What alarm do you have at work/school

There’s a middle school next to the high school, and I went there on Friday.
Panel: Cerberus Pyrotronics MXL, located in the boiler room. There’s also an annunciator at the main entrance.
Pull stations: MSI-20B’s and one MSI-10B
Detectors: FirePrints, and heat detectors in the pool area.
There are also a few PBA-1191 beam detectors in areas with high ceilings, one was replaced with a System Sensor BEAM1224.
Signals: I-SM-series speaker/strobes just about everywhere (even single-stall restrooms).
There are also a few Siemens-branded Wheelock E50’s.
Now for a quick question:
This middle school and the high school were both renovated around the same time (1998-1999), and as part of the same project.
The middle school is smaller than the high school.
Yet, for some reason, the middle school is 100% voice-evac, but the high school isn’t.
Why could this be?

Maybe because the middle school is so small that they didn’t want to put a horn in it because it would overpower the speakers? :?:

[quote="Simplex 4051" post_id=85359 time=1573367572 user_id=18]

Maybe because the middle school is so small that they didn’t want to put a horn in it because it would overpower the speakers? :?:

[/quote]

It’s not that small…

Your high school is big and even with the voice evac you hear in its area you can still hear the AS’s going off.

It looks like there is a walkway that connect the two buildings on the property. Is that an indoor hallway or just an outside path?

Yes I know that this does have absolutely nothing to do with the topic at the hand but I’m curious and my enquiring mind wants to know. LOL

[quote="Simplex 4051" post_id=85372 time=1573450723 user_id=18]

It looks like there is a walkway that connect the two buildings on the property. Is that an indoor hallway or just an outside path?

Yes I know that this does have absolutely nothing to do with the topic at the hand but I’m curious and my enquiring mind wants to know. LOL

[/quote]

It’s an outdoor path.

My high school has Wheelock AS horn/strobes in a majority of the hallways and classrooms, with some SpectrAlert Advance ceiling mount horn/strobes and remote strobes in certain classes. The gym has Wheelock NS horn/strobes, and the exterior of the school has AH horns. For detectors, we have Apollo (Gamewell) smoke detectors, and for pull stations, we have old Gamewell pulls, probably from around the 60s.

That sounds very interesting! Do you have an ideas on what was there before?

[quote="Quentin Richards" post_id=85411 time=1573870391 user_id=5681]

…for pull stations, we have old Gamewell pulls, probably from around the 60s.

[/quote]

If you’re talking about the Century type, with the “bullseye” lever, those were actually made until ~2008, including in an addressable format.

That is something that I didn’t know either! That is really cool!

I’m not sure about ourhttps://transtechphilippines.com/fire-detection-alarm-system-philippines/ fire detection and alarm system but I think we have a SK-5208 LOL.

Its similar to this one…

Earlier this month, I made the decision to switch jobs, and I am now working at a different medical facility in a different city. The facility consists of a series of interconnecting buildings (with the first opening during the 1960s) and most of the devices are 1990s-era Simplex models at the oldest. There are some vintage Simplex Time Recorder Co. square clocks still installed, so I’m guessing Simplex was the original alarm system here, also.

Panels:

A series of Simplex 4100 and 4120 voice-evac models with cabinet annunciators throughout different sections of the building
In a reception desk area near an auditorium, there is what appears to be an old annunicator painted over with white paint and mostly obstructed by office furniture. I’m guessing it was a Simplex 4207 or 4208

Detectors:

Simplex 4098-series “TrueAlarm” addressable detectors, one of which is mounted on a Simplex 2098-series base
Gentex 9000-series ionization detectors above elevator corridors

Pull stations:

Simplex 2099-series single-action t-bars throughout
Blue STI push-button devices used for general emergency/security situations

Notification appliances:

Simplex 4902-9721 speakers
Simplex 4903-series speaker/strobes and speakers (the latter of which are found only in the stairwells)
Simplex 4904-series strobes
Simplex 4906-9102 strobes
Simplex 4906-series “TrueAlert” speaker/strobes and strobes
Simplex 4906-9254 speaker/strobes
An unused guard shack has a flush-mount Edwards 89STR-A-AQ strobe on the outside.
One stairwell has a tan-colored, wall-mount, and cylindrical-shaped speaker (make and model unknown) on the ground floor; surprisingly enough, that same stairwell has an exposed wiring box on the third floor where there used to be a 4903-series speaker!

I have a new update which sheds a little light on some of the original 1960s alarm devices at my workplace.

While having a holiday party in a conference room on a dedicated event hall floor, I noticed a flush-mount Simplex plate on the ceiling (the one with the grid pattern for the sound opening); upon closer inspection, I discovered a Federal Signal SelecTone speaker inside! That same room has a Simplex 4903-series speaker/strobe, so I don’t know if the SelecTone speaker even works anymore, but this was an interesting find nonetheless!

On another interesting note, just down the hall from the conference room is a set of doors which leads into a cooling room (I believe for the ventilation on the roof); next to these doors is an Edwards AdaptaBeacon (with a red strobe) with a blue-colored pull station (Reliable Security Group RMS-series; hex lock) used as a door release!

My school shares a system with the rest of the shopping complex it is located in.
Panel: Notifier NFS-3030
Pulls: Notifier NBG-12LX
Notifier MPS-950B (rebranded by Tyco/Grinnell)
Signals: System Sensor P2R
Mircom FHS-240R

There is also a local system, set up for drills.
Panel: Potter SFP-??? (not sure on model)
No Initiating Devices
Alarms: Potter SH-1224 horns

So you go to school in a portion of a shopping complex where it is located? That actually sounds pretty cool! I have only really ever heard of a few schools located in buildings like this.

[quote="YYC Fire Alarms" post_id=85655 time=1576616425 user_id=4467]

My school shares a system with the rest of the shopping complex it is located in.
Panel: Notifier NFS-3030
Pulls: Notifier NBG-12LX
Notifier MPS-950B (rebranded by Tyco/Grinnell)
Signals: System Sensor P2R
Mircom FHS-240R

There is also a local system, set up for drills.
Panel: Potter SFP-??? (not sure on model)
No Initiating Devices
Alarms: Potter SH-1224 horns

[/quote]

There are… two separate systems? So in the event of an actual emergency, does one panel trip the other? That seems more than a little overkill to me and depending on the circumstances could definitely be illegal.

[quote=EpicFireAlarms post_id=85660 time=1576638400 user_id=3400] [quote="YYC Fire Alarms" post_id=85655 time=1576616425 user_id=4467]

My school shares a system with the rest of the shopping complex it is located in.
Panel: Notifier NFS-3030
Pulls: Notifier NBG-12LX
Notifier MPS-950B (rebranded by Tyco/Grinnell)
Signals: System Sensor P2R
Mircom FHS-240R

There is also a local system, set up for drills.
Panel: Potter SFP-??? (not sure on model)
No Initiating Devices
Alarms: Potter SH-1224 horns

[/quote]

There are… two separate systems? So in the event of an actual emergency, does one panel trip the other? That seems more than a little overkill to me and depending on the circumstances could definitely be illegal.

[/quote]

Since the NFS-3030 covers the whole complex, not just the school, tripping the system for required fire drills would cause the whole plaza to evacuate. The Potter is a mock system, used only for drills. It will not activate in a real emergency. It’s pretty easy to tell when there’s a real fire, because the main system does Code 3, but the drill system does march time. The systems are not linked or connected in any way. If the Mircoms go off, then it’s a real emergency. If the Potter horns go off, it’s a drill. Sorry if I’m making absolutely no sense.

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Do you go to a charter school by any chance? Because I can only really think of those that are located inside commercial spaces.

I used to go to a school that was located in an office building (which coincidentally also has a Notifier system.)

The building held a fire drill annually, and so did the other office buildings in the complex.

The school once held its own fire drill many years ago when the buildingwide drill was over summer vacation. That time they just announced it over walkie-talkies. "Attention all [SCHOOL_NAME] staff and students, this is a fire drill, please exit the building.

Last week I stopped by Woodland School.
Woodland is one of the K-3 schools in the district, the other being Country, which I attended.
Woodland underwent a major refurbishment and expansion in 2003, and Country was demolished and rebuilt at that time.
The fire alarm systems are exactly identical.
Panel: Simplex 4100 (at the back recess doors at Country, at the loading dock at Woodland)
Both schools have 4603-9101 remote annunciators at the main entrance.
Pull stations: 4099-9001’s
Detectors: TrueAlarms, and a heat detector in the kitchen.
Signals: TrueAlert speaker/strobes in most areas, remote speakers in classrooms, and remote strobes in small rooms.
These systems do code-3 tone with no message. I’ve heard Country’s go off many times.
I got to hear Woodland’s when someone burned toast during a summer program. We were only out for a minute or two until the custodian found the alarm to be false, silenced it, and canceled the fire department response.