That’s great to hear! Hope all goes well with that.
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It’s always nice to see vintage components still in place, even if they’re not connected to anything anymore. I’m guessing that 411F is from the mid-1960s to early-1970s given the design of the serial label.
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Yep! The School was built during the time period of 1969-1970!
Ok my elementary schools system is a est system, and the devices are , est genesis red wall mount horn strobes with no fire lettering, the smoke detectors are ge/est sigas , the pull stations are siga 278,s . Now on to middle school. My middle schools fire alarm system was replaced with a Honeywell voice evac system and the system it replaced was a est QuickStart , with old wheelock as horn strobes , system sensor i3 smoke detectors and one wheelock mt . Now on to high school . My high school has a notifier system Featuring wheelock NS,s ,RS,S and Exceeder’s , the pull stations are notifier nbg12lx’s , the smoke detectors are notifier fsp-851’s. Well that is all.
That 411F is very cool!! Did they make surface mount versions? I swear a school near me has these as former class change bells, or the old fire system.
Yep! There are actually 3 411 variants known to exist, the 411 (surface mount), 411F (Flush Mount), & the 411R, which is a 411 mounted inside a outdoor rated enclosure!
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Figured I’d finally tell y’all about the systems in the places I’ve worked and went to school. For confidentiality/privacy, I can’t disclose building names, sorry!
Elementary School
Old System
Panel: Older Notifier MD/4812 panel as depicted here
NAs: Simplex 4051, or Notifier equivalent. School was an open classroom layout, so these were spread out in the hallways and every so often throughout the open classroom space. Other rooms that had alarms were the gym/cafeteria/auditorium, library, music classroom (which was pretty small), kitchen, and the boiler room. Notably all notification devices were original to the building, none of them having been replaced.
Pulls: Notifier BNG-1, old style
Smokes: Not sure, heats: Chemetronics black/silver “nipple” heats
New System (installed in 2019, way after I left the school):
Panel: Simplex 4007ES
NAs: Simplex TrueAlerts (probably ES)
Smokes/heats: Simplex TrueAlarms
Middle School
You guys are gonna like these systems.
Building A
Panel: Probably an older Edwards panel (such as 6500)
Pulls: Edwards 270-SPOs along with Simplex 4251-20s, I believe some were replaced with Simplex 2099 single-action non-addressable T-bars where the 270s wore out
NAs: Most were Edwards Adaptahorns on light plates with red lights - see the picture below. This is not a pictures of the actual school’s alarms, it’s one I found on the internet. Don’t know the model numbers. Sounded in continuous, lights steady. There was one TrueAlert (continuous) and one Wheelock MT set to whoop in the upper floor hallway. In 2012, TrueAlerts were added to the gym locker rooms which previously had no alarms. No alarms in classrooms or bathrooms, except for the library which had an Adaptahorn+light plate.
Smokes/heats: Don’t remember
Building B
Panel: Probably an older Edwards or Simplex panel (6500, 4208)
Pulls: 270-SPOs and Simplex 4251-20 single-action T-bars
NAs: A mix of the aforementioned Adaptahorns/light plates and TrueAlerts. Likely set to continuous. I never heard the alarms sound in this building. Alarms in hallway (Adaptahorns) and tech classroom, music classrooms, auxiliary gym (2 TrueAlerts), agriculture classroom, machine shop (Adaptahorn), and boiler room (TrueAlert).
Smokes/heats: Don’t remember
Building C
Panel: Unsure, could also be another older Edwards panel
Pulls: Mostly 270-SPOs, with the occasional 4251-20 or 2099 T-bar
NAs: Outside the Adaptahorns/light plates, lots of Wheelock alarms here. Several MTs and I think an NS. There was also an Edwards Pre-Integrity in one of the hallways, interestingly mounted sideways.
Smokes/heats: Don’t remember
High School
Panel: Two Simplex 4100Us networked together, one controlling each half of the school. There are annunciators for each panel at the front entrance of the school.
Pulls: Simplex 4099-9006 addressable dual-action T-bars
NAs: Simplex TrueAlert horn/strobes in hallways, remote strobes in bathrooms and most classrooms. Classrooms and areas that have horns include graphic design, photography, drafting, cosmetology, agriculture, robotics, woodshop, cafeteria, auditorium, gym, weight room, wrestling practice room, locker rooms, art rooms, band room, music room, and theatre classroom/backstage area. Sounded in code 3.
Smokes: Simplex TrueAlarms, above fire doors and at elevators
College
Way too much to put in here, will be coming in a separate post.
Work 1: College Bookstore
Panel: Simplex 4100U
Pulls: Simplex 4099-9006 addressable dual-action T-bars
NAs: Simplex TrueAlert speaker/strobes and strobes, wall and ceiling mounted
Smokes: Simplex TrueAlarms, spread out over bookstore as it doesn’t have sprinklers
Work 2: Office Building 1
Old System
Panel: Cerberus Pyrotronics SXL
Pulls: Cerberus Pyrotronics MS-51
NAs: Cerberus Pyrotronics EH horn/strobes in main area, not in leased spaces though
Smokes/Heats: Unknown
New System
Panel: Newer Honeywell-branded Silent Knight system
Pulls: Honeywell-branded BG-12s
NAs: System Sensor L-Series, L-Series everywhere! This time, also in leased spaces. Strobes in bathrooms.
Smokes/Heats: Unknown
Work 3: Office Building 2 (Current)
Panel: Simplex 4010
Pulls: Simplex 4099-9004 single-action addressable T-bars
NAs: Simplex TrueAlerts, wall and ceiling mounted, with one Wheelock Exceder strobe in my office area
That Edwards Horn/Light combo is very, very rare! I wonder if that system is still in place. I live in Canada, where Edwards was once a staple, and I never came across this alarm once. But I guess here, strobes/lights weren’t as common as the US, and even today are a healthy mix, as many places are grandfathered in.
Bridgewater-Emery Elementary - MSI Pulls, A Siemens Panel, 1 Annunciator, about 6 or more 7002’s and 7002T’s, Couple 5" Wheelock bells, some 4" Bells, 3 Telebell’s used as class bells, a 34T-24, a very rare Faraday 6170, a rare Faraday 6120 without strobe (looks like a 8-9 line grille with 2 sets by each other, not 3 by 4) 2 FOS 6120’s, and a couple 4050-80’s in the basement. Cool, Huh?
I went to a Catholic school near downtown Akron (St. Vincent parish school) that was built in 1956. The original FA system was an IBM 4200/4240 series panel (I’ll have to look at some old photos) with 8 or 10 inch single stroke bells. I haven’t been there since before COVID. There was a pull rod with manual trip bells (used until the late 90s), and the actuator switch was a standard light switch, not a timed lever switch as seen in most of OSFA’s videos. The class changed bells are 6 inch vibrating bells, also IBM.
My dad’s school was on the west side of Akron (St. Sebastian parish school); it also had an IBM 4200 with the same components as my school. He went there in the 60s and 70s. NO PERSON TALKED DURING DRILLS, the nuns were very strict about it.
Both of those schools are still around today, but with modern Edwards FA systems.
My grandmother went to Our Lady of the Elms HS on Akron’s west side back in the early 1950s. That school was built in 1949 and I have no clue what the original fire alarm system was. It’s highly likely there was a pull rod. It was the HS until sometime in the 60s when the current HS was built. I was at the current one for a girls’ volleyball game. (My GF is on the team.) Regarding the FA system, the original one was a Simplex 4240 series with 4027 bells. I saw one on the exterior right next to the main entrance. I think the pull stations were 4251 – 1s. If there were any automatic detectors, they were possibly 4255s or 4262s (the latter are STATITROL units). The current system is also Simplex, a 4010 with respective annunciator. Initiating devices are 2099-9750 series pulls and TrueAlarm smoke sensors. The signals are electronic Simplex rectangular horn/strobes and remote strobes and TrueAlert horn/strobes and remote strobes.
Archbishop Hoban HS has the same system and hardware as the Elms. The original system was most likely an IBM or Autocall with pull rods and NY type coded pull stations. The signals were 10 inch single stroke bells.
I already documented STVM’s FA system, as that is my high school.
The Mitchell building on the west side of Akron has the same original system as the Elms (4027 bells (vibrating or single stroke), 4251-1 pulls, and a 4240 series panel.
Martin W. Essex ES has the same system as the previous two places.
So there you have it, a list of some old FA systems that are/were in my area.
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I actually checked a few weeks ago and this system is still in place. Forgot to mention this in my original post. I’ll be watching it like a hawk.
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I need to go to Ohio, seems there is a ton of old systems still in place, and I love my single stroke bell systems. I grew up with them, just before they started phasing them out in my area.
That’s amazing to hear! If you ever get those horn/light combos, I would absolutley love one. I bet that place is the one of the few places that has those.
I also have been trying to find some old Edwards Chimes. I believe some may be in an old hospital building near my house but unsure really.
My elementary school system consists of a Simplex 4001 panel, 6 Simplex 2901-9840 horns (one of them was put on the outside of the building and it died before I went there), 4 Simplex 2904-9101 strobes (there were five but one was removed when the cafeteria was redone), 1 Simplex 4903 horn strobe that was possibly removed, 2 Simplex 4904 remote strobes, a few ceiling mount Edwards Genesis horn strobes, Simplex T-bars for pull stations, possibly Edwards or Simplex heats, and no smokes except for the duct detectors.
My middle/high school system consists of a Simplex 4002 panel, 18 Simplex 2901-9840 horns, 2 Simplex 4903 horn strobes, 18 Simplex 2904-9101 strobes, 2 Simplex 4904 strobes, 5 Edwards Genesis horn strobes, 2 Edwards Genesis strobes, possibly 2 Simplex bells (I don’t know the model numbers. One is small and one is medium.), Simplex T-bars, Edwards 270-SPOs, and 1 EST Siga for pull stations, Simplex TrueAlarms for smokes, what appears to be Simplex 2098-9636 smokes inside red boxes for duct detectors, and many Edwards heats. There is also one Simplex heat in a storage room and the tech room.
My school building has an NFS-3030 with a DVC. The Notification appliances are all spectralert advance. Mostly they’re all white. A good majority of them are ceiling mount speaker strobes. There are also some wall mounted remote strobes in the newest part of the building, as well as wall mounted speaker strobes. In the main hallways, not all the notification appliances have strobes on them. Some are just speakers. In the stairways, there are ceiling mounted remote strobes. There are 6 SLC loops, with most likely 3 LCM-320s and 3 LEM-320s. Most of the devices are detectors. There are at least 2 pulls that I have seen. One by the main panel in the office, and one in the kitchen. Both are NBG-12LXs. The system was most likely installed late ‘00s - early ‘10s, during the spectralert advance era, but before the Notifier LCD2-80s were available. The system has at least 2 Notifier LCD-80s. If you want more info, I can provide some.
What are the detectors
In my school, we have a Simplex 4100es voice evac panel. In the newer parts of the building we have the Simplex speaker strobes (4903-9357) with 4099-9006 pull stations. In the older part of the building there are simplex 4903-9148 speaker strobes. There are the truealarm smoke detectors in all buildings.
In the oldest part there is some sort of speaker that is behind a 2903-9001 light plate making me think that the school had some sort of simplex 2001/2120 with voice capabilities or even a Simplex 4100 classic that was removed and replaced with the 4100es (this is just speculation, as the 4100es was installed in 2011)
Something interesting has been happening at my workplace this week. The old Simplex 4120 panels in a cardiac wing have been continuously giving trouble indicators in different zones for the past several months, and just a few days ago, technicians started to replace them!
The new panels are Simplex 4100ES voice-evacuation models with the silver casing. I assume that the alarm tones have also changed, but I have yet to hear the new panels in action. The original coding for these panels started with a brief 500 hertz continuous tone, then played a message identifiying the type of alarm and its location (at least twice, as I recall), followed by a 620 hertz temporal coding that continued until the alarms were audibly silenced. None of the detectors, pull stations, and notification appliances have been affected due to the panels being replaced, and as of now, all the other Simplex 4100/4120 panels throughout the building are still intact.
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That is what is happening at my High school rn. my school is getting a new robotics stadium and they are expanding the system to the other parts as well. we used to have the EST EG1RF-HDVM horn strobes and EST speaker strobes in the gym. but now we are getting a full speaker strobe system with advances.