-9252s (replacing defective signals), and 4904 strobes; coded to steady. A 4009 NAC extender or two are scattered throughout the building to help supply power to all signals. Initiating devices are 2099 pull stations, TrueAlarm smoke/heat detectors (all conventional), flame detectors, duct detectors, and a sprinker system. The school’s security system is also connected to the 4005. In the event of a security alarm, a supervisory condition is triggered on the 4005.
In the early 2000s, the high school was added onto. This new “annex” is two stories tall, and although smaller than the original main building, it’s large enough that another panel is installed to cover this expansion: a 4010, which is located in the annex building’s electrical room. This system has TrueAlerts for notification appliances, which run on the SmartSync protocol. Initiating devices are similar to the main building, except the devices are addressable (where applicable). A 4606-9101 annunciator is located at the expansion’s main entrance.
The 4010 and 4005 are wired to trip each other in the event of a fire alarm. However, they do not relay each other’s supervisories (where applicable) or troubles. In the event of a fire alarm, the panels are programmed so as long as the fire alarm is acknowledged on both panels, they can be reset independently.
Here is a visual representation of the two systems wired together (not to scale, this picture is also outdated as I’ve added new cards to the 4005 and adjusted wires).
Large high school built in the 1990s
Panel: 4100+
Pulls: 2099 series addressable t bars
Smokes: addressable truealarms
Strobes: 4904-9139 strobe plates
Horns: mostly eh-el-1s, some faraday 2881s, simplex 4901-9805s, and 4901-9822s scattered about, and the occasional 4901-9820
In the early to mid 2000s the school had an expansion. The panel was upgraded to a 4100u. All of the old areas remained unchanged, and the new section had the same pulls and smokes. However, the NAs were smartsync truealerts.
4906-9127
4906-9130
4906-9142
4906-9101
4906-9104
4906-9112
SOUTHCENTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Built: 1961 (expanded in 1992, 2004, 2016, 2027)
Panel: Simplex 4100 (classic)
Pulls: Simplex 2099s, Edwards 270SPOs, Simplex 4099s, and 1 unbranded RSG tbar located in the cafeteria hallway exit
Horn/Strobes;
1960-80s: Simplex 4040s and 4050s
1980-90s: Edwards 892-2bs on 4x4 backboxes that replaced all Simplex 4040/50s
1990s: Edwards 892-2bs on 4x4 backboxes (some were replaced with EHS-EL1s on the 1st and 2nd floors)
The School received expansions in 1992, 2004, and 2016 when they remodeled the 1960 building.
1992 Expansion: EHS-DL1s and 1 EHS-EL1 on a backbox connected to the 1960 building.
2004 Expansion: EST Genesis on Temporal Coding, the rest of the system is still Steady/Continuous
2016 Remodel: Half the Edwards 892s went extinct after a system replacement occurred, Half the entire system was replaced with Simplex (Smartsync) Truealerts on 15cd, along with some Simplex 4099s replacing some Edwards 270SPOs.
The Edwards 892-2bs, EHS-EL1s, EHS-DL1s, and the EST Genesis are still intact in the second half of the building.
None of the Wheelock Devices were replaced except for the EHS-EL1s. However, a system replacement is scheduled after the 2025-26 school year occurs and will receive another expansion in the 2026-27 school year. The Truealerts will also be affected by this new “system replacement” due to many active troubles currently present.
Are those ADA or non-ada devices…?
Those are Edwards 895s… and yes I’m going to assume its the same body as the 892 but with an adaptahorn sounder slapped behind it
I thought of this last night, but a residence building on some sort of campus, the system was a 120vAC system, but it was modernized a bit to allow for networking to the rest of the campus. Panel that is monitoring the system is a Notifier NFS-320. Most of the smokes are basic household interconnected smokes, with a relay attached to trip the horns originally, but was changed so that it attaches to a monitor/relay module, so that the panel can both trip the sounders on the detectors, and also tell when the detectors are in alarm. The horns are 120vAC horns for the most part, but there are some L series HS near the panel. The other smokes are Notifier FSP-951s, and there are 2, one by the panel and one in an electrical closet. The system was obviously an afterthought, as if they were really committed to upgrading it properly, they would have fully replaced the smokes and horns. There are plans though to add more addressable smokes in the future, in the corridors. The pulls had to be replaced with NBG-12LX pulls, they used to be faraday chevrons. The AC horns are controlled by a relay connected to the NAC circuit. There is an annunciator, an LCD2-80, by the main entrance.
Anyway, that was the beginning of this fictional campus system that i have created. By the way, the building talked about here was built in the 50s, and was added in to slightly in the 70s. It is in an L shape, and has about 30 units.
I’m not sure any relay modules for 120vac interconnect smoke detectors work like that, though that would be cool
This is the relay module that would do that. It can close the relay when one of the 120v detectors triggers and it can also sound the detectors when a contact is closed. There are different brands that make this and you can even get ones for 120v co detectors.
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Yeah, I was just looking that up as well.
The next part of this campus system is a large building originally built in the 20s, but had additions and renovations done to it in the 70s, 90s, and around 2010. (This is sort of based off of my high school). The system is a notifier NFS-3030, and the building has been retrofitted with sprinklers. However, there are still smokes in every room. The building is an academic building. The system is networked to the rest of the campus. It is a voice evac system.
Well, heck. I guess they can
Newton general hospital was built in 1985 and features a gamewell ZANS-400 facp
The pulls are gamewell m46-28’s with 30653 dual action plates
The alarms are av-32’s with gamewell chimes mounted on them
The smokes are R7’s mounted on Z77 conventional bases
A large public high school in the UK has a rather interesting fire alarm set up.
Main Building:
Built-1989
Opened-1992
Original fire alarm system: FTW Alarms FireAlert mark 1 addressable fire alarm panel (1992-2003)
Current fire alarm system: FTW Alarms FireAlert mark 2 addressable fire alarm panel (2003-)
Devices:
1992-2003:
FireAlert manual call points with resettable plastic element with covers, FireAlert Series 20 addressable optical smoke/heat sensors, FireAlert sounders and strobes
A mid-size library originally built in 1994, with an addition in 2006.
Most devices are NOS.
Main Building
- Panel: Simplex 4001
- Pulls: Simplex 2099-9754
- Smokes: Simplex 2098-9201
- Notification appliances: Simplex 2903-9001s + 2901-9838
Signal coding is set to march time.
Addition
- Panel: Silent Knight SK-2
- Pulls: Silent Knight PS-DA
- Smokes: System Sensor 2151
- Signals: Wheelock MT-241575W-FR (Tone: Temporal 3 Horn)
Signal coding is set to temporal 3, devices are synchronized by the panel’s built-in Wheelock Sync.
making another one because I’m in school, done with my work, and im hella bored rn so here we go
A small office building, built in 2025.
- Panel: Loganetics MW-S224 2-zone 24-volt FACP
- Pulls: Loganetics MSP-300 (Dual Action, Screw Lock)
- Smokes: System Sensor 2151 (I have not attempted to make a smoke detector nor do I plan to release one any time soon)
- Heat Detectors (Bathrooms): FSA, a division of Loganetics FHD-131F55C (Fixed Heat Detector, 131 degrees F, 55 degrees C)
- Signals: Loganetics MicroWarn MW-MMCR-12/24, Loganetics RIL-R24R-FIRE (Remote Incandescent Lamp, red body, 24V, red lens, FIRE lettering)
Each office room has a set of notification appliances and a smoke detector. There is 1 pull station near each exit. May add more to this later…
JM Controls International head office:
Fire system:
Vantage Sentry from 1999:
Vantage 34775 optical smoke/heat sensor sounders
Midsize/Large elementary school built in 1996 with an addition in 2009
Main Building
- Panel: Simplex 4005
- Pulls: Simplex 2099-9754
- Smokes: Simplex 4098-9601
- Signals: Simplex 4903-9219
Signals are coded to Temporal 3
Addition
- No panel, it is connected to the 4005 in the main building
- Pulls: Simplex 2099-9756
- Smokes: Simplex 4098-9601
- Signals: Simplex 4903-9426 (Free-run TrueAlert)
Signals are coded to temporal 3 like the rest of the building.
Medium sized elementary school built in 2004.
First System (2004-2031)
- Panel: Fire-Lite MS-5210UD
- Pulls: Fire-Lite BG-12L
- Smokes: System Sensor 2451
- Signals: Wheelock MT-241575W (Set on Code 3 Tone)
The signals are being coded to 120BPM March Time by the panel (So i guess the MTs are on March Time Tone?
)
Second System (Installed during the 2031 renovation)
This system renovation was due to some devices that failed the inspection, and the panel died on a fire drill day.
- Panel: Loganetics DecaScan LC-1004DS (10 zone FACP, future model)
- Pulls: All original except for two pulls replaced by Loganetics MSP-400
- Smokes: original
- Signals: Mostly original except for 3 MTs replaced by Loganetics HS-LF24 Low Frequency Horn Strobe
Signals have been changed to Temporal 3