yes sorry about that I edited it.
Random abandoned building somewhere in a hidden part of a downtown area of a rural city in New York
This building was built in the late 60s as a single-story facility and was abandoned in the late 2000s to early 2010s. Luckily none of the alarm devices appear damaged in any way, however, some were pulled down with no alarms going off whatsoever, indicating that the system has been disconnected for awhile now. Another indication of the system having no power supplied to it is the lack of any lights on the annunciator or main panel. There is moderate vandalism throughout and outside the building too, however not on the alarms.
Old System: Couch Coded Pull System directly tied into the building’s electrical system
Notification Devices: Couch/Federal Sign and Signal 350 120VAC Horns
In the mid to late-80s, the system was replaced and the coded pulls and horns were completely removed.
New System: Firecom 8500 /w EVAC
Pulls: Rebranded Mirtones /w No Stripe (some had trimplates for retrofitting)
Notification Devices: Federal Signal DirecTone™ Speakers
Smokes: Edwards 62X Detectors
I wish this was true, because then we could possibly get our hands on a Firecom 8500.
It could actually be true, especially the 8500 part… although in a different form.
Yeah, I hope you’re right and some collector somehow gets an 8500 in their hands someday.
Tbh I wanna be that collector.
Another mixed-use sprinkler monitoring system, this time with a side of burglary, for a bakery(F-2)/coffeeshop(A-2)/8 apartments(R-2) mixed-use building (complete with elevator). This system also provides panic/holdup alarms, fuel gas and CO detection, and suppression monitoring for the hood system.
Panel
The panel in question is a B8512G, fitted with a B444-V2 cellular communicator and a B208 input expander and mounted in the bakery’s office. Annunciation is supplied by a B920 keypad in the coffeeshop and a B921C keypad in the bakery floor area; the keypad in the coffeeshop has a B208 input card mounted behind it in a B56 backbox.
Sufficient backup battery is provided for 24h of whole-system operation followed by 15 minutes of alarm; this consists of a single 18Ah, 12V battery. This is well in excess of the requirements for central station burglary alarms, but the 24h standby time is required due to the sprinkler monitor, elevator recall, and supervisory functions this panel performs.
Initiation
As an aside, the door contacts are GRI Magnasphere units (these provide a high level of protection against bypass for relatively little incremental expense over a standard reed), and the deadbolt monitoring is accomplished using SDC MS-18 mortise strikes.
Building Life Safety
The panel zones are fitted out as follows:
- Zone 1 is connected to 4WTR-Bs in each lobby (basement, first floor, second floor) for elevator recall
- Zone 2 is connected to a 4WTR-B in the machine room or machine space for the elevator “flashing hat”
- Zone 3 is connected to the sprinkler waterflow switch
- Zone 4 is connected to the sprinkler supervisory switches
- Zone 5 supervises the various UL300 hood systems in the bakery (there is at least one and perhaps more)
- Zone 6 is connected to 270SPO pulls by the bakery exit doors and a single 4WT-B located over the panel & communicator for system self-protection
- and Zones 7 and 8 are connected via a 3-wire cable to an AGS Mini Merlin CH4CO gas/CO detector that is mounted over the main door to the kitchen, powered from 120V exhaust fan power, and wired as follows:
- A PAM-1 relay is used to provide AC trouble monitoring with its NO contact in the common line,
- the switched common goes to both EOL resistors and the contact common on the Mini Merlin’s CO-only contact,
- the CO zone goes to the CO contact’s NO terminal on the Mini Merlin and its associated EOL,
- the gas zone goes to the combination (CO and gas) contact’s NO terminal on the Mini Merlin and its associated EOL,
- the combination contact’s common is connected to the CO contact’s NC terminal,
- and the 120V output from the Mini Merlin controls a gas valve in-line with the kitchen space gas supply line to shut the gas supply off in case a leak or CO condition is detected
This setup deliberately cuts the zone common ahead of the contacts on power failures due to the Mini Merlin’s alarm contacts being in the alarm state when unpowered. It also disambiguates CO alarms from gas alarms; due to the Mini Merlin’s inflexible design, a common infelicity on low-end commercial CO/NG sensors/alarms, it’s not possible to program its relays to function differently, nor is it possible to get a true trouble output from it to indicate EOL conditions back to the panel. (This is a problem with all of them: the Senva units can only be set with both contacts as NO or both as NC, and don’t document an analog trouble output, and while the Macurco units provide the most programming flexibility, Macurco doesn’t make a CO/NG combination detector.)
Bakery Intrusion
The expander zones at the panel, then, receive the burglary zones from the bakery space, set up to provide Extent 4 protection to the bakery and motion-based Extent 3 protection to the office within, along with Extent Partial protection for a safe in the office:
- Zone 1 is a perimeter delay zone connected to the door and deadbolt switches for the main (back) entrance door
- Zone 2 is a perimeter zone connected to the door and deadbolt switches for the restroom hall door
- Zone 3 is a perimeter zone connected to a FG1625F glassbreak detector mounted on the north wall of the cake decorating room
- Zone 4 is a perimeter zone connected to both door switches for the manually operated roll-up dock door in the back of the bakery space (near its main entrance)
- Zone 5 is an interior zone connected to the door and deadbolt monitor switches for the office door
- Zone 6 is an interior zone connected to the door switch for the decorating room door
- Zone 7 is an interior zone connected to a CDL2-A12G motion detector in the southwest corner of the office with its microwave sensitivity turned down to near the minimum to minimize potential false alarms
- and Zone 8 is an interior zone connected to a double-EOL tampered loop using a Magnasphere HS-L1.5-101 high-security contact on the office safe
The keypad, in turn, has a 24h supervisory alarm zone connected to the alarm contacts on a Modularm 75LC with a MC-1 on the fridge door and three IP-1s (one inside the freezer, one just inside the fridge, and one at the door from the fridge to the freezer) attached that monitors the temperature of the fridge and switches the lights for both the fridge and the freezer, as well as the alarm contact on a Winland EnviroAlert EA200 that monitors the freezer temperature in addition to providing overall freeze monitoring for the kitchen space.
Coffeeshop Intrusion
The input expander serving the coffeeshop space has the following sensors connected to it to provide Extent 3 protection to the main coffeeshop space:
- Zone 1 is a perimeter delay zone that has the door switches and monitoring strikes for both main entrance doors to the coffeeshop space on it
- Zone 2 is a perimeter zone that provides protection for the storefront glazing using 3 ceiling-mounted FG1025Z directional glassbreaks set for maximum sensitivity
- Zone 3 is a perimeter zone that has the door and latchbolt monitor switches for the restroom corridor exit door on it
- Zone 4 is an interior follower zone with 3 CDL2-A12G dual tech motion detectors on it, mounted to the west wall and northwest exterior corner within the coffeeshop space
- Zone 5 is a 24hour panic zone with a Potter HUB-T or equivalent double-action holdup button on it for panic/holdup protection
- Zone 6 is an interior follower zone for the storeroom door.
- and Zone 7 is connected to the door and deadbolt (strike) monitoring switches for the communicating door between the coffeeshop and the bakery and set as a perimeter delay zone in one of the partitions, while being repeated as a “virtual” output to an otherwise-unused zone number in the other partition to allow it to be in both partitions at once
The coffeeshop also has a dome IP camera in the back corner of the main space, set up to have a good view of the cashier’s station and recording to a local SD card.
Residential Security
The residential security system consists of a 4G/LTE intercom (a 2N LTE Vario would work, but others can be used as well), mounted in the inner vestibule, with a remote security relay mounted on the inside of the building providing power to the ELR on the inner vestibule panic. One of the inputs is connected to a door switch on the inner vestibule door and to a FG1625F glassbreak mounted to the vestibule ceiling to provide a local alarm if the door is forced or the vestibule glazing is attacked, while the other input is connected to a REX switch in the panic hardware.
Notification
Intrusion notification is supplied by ceiling-mounted ELK-74 Echo sirens, with one siren for each partition. They are centrally located in the main area of the coffeeshop and the main kitchen area of the bakery, and connected to the A and B outputs of the B8512G respectively, with output C used for resettable power throughout the system.
The external sprinkler notification is supplied by a Gentex GB6-120 bell run off the other contacts on the waterflow switch.
Life Safety
In-Apartment
The apartments have ordinary (non-interconnected) apartment entrance deadbolts on their main doors and a full suite of local smoke, CO, and natural gas alarms within them.
Exit Hardware
The corridors, bakery, and coffeeshop spaces are all fitted out with PLT 50290 exit sign/emergency light combination fixtures as-needed. In addition, there is a PLT 50311 in the center of the apartment corridor to supply additional emergency lighting, and a matching fixture along the front wall of the coffeeshop to supplement the emergency lights on the exit sign at the back, to go with matching emergency lights in the stairwells.
There is also a communicating door between the coffeeshop storeroom and the bakery; this door is fitted out as a double-acting door with a Jackson 20-330 or equivalent closer and a Rockwood 590 roller latch into a 590DA strike for door control, along with a standard double-cylinder (F16) deadbolt into a deadbolt monitoring strike for security. (This door cannot be a means of egress from the coffeeshop due to the fact it goes into a kitchen, which is not a valid egress route according to IBC 1016.2 point 5.)
Residential
The rear exit stair from the residential space is intended to serve only as an emergency exit, so it has a storeroom (F08) function lock on the door from the corridor to it. The front stair, though, simply has a passage function latchset on its door from the corridor; any further access control here would require also access controlling the elevator, which’d add significant complexity to a very small-scale building.
Common Space
The vestibule doors consist of a push-pull outer door with a closer and a Rockwood 590 roller latch to provide positive door control, along with an inner door set up with a nightlatch/storeroom (03) function Electric Latch Retraction panic device, using a SDC IP100FRK on a Falcon 25-R-NL rim panic, less dogging, with a Command Access CDL power transfer and a factory or retrofit REX switch. While costlier than standard hardware and a strike, this choice of hardware provides low-power operation while ensuring that egress code is still met and also resists common forced entry attacks better than an electric strike can as the latchbolt on the rim panic is less accessible to attackers.
The exit doors from the restroom corridor use panic hardware as well, but this can be done using another Falcon 25-R-NL, less dogging, for the exit to the outside and a medium or light-duty exit-only (01 trim) fire exit device for the exit from the restroom corridor to the residential lobby. The restroom doors, themselves, though, use simple classroom function deadbolts (F29 in the ANSI scheme) and pull handles, as each restroom provides two stalls.
Finally, a storeroom (F08) function lock is used on the door leading to the front stairs down to the building’s basement.
Coffeeshop
The coffeeshop has a double-cylinder indicating deadbolt (F16) along with push-pull hardware on its main door and a cylinder dogged dummy (02) trim panic on its auxiliary exterior entrance. The rear exit to the restroom corridor, though, is another storeroom/nightlatch (03) trim panic (another Falcon 25-R-NL would do the job, although this one needs to be ordered with cylinder dogging); while I’d rather use something that provides the lockout-proofing of the ANSI F13 corridor mortise function for this, there just isn’t panic trim available that automatically unlocks on egress in that fashion. (This is an issue for mobility-impaired folks as the only accessible routes out of the corridor go back through the coffeeshop and the bakery due to elevation changes within the building.)
The door to the coffeeshop storeroom is a pivot-hung double-acting door with an overhead concealed closer (Jackson 20-330 or equivalent) and a Rockwood 590 roller latch on a Rockwood 590DA strike. This provides self-closing double-acting operation along with positive control of the door at a relatively low cost.
Bakery
The bakery office uses a standard corridor (F13) deadbolt function (to avoid accidental lockouts). The cake decorating room door, though, is a double-acting door similar to the coffeeshop storeroom door; we use this instead of a conventional impact door to provide better door control and security, as impact doors are essentially impossible to secure without the use of canebolts, and provide no positive control over door location, which is a problem for intrusion detection.
The back exit from the bakery to the restroom corridor and the main bakery entrance door near the back of the building are also both F13 corridor deadbolts to provide protection against inadvertent lockouts.
Collage campus fire alarm system: I Apologize if anything doesn’t match up with the dates or appears unrealistic, it was difficult to find what products started production and which ones were discontinued.
Background: Built in 2000 most of the buildings were operated and maintained separately from each other. In 2019 the campus was unified and many upgrades were undertaken.
5 floor tower/Library (Built 2000, Expanded 2019)
- Panel
- 4100ES (Networked) (Replaced 4120, 2019)
- Annunciation
- InfoAlarm Command Center
- Alarms (2019)
- 49SV-APPLW ES speaker strobe (Wall)
- 49SO-APPLC ES speaker strobe (Ceiling)
- 49VO-WRF ES strobe (Wall)
- 49SV-APPLW-O ES speaker strobe (Wall, Weather proof)
- Alarms (2000)
- 4906-9251 Addressable Speaker Strobe (Wall)
- 4906-9254 Addressable Speaker strobe (Ceiling)
- 4906-9201 Addressable Strobe (Wall)
- Initiating Devices (2019)
- 4099-9003 Pull
- 4098-9714 Smoke
- 4098-9733 Heat
- 4098-9770 CO base
- 4098-9756 Duct
- Initiating Devices (2000)
- 2099-9795 Pull
- 4098-9701 Smoke
- 4098-9732 Heat
- 4098-9706 Duct
- Fire Suppression
- ANSUL CO2
- 4090-9006 Controller + 4090-9812 Communications Indicator
- 2080-9059 Disconnect
- 2081-9046 Coil Supervision
Module - 4099-9015 Pull + STI-13320CR Stopper
- SS2026AB-EN Abort Switch + 4090-9001 IAM Module
- AMT-24MCW-FR Addressable Multi Tone Horn Strobe (Wall, P1 Horn, P2 Slow Whoop, P3 Vibrating Chime)
- 4906-9137 Multi Tone Horn Strobe (Wall, 500z Horn)
Large Academic Buildings (Built 2000)
- Panel
- 4120 (Networked)
- Annunciation
- 4100-1292 RCU
- Alarms
- 4903-9255 Horn Strobe (Wall)
- 4904-9178 Strobe (Wall)
- 4906-9131 Horn Strobe (Wall, Weather Proof) (added 2019)
- Initiating Devices
- 2099-9795 Pull
- 4098-9701 Smoke
- 4098-9732 Heat
- 4098-9706 Duct
- C01224T Co + 4090-9001 IAM Modual (Added 2019)
Small Academic Building (Built 2000)
- Panel
- 4020 (Networked)
- Annunciation
- 4503-9101
- Alarms
- 4906-9127 Horn strobe (Wall)
- 4906-9128 Horn strobe (Ceiling)
- 4906-9109 Strobe (Wall)
- 4906-9131 Horn strobe (Wall, Weather Proof) (added 2019)
- Initiating Devices
- 2099-9795 Pull
- 4098-9701 Smoke
- 4098-9732 Heat
- 4098-9706 Duct
- C01224T Co + 4090-9001 IAM Module (Added 2019)
Dorms (Built in 2000)
- Panel
- 4005 + NSI (Networked) + DSM (Added 2019)
- Annunciation
- 4602-9102
- Alarms
- Hs4-24MCC-FR Horn Strobe (Ceiling)
- RSS-24MCC Strobe (Ceiling)
- LFHNKW3 Low Frequency Horn (Wall) (Replaced MIZs in 2019)
- MTWP-2475W-FR Multi Tone Horn Strobe (Wall, Weather Proof, Code 3 Tone)
- Initiating Devices
- 2099-9756 Pull
- 2100TR Smoke
- 5601P Heat
- DH100ACDCLPX Duct
- C01224T Co (Added 2019)
Apartments (Built 2000)
- Panel
- 4010 (Networked)
- Annunciation
- 4606-9101
- Alarms
- 4906-9127 Horn Strobe (Wall)
- 4906-9128 Horn Strobe (Ceiling)
- 49CMT-WRF Multi Tone Horn (Wall, Low frequency)
- 4906-9101 Strobe (Wall)
- Initiating Devices
- 2099-9795 Pull
- 4098-9710 Smoke
- 4098-9733 Heat
- 4098-9756 Duct
- C01224T Co + 4090-9001 IAM Module (Added 2019)
Sports Facility (Built 2000)
- Panel
- 4020 (Networked) + 4003 Voice Evac
- Annunciation
- 4503-9101
- 4003-9803 Remote Microphone
- Alarms
- ET80-24MCW-FR Vandal Resistant Speaker Strobe (Wall)
- E70-24MCW-FR Speaker Strobe (Wall)
- STH-4R24MCCH-FW Cluster Speaker Strobe (Ceiling)
- RSS-24MCW Strobe (Wall)
- ET70WP-2475W-FR Speaker Strobe (Wall, Weather Proof)
- Initiating Devices
- 2099-9795 Pull
- 4098-9701 Smoke
- 4098-9732 Heat
- 4098-9706 Duct
- C01224T Co + 4090-9001 IAM Module (Added 2019)
Commons (Built 1988, Expanded 2000)
- Panel
- 4120 (Networked, Replaced 4100, 2000)
- Annunciation
- 4100-1292 RCU
- Alarms (1988)
- 2902-9735 Speaker Light (Wall)
- 2904-9103 Light (Wall)
- Initiating Devices (1988)
- 2098-9642 Smoke Photoelectric, Heat
- 2098-9508 Smoke Ionization
- 4098-9402 Heat
- Alarms (2000)
- 4906-9251 Addressable Speaker Strobe (Wall)
- 4906-9254 Addressable Speaker Strobe (Ceiling)
- 4906-9201 Addressable Strobe (Wall)
- Initiating Devices (2000)
- 2099-9795 Pull
- 4098-9701 Smoke
- 4098-9732 Heat
- 4098-9706 Duct
- Alarms (2019)
- 49SV-APPLW-O ES speaker strobe (Wall, Weather Proof)
- Initiating Devices (2019)
- C01224T Co + 4090-9001 IAM Modual
- C01224T Co
Offices (Built 2000)
- Panel
-6808 (Networked, Replaced 5808, 2019) - Annunciation
- 5860R
- Alarms
- GEC3-24WR Multitone Horn Strobe (Wall)
- GES3-24WR Strobe (Wall)
- Initiating Devices
- SK-PULL-DA Pull
- SK-PHOTO Smoke
- SK-PHOTO-T Heat
- SK-Duct Duct
- SK-FIRE-CO Smoke, Heat, Flame, Co (Added 2019)
Administrative (Built 2000)
- Panel
- 6808 (Networked, Replaced 5808, 2019)
- Annunciation
- 5860R
- Alarms
- AS-24MCW Horn Strobe (Wall)
- RSS-24MCW Strobe (Wall)
- Initiating Devices (Replaced 2019)
- SD500-PSDA Pull
- SD505-PHOTO Smoke
- SD505-HEAT Heat
- SD505-DUCT Duct
- ACD-V Smoke, Heat, Co
Admissions (Built 1880, Expanded 2019)
- Panel
- 6700 (Networked)
- Annunciation
- 5860
- Alarms
- P2WL Horn Strobe + WAV-CWL Wireless Base (Wall)
- AWL Strobe + WAV-CWL Wireless Base (Wall)
- Initiating Devices
- WSK-WGI Swift Gateway
- WSK-PULL Swift Pull
- WSK-PHOTO Swift Smoke
- WSK-HEAT-ROR Swift Heat
- SK-FIRE-CO Smoke, Heat, Flame, Co
Maintenance (Built 1960)
- Network Annunciation
- TrueSite Incident Commander Graphic Annunciator (Networked)
- Panel
- 4007ES (Networked, Replaced Codded Pulls 2019)
- Alarms
- 2901-9333 Bell (Vibrating) + 4904-9139 Strobe Plate (Wall, Added 2000)
- 2901-9362 Bell (Single Stroke) + 4904-9139 Strobe Plate (Wall, Added 2000)
- GB10-24 Bell (Vibrating, Added 2019) + 4904-9139 Strobe Plate (Wall, Added 2000)
- Initiating Devices
- 4099-5214 Pull
- 4098-5292 Smoke
- 4098-5293 Heat
- 4098-5290 Smoke, Heat, Co
- 4098-5214 Duct
Hospital (Off Campus, Built 1988, Expanded 2024)
- Panel
- N16x + 4905-9938 (Replaced 4100, 2024)
- Annunciation
- ACM-30
- Alarms (2024)
- SPSCWL-TILE Speaker Strobe (Ceiling)
- SCWL-TILE Strobe (Ceiling)
- UL22DM Speaker With Device Mount
- Alarms (1988)
- 2903-9234 + 4904-9139 Strobe plate (Wall, Added 2000)
- 4904-9137 Strobe (Wall)
- UL22DM Speaker With Device Mount (Ceiling, Added 2024)
- Initiating Devices (2024)
- NBG-12LX Pull
- VEA-040-A10-NTF Pinpoint Aspirated Smoke + XCL-VEA-CO-RM Co sensor
- VEP-A10-P-NTF Aspirated Smoke + XLC-LB-CO-RA Co Sensor
- FSP-951-SELFT Self Test Smoke
- FSP-951 Smoke
- FPC-951 Smoke, Co
- FST-951 Heat
- FSCO-951 Co
- DNR Duct
- FS-OSI-R Beam
- XP6-MA Six-zone Interface Module
- 2W-B Smoke (Mounted on UL22DM)
- CO1224TR Co (Mounted on UL22DM)
- Initiating Devices (1988)
- 4251-20 Pull
- 2098-9209 Smoke (Mounted on UL22DM)
If I may ask, what areas do you see the ANSUL system in the library and the aspiration (VESDA) and beam smoke detectors in the hospital building covering? Also, I didn’t know the UL22DM was a thing.
So the Ansul system is covering a server room for the tower, it’s supposed to be a library/mixed use facility. The aspirating detectors are supposed to cover operating rooms and rooms that must remain sterile. The beam detectors are for skylights in the lobby of the hospital. I wanted to include those speakers in a unique way, as it appears it would be an easy way to add voice evac. Admittedly it’s not fully realistic, but I wanted to make a system that is physically possible.
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This post will actually consist of two systems in two separate buildings. In short, my local Hobby Lobby is moving into and renovating a Kmart building that has been vacant for 5 years. The existing Hobby Lobby building (which was built in the 80’s and was overhauled and moved into by Hobby Lobby in the early 2000’s) will be turned into a clinic.
Here is a local news story with more information about the situation:
(New) Hobby Lobby- Bismarck, ND (Opened in 2026):
Panel: Potter AFC-100 addressable panel
Notification Appliances: Potter PE-HSWC, PE-STWC, PE-HSW, and PE-STW horns and horn/strobes
Pull Stations: Potter PAD100-PSSA addressable pull stations
Detectors: Potter PAD300-PD smoke detectors
(New) Sanford Clinic (Opened in 2028):
Panel: Siemens FC901 50 point addressable panel or FC922 250 point addressable panel
Notification Appliances: Siemens SC (Acend) series conventional strobes and horn/strobes
Pull Stations: Siemens XMS-S addressable pull stations
Detectors: Siemens OP921 addressable smoke detectors
It is important to remember that this is complete guessing, and I am probably wrong, especially with the new Hobby Lobby store. I am fairly certain that that is the system the new clinic will have, as that medical company uses Siemens systems in every one of their buildings I have been in.
I did make a post about the existing Hobby Lobby’s system:
Ringo Starr High School. Built in 1975:
Original System:
Space Age AV-32 with Federal Signal 450Ds
Autocall 4050-1T
Space Age Lights
A Simplex 2001
And Simplex Whiffle Ball Detectors
The Classrooms, Cafeteria, Library, Hallways, Gymnasium, Auditorium, Band/Orchestra Room, Art Room, and Machinery Room/Panel Room had Space Age AV-32s and Federal Signal 450Ds.
The Bathrooms, Councilor Office, Principal Office, Nurses Office, Locker Rooms, Meeting Room, and Closets have Space Age Remote Lights/Strobes.
All of the Pull Stations were Black Autocall 4050-1T Pull Stations.
1975: The School was built and named after the Principal’s Favorite Beatles Band Member.
1980: Stopper Covers were added over the 4050-1T in the Gym after Dummies kept pulling them or hitting them with Basketballs.
1985: Voice Evacuation was becoming popular so the Principal removed all of the 450D Horns including 2 Space Age AV-32s and replaced the 2 AV-32s with 2902-9739 Speaker Strobes and the 450Ds that were behind the rest of the AV-32s were replaced by Federal Signal Direct Tone Speakers. The 450Ds and the 2 AV-32s were donated to an Enthusiast. A Simplex 2120 was added to the System for Voice Evacuation.
1997: Gentex GXS-4-15/75-WR Strobes were added next to the AV-32s and the 2902-9739s to meet ADA Requirements.
1999: The Whiffle Ball Detectors were replaced with System Sensor 2400 Smoke Detectors because the Simplex Detectors failed.
2009: The Simplex 2001 Died. So they Replaced it with a Fire Lite Addressable Panel with a Fire Lite Voice Evac Panel. The 2001 was scrapped, while the 2120 was sold to an Enthusiast. 1/2 of the Autocall Pull Stations were replaced with Fire Lite BG-12LXs.
2010: The Speaker on one of the Simplex 2902-9739s died so it was removed and replaced with a System Sensor SPSR.
2015: Some of the Space Age AV-32s in the hallways were Indirectly Replaced with System Sensor SPSCWs. (Is that what they are called?)
2025: One of the Gentex GXS’s Strobe died and the GXS was replaced by a NOS System Sensor SR.
Youth Park Center Offices.
This building is built in 1983.
System Components: Panel: Firecom 8500 Voice evacuation panel.
Pull Stations: Firecom 73303NY Pull stations.
Devices: Wheelock ET1070-RS-24-VFW’s, E9025-RS-24-CFW’s, And ET-1010-RS-24-HFW’s in the underground parking garage.
Replacement system:
System Components:
Panel: Firecom LSN2000 Voice evacuation panel.
Pull Stations: Some Firecom 73303NY Pulls Replaced by Firecom F900-943’s.
Devices: Same as the old system, including newer Wheelock E70-24MCW-FR’s And Wheelock E90-24MCC-FRs.
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Pepsi All Seasons Arena- Mandan, ND (Addition opened in the early 2030’s):
This place was opened in the mid-late 90’s as a hockey arena, weight room, and wrestling room. It was renovated in 2018 to replace the hockey arena portion with three basketball/volleyball/indoor soccer/whiffleball courts. They didn’t touch the FA system at that time Here is an overview of of the current system from a previous post of mine:
Full post:
This building is directly adjacent to my district’s old high school building. When that building is demolished in the near future, they are planning to build housing and shopping/resturaunts in the area. The All Seasons Arena will not be demolished and is set to likely receive a renovation to the front entrance/lobby area of the building. This would require moving/changing devices, and since the system is already around 30 years old they would likely go for a full system upgrade. I’m guessing that they will stick with Siemens as they are currently the ones servicing the building’s FA system. Here is what I think the new system could look like:
New System (In service from the early 2030’s-2055):
Panel: Cerberus Pyrotronics SXL is replaced with a Siemens Cerberus PRO FV922
Notification Appliances: All old devices are indirectly replaced with Siemens SC-SS-CR-F and SC-SS-WR-F speaker/strobes and SC-ST-CR-F and SC-ST-WR-F remote strobes
Pull Stations: All old pull stations are replaced with Siemens XMS-S addressable pull stations with STI stoppers
Detectors: Old smoke detector in the panel room is replaced with an OP921 and the duct detectors are replaced with FDBZ492 housings with OP921 heads
Annunciator: LED-4 is replaced with a FSD901-U3 Annunciator and a VR2005-U3 remote microphone
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Are these perhaps the Tab Style ones?
Redwood High School (Built 1979)
Original building has an old Fire-Lite C-Series panel with BG-6 Pulls and Wheelock 34-24 horns completely flush mounted flat in the walls set to continuous. The building has no smoke detectors only heats.
Building Annex (2004)
Fire-Lite MS-5UD was added to the Annex tied to the original system with Wheelock MT-24-LSM horn strobes set on Code 3 tone and BG-10L pull stations. It has System Sensor 2100 Smokes and a few System Sensor heat detectors.
New Gym Not Attached To Building (2019)
Devices were run by the MS-5UD in the annex part and set all 3 systems off. The gym has Wheelock Eluxa horn strobes on code 3 and BG-12L pull stations. It has System Sensor i3 smokes. No heat detectors.
Yeah, they are the tab styled ones.
Samuelsville Savings & Trust Tower (Samuelsville, Ind.)–a 25 story office tower in the central business district–built in 1927 in the art deco style by the Cleveland firm of Walker & Weeks. a matching expansion was added in 1954 by the same firm, which involved adding air-conditioning to the existing structure and an underground parking garage; windows and entrance doors are solid bronze, with a pair of International-Van Kannel revolving units.
The FA system is an Autocall-Howe transmitting system with the central supervisory unit in the front lobby. initiating devices are LSPW (original section) and NYSP (1954 addition) coded pulls. Pyrotronics F3 smoke detectors and an FIU system, (which is tied into the existing one) were installed as part of the renovation (they are installed in mechanical rooms, penthouse, basement, and storage closets). The signals used are Autocall R8 & 10 single stroke bells and two RF4 trouble bells.
Elevators (including four service) are Otis Autotronics with touch-sensitive buttons; original ones had operators until the renovation, then they were modernized as Autotronics.
all HVAC equipment was manufactured by the Trane Co. (except for the filters and cooling tower; they were made by American Air Filter and the Binks MFG. company, respectively). Boilers are York-Shipley
all plumbing fixtures are American-Standard; drinking fountains (vitreous china types) have SUNROC Corp. remote cooling units; pumps are Myers and Yeomans.
all electrical equipment is Westinghouse; wiring devices are Harvey Hubbell; exit signs are flush mount Day-Brite units.
Communications and intercom equipment is Stromberg-Carlson.
Door hardware is a mix of Corbin & LCN.
this property has two large Caterpillar emergency generators.
Mail and waste chutes are in dedicated rooms on each floor behind fire rated doors
Company history:
SS&T was created by a merger of several smaller banks in 1915. they would grow until the Great Depression by opening branches all over the city (and a few in the older suburbs, which were annexed into S-ville in 1930); they were able to survive the depression and prospered with the new industrial boom of World War II and after. all of their facilities were modernized between 1953-56 and new drive-up branches (a few had four floors of leasable office space) were built in the outer suburbs. they were the first bank in the area to offer loans to minorities starting in 1949, when most banks wouldn’t allow it. they acquired a bunch of regional small town banks in the mid 60s, to expand their territory. they also adopted an IBM computer network around this time. Fast-forward to 1975, which is when they got their first ATMs. Remote computer terminals were also added during this period. The savings and loan crisis of the next decade drove them into being acquired by a national corporation—NYC’s Chemical Bank in 1983, but was divested after only five years, resulting in SS&T regaining their independence. The 90s weren’t very eventful, even though they started banking over the newfangled Internet in 94; their computer system would be upgraded again to handle this new medium. nothing much would happen until the global financial crisis of 2007, when they were on the brink of insolvency; they were saved by the city taking control (a rare form of American public banking), eventually returning to private hands three years later. They would launch a mobile banking service in 2016, realizing the increasing popularity of smartphones. The COVID pandemic forced all of their employees to work remotely and their locations being temporarily closed until the fall of 2020. they quickly recovered from the simultaneous recession only a year later and resumed normal operations. they still remain independent as of 2025, even with the inflation surge.
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For an e-waste recycling facility (~33,000 ft2, of which ~30,000 ft2 is shop space with a small incidental office wing in front of it) inhabiting a tenant bay an an older (60s era) single story warehouse (that will need a sprinkler retrofit due to the change of use):
- The alarm system is a Napco GEMC-FW-128KT with:
- 6 7Ah batteries for backup power
- A Honeywell HW-AV-LTE-M-2 communicator, programmed and wired to supervise the phone line connections between it and the panel
- a GEMC-BM burglary module
- the fire keypad (GEMC-FK1) mounted at the entrance to the office section
- A burglary keypad (GEMC-BK1) mounted at the main entrance to the facility floor section
- A zone expander (GEMC-EZM8) mounted at the panel and wired to the burglary bus
- a second GEMC-EZM8 expander on the burglary bus, but mounted in the office storage closet
- and a GEMC-F8ZCPIM to provide the fire IDCs for the system
Fire initiation consists of:
- A Napco Firewolf FW2-H detector to provide panel self-protection, located in the mechanical closet
- Kidde/Edwards 270-SPO manual pulls at all emergency exit doors, as well as on the shop floor side of the shop floor to office lobby door and the office side of the office corridor to shop floor door, all on the same zone as the smoke/heat detector
- Waterflow and supervisory switches on the sprinkler system (which is all one zone, taking up 2 IDCs)
- A conventional 4-wire duct detector on the supply side of the RTU serving the shop floor (it’s assumed the office RTUs are small enough that they don’t need duct detection)
- A Macurco GD-2B gas detector at the forklift refueling station (there is an exterior propane tank in a cage that is presumed to be used for forklift refueling since the building has natural gas service otherwise)
- and three spare IDCs for CO, gas, or duct detection
while intrusion detection is performed by:
- Contacts for the facility floor outside entrance door, located on an entry/exit zone on the burg keypad that is assigned to the shop space partition
- The following zones that protect the shop space partition, monitored by the zone expander at the panel:
- The alarm and tamper/fault contacts (2 zones total, 1 interior and 1 24h tamper) for the motion detection on the floor, consisting of 13 ceiling mounted Risco RK200DTG3USBs, as well as a Keenfinity ISC-PDL1-WA18G monitoring the corridor leading into the shop floor space
- an interior zone for the door to the electrical/mechanical closet
- an immediate perimeter zone for the inner entry door to the shop space
- an immediate perimeter zone for the doors between the shop floor and the office area
- an immediate perimeter zone for the emergency exit doors from the shop floor
- and an immediate perimeter zone for the contacts on the roll-up doors on the shop floor
- And the following zones for the office partition, connected to the zone expander in the office closet:
- an entry/exit zone for the outer office lobby door
- an immediate perimeter zone for a 2nd set of contacts on the doors between the shop floor and the office area
- an immediate perimeter zone for the lobby vestibule door
- an immediate perimeter zone for the lobby emergency exit door
- an immediate interior zone for the contacts on the interior doors to the offices, breakroom, and storage closet
- an immediate perimeter zone for a set of six Honeywell FG1625T glassbreaks with two in the lobby, one in the breakroom, and one in each office to provide glassbreak protection for the windows and exterior door
- an immediate interior zone connected to 3 Honeywell DT8035V motion detectors, with one in the NE corner of the lobby, one in the NW corner of the lobby, and the third in the inside corner of the office corridor
- and a 24h zone for the tamper switches from the glassbreaks and motion detectors in the area
Life safety notification consists of Eluxa ELMTSTs mounted to columns and along perimeter walls (most of them are set to 185cd, save for one fill-in unit set to 75cd) as well as one in the office lobby, also set to 185cd, and one each in the breakroom and office corridor, both set to 15 cd. There are also Eluxa ELSTs set to 15cd in the bathrooms (all four of them). A Potter SSX-52 mounted in the rafters of the shop, near the T-corridor, performs burglary notification duty, while a Potter SASH-120 hornstrobe is mounted outside above the FDC to serve as the waterflow alarm.
The exit signage consists of PLTS-50291 combos mounted:
- at the center of the shop ‘T’ corridor (between the door from the office corridor and the main shop entrance vestibule),
- on the office side of the office corridor to shop corridor door,
- over each pedestrian exit from the shop space (including the communicating door to the office lobby)
- and over the emergency exit door from the office lobby.
There is also a PLT-50311 low profile “bugeye” mounted to the ceiling where the office corridor discharges into the office lobby to provide supplemental emergency lighting. The outdoor emergency lights are Atlas WSPS20LED3K wallpacks with Fulham FHSCP-UNV3-5W-L-SD-A remote emergency drivers spliced into their wiring and mounted on the inside of the building.
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Another industrial FA system, this time for a custom homebuilder’s cabinetry shop + showroom. It’s a 36400ft2 single story metal building overall, with about 25000sf devoted to the shop floor in addition to some loading and miscellaneous spaces, and a presumed-to-be-2-hour-rated (8" CMU) separation between the shop (F-1) and showroom (B).
It is presumed that a sprinkler retrofit is required by Code (F-1 + highpile, although ceiling-only is practical, and extending the sprinkler system to the showroom spaces would be a matter of course), and the shop floor requires a fire alarm system according to the LSC, however the showroom does not. The showroom HVAC does have duct detection in it, though.
The cabinet shop dust collection equipment (cyclone, baghouse unit, extract fan) lives outdoors in this setup (so that it doesn’t endanger anything if it does go kablooie.)
Panel & Initiation
The panel is a Kidde FX-5R (again) mounted in an auxiliary space off the shop floor. Communications is provided by a Napco SLE-MAX2-CFB (which can also provide intrusion reporting), with a set of flowswitch contacts monitored by the panel and the other set monitored directly by the communicator. Sprinkler waterflow audible notification is provided by a Viking F-2 water motor gong, There also may be an air compressor for a dry system, depending on if the shop floor is kept heated when unused or allowed to be unheated when the building is closed, and the air compressor is also supervised by the panel.
There is an EC2-OSH in an EC2-SB for panel self-protection along with 270-SPO pulls at all shop space and shop floor exit points. The duct detectors for the showroom AHU are SSU-RT-3000-Ps on both the supply and return sides, connected bus-style to a standalone MSR-50-RK annunciator in the office space. (If the fire alarm system was extended to the showroom area, then these duct detectors would be on a separate zone on the panel.)
Any blast vent panels present on the dust collection system are instrumented using Magnasphere HS-L1.5-201 high security magnetic door contacts. These are set up for a NO initiating loop with their tamper switches wired as if they were trouble contacts, and are highly weather resistant and surge proof, in addition to being UL listed (albeit for security service – there isn’t really such a thing as a door contact listed for fire alarm initiating service).
Annunciation is supplied at one of the front doors to the building using a FSRSI/FSRZI-SA pair. The zones are set up as follows:
- Zone 1 is connected to the self-protection detector and the manual pulls throughout the space.
- Zone 2 is connected to the waterflow and supervisory switches.
- Zone 3 is connected to provide an alarm or supervisory signal (up to the AHJ and owner what they want here) for any blast venting present on the dust collection system
- Zone 4 is reserved for duct detection
- and Zone 5 monitors the NAC extender for trouble conditions.
Notification
The shop floor notification system consists of a 4x2 array of ceiling mounted EL4XSTR strobes set for 185cd, along with 5 EL4XSTRs set to 75cd along the wall between the shop floor and the other spaces. Getting through the high ambient noise levels (80+dBA ambient, 85-95dBA peak) on a woodshop floor requires something punchier than a standard fire alarm horn, though, so the audible notification is supplied separately using a 5x3 array of Pfannenberg PA 20 10-60DC sounders in the shop rafters and set to produce their AS1670 temporal whoop tone. (Driving an audible signal set to produce T3 coded output with a T3 coded signal produces T3 still, which is handy in this case.)
A HPF-PS10 provides Wheelock sync for the strobes and the 5A required to drive the shop floor sounders. Input 1 is connected to the strobe NAC and set for Wheelock sync on the corresponding output, with Input 2 connected to the horn control NAC and driving follower outputs, with FWR debounce enabled on the panel as a whole.
The remaining NAs, save for one, are G1AVRFs, all connected to a single NAC using a G1M-RM Signal Master to provide sync and coded muting over a two-wire circuit. (That way, they can sync with the shop floor horns by way of the panel’s T3 horn output muting and unmuting the Genesis horns.) In particular, each of the shop floor auxiliary spaces has a Genesis hornstrobe set for 75cd and high continuous tone, while the corridor and vestibule in the auxiliary area and the office-vestibule and office off the shop floor have Genesis hornstrobes set for 15cd and high continuous tone. The one remaining NA is an ELSTR strobe in the bathroom off the office-vestibule, set for 15cd and connected to the shop floor strobe NAC.
If notification is desired within the showroom, there’s enough NAC current budget (over 1.75A) left over for 33 G1AVWFs, which is enough to cover the whole showroom area and then some.
Life Safety
The exit signs in the shop are Best Lighting INDCWLEZU1G628B or equivalent all-LED NEMA 4X combination exit sign/emergency light units driving INDRHLED162B remote heads mounted to the ceiling. Each exit light unit drives 2 remote lights, and there are 6 exit signs, so this provides 12 remote lights that can be aimed as necessary to provide emergency lighting to workstations.
The auxiliary (tool servicing) area has similar NEMA 4X exit signs at the main T junction and over the tool servicing area to tool store/loading dock door. These have INDRHLED161B remotes, though, to permit each space within the tool servicing area to have its own emergency light, save for the vestibule, which has a PLT-12709 battery backed light fixture in it. Another PLT-12709 illuminates the electrical closet in the showroom.
The showroom’s exit signs are Lithonia ECRGSQs, though, and there is another ECRGSQ in the tool-store as it does not have any unprotected openings to the rest of the shop spaces. The signs are roughly evenly spaced down the main office corridor in addition to being present at the exit ends of the office cross corridor and the office-dock connector corridor, giving us another 6 signs in total.
Finally, the main shop floor lights are all eLumigen HP4W50L5000C50R95NU-Ps. These are fully explosionproof (C1D2/C2D2) LED high bays with a CRI of 95, intended for paint booths and other color critical applications.