What alarm do you have at work/school

Fire Alarm General Discussion
662

Today in my program we are starting off with installing the devices for our system in the upstairs part of our 2 story wooden structure, which gave me a lot of insight on the former FA system/components at my college.

Upstairs, we have 2 Simplex conventional panels, the 4005 and the 4100U, plus a 4602 annunciator. My teacher said that we aren’t going to use those panels though, since apparently they were having problems with Tyco regarding them. So instead, we are using the Addressable panels downstairs, the Notifer NFS2-3030, using a module so it acts like a conventional system. We installed a couple devices, I put in two heats in two of the cubicles.

What interested me the most was the amount of spare FA parts they had from the former systems. Pulls like Honeywell BG-12s, Edwards 270-SPOs, Simplex MS-301Cs, and NAs like Simplex Truealerts, Edwards 439-6AWGs, EST Integrities, Wheelock MTs, & various System Sensor speakers. Not to mention the spare 4005 not installed, as well as 4 Edwards 2280s.

So very interesting day for me. Tomorrow we’re installing some more devices, then verifying them for any opens/shorts.

663

The 4100U is conventional? :?

664

Well now that I’ve looked it up, I guess not lol… all my teachers have been saying it’s a conventional panel.

665

A 4100U with zone modules installed can be configured to function as a conventional system.

666

When I was working at Dollar Tree, they had Wheelock NS’s. I think the pulls were BG-12s but I’m not sure.

The Administration Offices of the Central Falls School Department which I work in now has Edwards Integrities. Though behind my supervisor’s desk in an area that is recessed there is a Gentex Commander 3. The building we are in is the basement of the Ella Risk School. I’m pretty sure that upstairs there are Integrities also. The pulls are Edwards 278B-1110.

667

Hi all. This is honk108’s new account.

Since all my posts appear to have been lost in the crash, I’m reposting some info on the fire alarm system in my current school, with some pictures I took a few days ago.

This first set of pictures was taken in the gymnasium lobby, right by the band room.

This is an Edwards E-RLED-C remote annunciator. The main control panel is a 10-zone Edwards FireShield conventional panel, located in the mechanical/electrical room, installed in the summer of 2014. As you may tell by the black rectangle below the annunciator, this replaced a Simplex 4602 series RCU/SCU setup. The control panel before this was a 4-bay Simplex 4002.

Here is a Mircom MS-401. These make up about two thirds of the pull stations in the school. As you can tell, the inside of the arrow was filled in by a bored kid with a sharpie.

This is a zone map, most likely provided by Simplex. I say this because of the errors. For one, they misspelled Gimli, and they labelled the school a collegiate, but it has been referred to as a high school since my dad attended in the early '80s!

The entire gym lobby setup. The bell pictured is a Notifier KMS-10-24A, replacing a failed bell.

The next picture was taken in a short hallway that connects the gym lobby to the area that contains the science labs and home economics rooms.

On the right is a Simplex 2901-9722 bell. These make up almost all of the bells within the school. On the left is an Edwards Adaptahorn. This was once part of the school’s class change system, which now signals over the PA system. There are also Adaptabuzzers and single-stroke chimes installed throughout the school.

This was taken in the industrial arts area. MS-401 below a -9722.

Looking up to the industrial arts classrooms (there are both classrooms and actual workshops). This is the only part of the building that is on a second floor, yet it meets all accessibility requirements!

Apologies for the blurry photo; there was insufficient light. This was taken right outside the handicap elevator. This is a Simplex FM-950E pull station, which makes up the final third of the pull stations installed. Two of these are installed in the gym, along with a single MS-401. The two FM-950s have dual-action lift covers, while the -401 does not.

Finally, a nicer-looking MS-401.

And there you have it!

668

Now that’s something I’ve never seen before. Looks like a Simplex rebrand of the MS-401. Between my many trips into Ontario and the many buildings in Buffalo with Mircom systems, I’ve seen more -401s than I can count, but the FM-950E is something else. Question for anyone who’s used either pull station: how the heck do you reset those things?

669

I happen to have two FM950s (a single-stage FM950E and a two-stage FM950KE) in my collection. These pull stations were made by Electro Vox, a defunct company from Montreal, and were often rebranded by other major fire alarm manufacturers (such as Honeywell and Notifier). They’re quite common in my area, and I typically see them used on Simplex systems from the late '80s and early '90s. The Mircom MS-400 series/Notifier NFM-950 series stations appear to be directly derived from the Electro Vox FM950.

These pull stations are quite easy to reset, although it can be hard to use the right technique at first. Resetting them involves sticking a small flat-head screwdriver through the hole on the handle in order to push down on a spring (similar to the one in a BG-8) inside the pull station. This allows the handle to go back all the way up and to latch onto the spring.

670

Last weekend we did a fire alarm tour at my college with my codes teacher (he’s also the guy who works on my college’s system). It was pretty interesting. Went into a few rooms to look at the air handling systems (check out duct detectors), older and newer sprinkler risers, the CACF (Central Alarm Control Facility), etc. I found out a little more about the schools system prior, which seemed to be mostly comprised of Honeywell DeltaNet FS90s. They are all used as terminal panels for the Honeywell XLS-3000s. I think what I found most interesting was the CACF. That houses the main control panel for the entire college, as well as the first responser panel, which is basically an interactive map which shows the exact location and address of any device. The panel has many features, such as paging different buildings, activating the Alarm signals in select buildings, and pre-announce tones such as all clear, fire, severe weather, lockdown, etc. Overall an eventful day.

671

As for my college, it’s pretty bland as most buildings, other than a few, mostly have battery operated smoke alarms and no full fire alarm systems.

Writing Center
[*]Air Products Duct Detector and a Test Station

Beacon Hall
Panel
[*]Silent Knight 5808
N/As
[*]Wheelock HSW Horn/Strobes and STW Strobes
Pull Stations
[*]Silent Knight rebranded BG12s
Smoke Detectors
[*]Silent Knight

Village Apartments
[]These buildings most likely have Potter Dialers, since they are the only housing facilities on campus to have sprinklers
[]Unknown Battery Powered Smoke Alarms
[]Potter Sprinkler Alarm Bells (outside)
[]There is also a Wheelock AS Horn/Strobe outside ONE apartment building

Market St Lofts 202 Building (previously leased by the campus, I now live at this Building - take note that commercial tenants reside here too!)
Panel
[*]Fire Lite MS-5204UD
Notification Appliances
[*]System Sensor SpectrAlert Classic Horn/Strobes
[*]Two SpectrAlert Classic Strobes Outside
Pull Stations
[*]Fire Lite BG12
[*]1 Ademco T-Bar Replacing a Broken BG12
Smokes
[]BRK Smokes in apartments
[]System Sensor i3 everywhere else

Market St Lofts 204 Building (I have resided at this building once)
Panel
[*]Silent Knight 5208XL
Notification Appliances
[*]System Sensor P2R Horn/Strobes (one per dwelling, and also two in the 2nd floor breezeway)
Pull Stations
[*]Silent Knight SD500-PS (one where the FACP was located, and two on the second floor)
Smoke Detectors
[*]Silent Knight SD500-PHOTO or SK-PHOTO

One thing to note, when I was at this building the FACP went into trouble for several weeks and I tried contacting the maintenance department once and they said it’s not their problem. The landlord neglected to have the alarm company come out and repair the fault until after I moved to the Woodward Apartments.

672

Elementary school
Old system- Simplex 2001, Wheelock 7004t’s, Simplex 4050’s/4040’s, spectralert classic horn only retrofit, SAE strobes, Firelite bg-10’s, Simplex 4251’s, Federal Signal pull stations, Simplex “wiffle ball” smoke detectors.
New System- Simplex 4010, Simplex Truealerts, 4099-9003/9001’s, Truealarm smoke detectors.
Middle School- Simplex 4010, 4903 (rectangular) horn strobes, 4099-9003/9001’s, Truealarm smoke detectors,
High School- New system-Siemens MXL IQ, Ummt’s on code 3 horn, Siemens dual action pull stations.

The Elementary school had a few oddities as far as the fire alarm systems went. On the stage, there was, and still is, a Simplex 4040 mounted about head height on the wall. Also, in the library, instead of using ceiling mount Truealerts, they used Truealert horn only’s next to Simplex ceiling mount strobes.

673

The Ellicott Complex at the SUNY Buffalo North Campus was built with 4050s mounted at the same height as the pulls (~5 feet). All were behind fabric screens or metal plates. The vast majority of the complex (the dorms) had them ripped out and replaced with EST3 EVAC systems, but the academic complex still had them as of last fall. Don’t know how much longer they’ll be around, as quite a few buildings are getting upgrades.

674

At my school, originally built in 1953, with additions in 1980 and 1995, we have a really cool system.

The school is set to be demolished in 2019 (my graduation year), following the completion of the new building (which hasn’t started yet because it involves multiple schools in the district and people have to vote on it).

The panel is a Simplex 4020, which was likely installed during the 1995 renovations.

The alarms are a variety, but here’s the main ones:

Simplex 2901-9838 horns on 2903-9101 strobe plates

Simplex 2901-9846 horns on 4903-9105 strobe plates

Wheelock Exceder HSR-24 horn/strobes mounted on Simplex retrofit plates (replacing dead horns)

1- Edwards Fire Horn and numerous Simplex/STR bells located in hallways; all deactivated.

Several Simplex 4251-20 pulls, 9 4251-1 ‘Local Alarm’ Chevron pull stations, along with 2099-9761 pull stations in the area of the 1995 renovations.

1- Fire Lite BG-12 (hex lock version) located in the Main Gym (replaced something) likely a 4251-20 because there are 2 of those in the main gym as well.

4? Honeywell/Ademco 5140MPS-2 pull stations with Stopper covers in the Auxiliary Gym, likely replacing something.

1-Simplex TrueAlert (again a replacement)

Also- all alarms do standard Simplex 120 BPM march time, including Wheelock Exceders and TrueAlerts. I recorded all of this year’s fire drills, but I can’t share them because I don’t have a YouTube/Google account because my parents won’t allow it, and due to privacy reasons, but trust me, it sounds amazing!

675

At my high school, we have a Simplex 4020 system with 2901-9838 horns on 2903-9101 strobe plates and 2901 9846 horns on 4903-9105 strobe plates in the areas affected by additions completed in 1995, and the 9838’s were added in an addition in 1980. The original building was completed in 1953, and the only remains of the original system is Simplex 4251 Local Alarm Chevron pull stations and an old Edwards Fire Horn. The building also has 4251-20 pulls, 2099-9761 pulls, Honeywell/Ademco 5140MPS-2 rebranded SigCom T-bars in the aux gym, and a Fire-Lite BG-12 pull that replaced a 4251-20 in the main gym. We also have 1 Simplex TrueAlert in the hallway near the main office and several Wheelock HSR Exceders on Simplex retrofit plates replacing 9838s. The system is coded to march time.

676

At my middle/high-school (I go to a secondary school, so middle and high school are in the same building) has Edwards 270-SPO as pull stations and Est Genesis celling mounts as the signals.I don’t have any pictures. Most of the pull stations are behind stopper covers which have a little alarm when the cover is taken off. There is a horn strobe in every classroom and combination of remote strobes and horn strobes in the hall way.

677

My high school apparently loves to use new-old stock rather than using just regular new notification appliances which I find a bit weird but whatever. When they splitting long hallway by putting up a wall and fire doors, they used Gentex Commander 3s first of all. I assume they were placeholders like what Ben’s work did at one point because when I came back to that hallway, they put up 9838s in their place on 4904 strobe plates which is the main alarm of the school. Then the 2DCDs which were replaced were originally replaced with Exceeders. Come now, the Exceeders are gone (one of the teacher’s in that wing said that they weren’t loud enough for a fire drill) and replaced with Siemens U-MMTs. I don’t know if it is because Wheelock and Siemens are in a partnership because of the lawsuit that Wheelock sicced on them or what, but the U-MMTs seem to be working fine. They plated the hole up with a metal sheet and mounted the U-MMT in the hallway outside Cosmetology that way, and they simply mounted it where the Exceeder and 2DCD was in the former Assessment Center (now Electronics).

678

At the high school i currently attend, the alarms were like a mix up or I don’t know how you would say that. Not even a single classroom has a fire alarm strobe, whenever we would have a fire drill, we would hear the fire alarms goes off from the hallways. There are some EST Genesis’s, Wheelock RSS’s (I don’t know why there are those in the hallways), Wheelock NS-24110W’s, and Simplex alarms. The only places I see those Simplex alarms are at the school auditorium theater, gym building, and the music department.

Here’s what the school Auditorium have:

  • Simplex 9840s on 4903-9501 plates w/4904-9105 strobes
  • Simplex 4903-9105
  • Simplex 4903-9422 (inside the backstage dressing rooms, one in each room)
  • Simplex 4903-9101 w/ 2902-9732 (only one found at the backstage hallways, not sure if it does the voice evacuation message because i never heard those simplex alarms go off in person since the only place where i’m at when there’s a fire drill is inside the classrooms, i was so desperate to here those simplex alarms go off in person.)

Music Department:

-Simplex 4903-9105 (at every hallway and one at the piano hall since the room was big)
-Simplex 2901-9846 horn only and a Simplex 4904-9105 (they’re separate and found inside the choir hall)
(not quite sure about the alarms in the band hall since i never been there)

Gym Building:

-Simplex 2901-9846 (found in every hallway especially inside the locker rooms)
-Simplex 4903-9105+9838 (four found inside the gym)

679

I live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. We have a mix of American and British fire alarms here.

My school opened in 2005 and has a really dated alarm system. I can’t tell what it is. I always feel that they’re going to change it to a Simplex or some other American system.

Speaking of TrueAlerts, the newest building on my campus (opened 2013) has them. It has a 4100ES panel and a voice-evac system. I can’t identify the voice-evac message because whenever there’s a fire drill in that building, everyone seems to talk over the message.

As for notification, the classrooms have strobes that are designed to be wall-mount, but they are placed on the ceiling oddly. Thankfully, we don’t have any horns or speakers inside the classrooms. The hallways have TrueAlert ceiling-mount speakers that do the Slow Whoop before playing the message. They also have speakers in the bathrooms (scary). The auditorium itself has wall mount speaker/strobes. Outside, there are Wheelock AH-24 horns that do the Temporal Code-3 horn (my favorite Wheelock alarm).

680

Hello Everybody I’m new here and I’m very excited to see what things await for me here. :smiley: So the fire alarms that I had when I was in preschool they were simplex 4903 rectangular horn strobes and simplex dual action T-Bars with the break glass.I did’t get to see a panel or an annunciator unfortunately :(.In pre-K-4th grade we had simplex truealerts and dual action T-Bars. The annunciator was a simplex 4603-9101.I didn’t get to see the panel but I’m confident that it was a 4100U.5th-6th grade I went to a new school and it had System sensor spectr alert classics and advances 2 est integrities and 1 wheelock as with notifier bg-12 pulls.I saw 2 annunciators.Didn’t see the panel again :frowning: but it was a notifier system.The summer program I will be going to has EST GENESIS horn strobes with the plates on them.The pulls are SIMPLEX single action T-Bars.Thank you for taking time out of you’re day to read this. :smiley: :lol:

681

I’m not sure about the other places in my workplace as I haven’t been around much since I only joined this Monday but at my floor, we have the Simplex 4908- 9785!