The old Genesis horn/strobes don’t sound exactly like Integrity horn/strobes, they have their own sound.
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yeah it kinda sounds like the integrity but it’s actually kinda different. the difference is that the pitch is higher on this one
In my school:
NAs:
Simplex TrueAlerts in the main academic buildings set on code 3
Wheelock MT horns on all exterior walls (and a ceiling mount, indoor MT horn/strobe on an outdoor wall), all set on continuous
Faraday/FOS horn/strobes and remote strobes in the gym building and the rotunda building. I haven’t heard them before, but I assume that they are on code 3
Some weatherproof Gentex Commander 2 horns (one red, one white), probably also on code 3
A couple of sprinkler bells (I don’t know the manufacturer or model, likely Wheelock) outside. They are likely on continuous.
Unknown panel: likely Simplex
Annunciators: The only one I have seen is a Radionics annunciator by the door to the gym
Pull stations:
Simplex T-bars in the library, cafeteria, and by the elevators
A few Edwards 270-SPOs in the gym
A rebranded Bosch dual action pull station in the gym (More details in another post of mine: Bay Alarm pull station - #8 by SpruceParsleyAlarms )
I don’t know if this counts, but an Ansul or similar fire suppression pull station in the kitchen
A Potter FA-50 on the outdoor patio which is kinda yellowed.
Some FCI MS-2s in an academic building
Detectors:
Likely Simplex, but I haven’t been able to look closely at the detectors
The fire alarm system at St. Vincent-St. Mary high school in Akron, Ohio (an official state historic landmark)
Here is the link to a fire drill and photographic system tour at my HS!
Alarms are Simplex 4050s (rare black label variant) and operate on 6VAC. Panel is a Simplex 4247-2. Initiating devices are 4251-20 series pulls and 4255 series heat sensors. There are a few replacement pull stations for broken 4251 along with an Edwards 270 in the stairway by the gym to the girls’ locker room.
2026 update: this system was sadly replaced with “Honeywell slop” and newer LED L series units; I managed to get in contact with @SpockKirk-1701 (Old School Fire Alarms) who has now secured the original hardware.
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BUILDING A UPDATE: Every single NBG-10 and many 2400s have been replaced by NBG-12s and FSP-951s respectively. One hallway has them all completely replaced, and another has the old 2400 detectors installed on -951 bases they JUST replaced all those with -951 heads like 2 minutes ago i watched it happen LOL. No notification appliances have been touched, though one was unwired and dangled from the ceiling for a week and then was put back up. Hope the alarms can stay for a little while longer since ceiling mounted EHs are extremely rare. Maybe a collector can salvage them!
My predictions are that the new N/As will be ceiling mount L-Series speaker/strobes since there’s already a good amount of them in the classrooms, unlike the rest of campus where it’s all E-90s. Though unlike how the new initiating devices were installed on top of the old ones (even the pull stations which i’m not sure their height above the ground is ADA compliant) the fire alarms themselves would have to be completely reinstalled because of the spacing between the EHs (only one horn strobe and one strobe in the longest hallway).
EDIT: THE NOTIFICATION APPLIANCES ARE WHEELOCK ELUXA LED SPEAKER STROBES THERES A INSANE AMOUNT OF ELSPSTW AND ELSPSTWC BOXES LETS GOOOOO
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At my school, we have Edwards/EST Genesis G1-HDVM horn strobes, G1-VM strobes, (inside) Edwards/EST Integrity horn strobes (outside) Edwards/EST Siga 270-SPO pull stations, and Edwards/EST Siga PS smoke detectors, without bases, but in the portable classrooms, with bases. (In portables)
At my school, we have Edwards/EST Genesis G1-HDVM horn strobes, Edwards/EST G1-VM strobes, Edwards/EST 270-SPO pull stations, Edwards/EST EST3 Panel, Edwards/EST Siga-PS smoke detectors (without bases), and 2 more (in portables, with bases).
In my high school in China:
We have Beida Jade Bird fire systems installed in all the buildings on campus - main buildings, dorms, the canteen and the gym etc. Unlike the “Triple rings and a pause” sound which is common in American-style systems, fire-fighting wailing tones (just as what fire truck sirens blast) are used in horn-strobes…personally I suppose that this sort of sound is more distinctive and could hardly be confused with other types of alarms. Nobody doubt that fire truck screams denote a fire starting. Our pull stations are not activated by actually “pulling” something but, in fact, pressing on a piece of plastic. That’s not favorable cuz it increases the possibility that a false alarm is caused by mistakenly hitting on the station. An emergency broadcasting system is also installed, simply telling something like “Ladies and gentleman, there is an emergency situation. Please evacuate from the nearest exit in an orderly fashion, and do not use the elevators. Thanks for your cooperation.” and then a piece of record of air-raid siren blasts.
Our fire alarms are different in our high school. By the main entrance is simplex. Then there are single stroke bells and pull stations I cant identify some of the newer add on’s to north penn high school have simplex trualert voice and horns
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For the school I go to, (currently) we have U-MMT-S17(S) horn strobes, U-S17(S) strobes (most commonly anyway), SK-PHOTO detectors (a few have been replaced with SK-PHOTO-W’s), SK-PULL-DA pull stations, and a Silent Knight 6820 addressable system.
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Did this ever replace a Siemens system, by any chance?
My school has System Sensor L-Series in operation. It also has a few inactive old horn strobes and bells. I will post the inactive ones in a help post once I get photos.
Awesome to hear some schools still have single stroke bells. My old high school had them, and I was supposed to preserve them, but they replaced the system and took all the single stroke bells out.
I am not sure if the bells at my school are single stroke or not.
Dodge Traditional Magnet Middle School Fire Alarm System. Tucson AZ.
(School built in 1954 as Brown Elementary.)
System as of 2022/2023 School year.
This is one of the most diverse Fire Alarm Systems in my school district, combining 80’s 7002ts with 2000’s NS’es as well as some 90’s Gentex. Most systems in my district are prue Simplex.
Some of this is not well documented, so correct me if I get something wrong. (If you have recently been to the school.)
Office
NA’s
A combo of Simplex True-alerts and Cerberus Pyrotronics re-branded 7002Ts.
System Panel, Simplex 4005. Located in the office.
(Correction, I thought it was a 4100U, It was a 4005 the whole time.)
Cafeteria/Multipurpose room
NA’s
2 Cerberus Pyrotronics re-branded 7002Ts on the opposite sides of each other.
Kitchen
NA’s
A Simplex 2903-9838 on a 4903-9101 Strobe Plate.
Outdoor Restrooms
NA’s
A Simplex rebranded Gentex GX-90 which in my opinion is the most annoying alarm in the school. I feel bad for a classmate I know that was in the restroom when that alarm sounded because of a gas leak.
Indoor Restrooms
NA’s
A Wheelock LSM
Band/Orchestra Room
NA’s
A simplex re-branded GOS and SHG in the general room and a 4906-9101 in the Restroom.
(The SHG gives me chilling memories of the gas leak when activated.)
Classrooms
N/A’s
A Wheelock NS/NS4’s is in each classroom. (I am studying to determine if these are NS’es or NS4s.
Hallways
N/A’s
Wheelock NS/NS4’es in all the hallways. (With my experience, they are all out of sync.)
Pull Stations
Simplex 2099-9759’s (These pull stations are everywhere mentioned except for the classrooms. I wanted to save space here so I put it here.)
Smoke Detectors.
Simplex True-alarms (Don’t know the model)
Simplex Heat Detectors in Storage spaces and Home-EC room.
Outside
Cerberus Pyrotronics 6in Vibrating Bell
Abandoned Cerberus Pyrotronics Av32 (It seems) Backbox (Not Connected)
Sounding
When activated, the bells, 7002t’s, and Gentex Alarms all sound on steady. The Wheelock NS/NS4’es in the classrooms and hallways sound in Code 3. Since I guess that all the NACs are set to continuous, so the NS’es get out of sync. (Easy to tell because the strobe flashing does not line up and eventually the horns sound together like one loud pulse.)
I can’t really hear the majority of the alarms outside because of the bells and the super annoying GX-90.
Future notes
Credit for @WheelockNS for pointing out a few alarms.
Next year, I will document a Fire Drill here.
I had some interest in this system because a former student had made a vlog about pulling the system before the system got replaced. (This is 2002.) (Example: The pull-stations used to be Cerberus Pyrotronics MS-X’s before being replaced with the current 2099-9759’s. I’m guessing the panel was Cerberus as well at the time, I have no idea though. (Possibly because one of the riser inspection tags have Siemens and others had Simplex.)
I also got interested because the school had recently had a smoke condition and a gas leak. (I have more on that.) So I wanted to learn more.
I will get some footage of this system soon.
Since the signals were 7002T’s the old pull stations were probably MSX’s, not MSI-20B’s.
The MSX is compatible with the XL3 panel, and the MSI-20B is used with the MXL panel.
I’ve never seen 7002T’s installed on an MXL system. Instead, old MXL systems would use Wheelock MT’s or EHS-DL1’s.
my school has simplex 4903 horn strobes and system sensor spectralerts both classics and advances plus some l series horn strobes with a 4020 panel. the school i went to for 5th grade has gamewell rebranded spectralert classics and bg12s, also rebranded by gamewell. the school also still has pull rods but there are 4050s instead of 4030s, but the 4050s are blocked up instead of replaced which they have at the other school as well
Pull rods, manual trip bells and huge powerful horns … Those retro beauties are COOOOOL!
welcome to our community I’m Andrew a cadet firefighter with norriton fire engine co
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Ah yes, Akron, the former home of a lot of Pull Rod systems until they rebuild the schools and put in newer equipment in those newer schools. Have you ever been in a school that had pull rods. I know Old School Fire Alarms did a lot of his videos on very old Akron schools that would have older Autocall equipment, 2 older Simplex panels and a Tele-Call system (if thats correct). I don’t know if there was any schools in my area that had pull rod systems. Unfortunatly the pull rods systems are basically nonexistant nowadays in my state. What I have heard from some person on the internet that Oregon Schools used some sort of Siren in the 50s and I couldn’t find any sirens in the old schools. It was usually Fredral Signal 350s or Round Edwards Adaptahorns.
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