The remodeled areas used the xenon exceders.
Here’s another system at one of the buildings at my work.
Silent Knight 5208 control panel (most likely a replacement panel, the building was originally built circa 1999)
Inside of the panel
above the panel is the conventional power supply (model 5495)
The detectors are System Sensor 2400 smoke detectors
Chemetronics fixed temperature heat detectors (one above the panel and one in the kitchen)
the pull stations are Silent Knight PS-SATK under Stopper II covers
The horn strobes are Wheelock AS horn strobes (75 candela fixed)
the remote strobes are Wheelock RSS remote strobes (75 candela fixed)
the bathroom strobes are mounted incorrectly as shown here (probably installed after the discontinuation for the RS vertical strobe)
one of the offices has a System Sensor SPSRK for some reason, the system isn’t voice evac so I presume it must have replaced a broken strobe at some point and that’s what was only available at the time.
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That 5208 must be pretty new! All of the 5208s I’ve seen have a stripe running down the entire middle. The one at your work is styled like an SK 6000 series, so it’s probably from 2018+
I’m confident it is a replacement panel because a few years ago there was a reroof of the building and an exterior repaint.
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First glimpse into the system of my district’s new high school!
This is the first picture that I was able to get of a device in the new high school that is being built in my district. It is set to replace the old one later this year.
It appears to be a Wheelock or Siemens speaker/strobe. Based on other recent schools in my area, this probably means that it is a Siemens system but it could also be a Honeywell or even a Simplex system. I’m not really sure.
If it is a Siemens or Honeywell system, that will be interesting because almost every other school in my district has a Simplex or Autocall system (including one that opened last year). My district is also pretty small and only consists of 9 schools.
I will be paying close attention to this building and will post some more information about the new system as soon as I get it.
I’m pretty excited for this new school and so is my whole town. I will be attending it this coming year. It will be a huge upgrade from the current 1950’s building when it comes to size (300,000 sq. ft. vs 150,000), but also when it comes to safety. The current building is very bad when it comes to fire safety, but also intrusion safety, and general building stability.
UPDATE: It is a Siemens FireFinder XLS voice evacuation system.
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I have an interesting new update from work.
Earlier this year, I got a job at a different hospital site and briefly discussed the fire alarm system history there. I mentioned that there was a second system installed between the original Natsco and current Simplex systems. Yesterday, I discovered the remains of a Cerberus Pyrotronics MXL panel! It was black with three glass windows, all of which have since been painted over. Immediately to the left of it is a rectangular Simplex box, presumably a power extender or tied into the MXL in some other way.
I don’t know anything else about the Cerberus system, but presumably, they used the MS series of pull stations, for one.
That same day, after an announcement concerning a medical emergency, the Simplex devices randomly did two rounds of a 500hz temporal coding. I have no idea why; the strobes didn’t even flash.
In this post, I will be going over the fire alarm systems at every school in my district. I have done this before, but I did not go over them very well and there are some new schools now. I will only cover the current systems as it would take too long to cover system history.
Lakewood Elementary: (Opened in 2023)
Panel: Autocall 4100ES with voice evac
Notification Appliances: Autocall TrueAlert SmartSync speaker/strobes and SmartSync remote strobes (in some of the smaller restrooms)
Pull Stations: Autocall A4099-9004 addressable pull stations (same as Simplex 4099-9004)
Detectors: Autocall Addressable TrueAlarm smoke detectors
Red Trail Elementary: (Opened in 2014)
Panel: Siemens FireFinder XLS
Notification Appliances: Siemens zh-mc-r horn/strobes and zr-mc-r remote strobes
Pull Stations: Siemens hms-d Addressable pull stations
Detectors: Siemens FDO421 addressable smoke detectors
Fort Lincoln Elementary: (Opened in 1995)
Panel: Simplex 4007ES
Notification Appliances: Simplex 2901-9838 horns on 4903-9105 strobe plates in the main building and SmartSync TrueAlert horn/strobes in the portables
Pull Stations: Simplex 4099-9006 addressable pull stations
Detectors: Simplex Addressable TrueAlarm smoke detectors and TrueAlarm heat detectors (weird because the building is sprinklered)
Lewis and Clark Elementary: (Opened in the 60’s or 70’s)
Panel: Simplex 4007ES
Notification Appliances: Simplex TrueAlertES horn/strobes and remote strobes
Pull Stations: Simplex 4099-9006 Addressable pull stations
Detectors: Simplex TrueAlarm Addressable smoke detectors and Addressable heat detectors
Roosevelt Elementary: (Opened in the 60’s or 70’s)
Panel: Simplex 4007ES
Notification Appliances: Simplex TrueAlertES horn/strobes and remote strobes
Pull Stations: Simplex 4099-9006 Addressable pull stations
Detectors: Simplex TrueAlarm Addressable smoke detectors and Addressable heat detectors
Custer Elementary: (Opened in the 60’s or 70’s)
Panel: Simplex 4007ES
Notification Appliances: Simplex TrueAlertES horn/strobes and remote strobes
Pull Stations: Simplex 4099-9006 Addressable pull stations
Detectors: Simplex TrueAlarm Addressable smoke detectors and Addressable heat detectors
Mary Stark Elementary: (Opened in the 60’s or 70’s)
Panel: Simplex 4007ES
Notification Appliances: Simplex TrueAlertES horn/strobes and remote strobes
Pull Stations: Simplex 4099-9006 Addressable pull stations
Detectors: Simplex TrueAlarm Addressable smoke detectors and Addressable heat detectors
Mandan Middle School: (Opened in 2008 and expanded in 2009 and 2018)
Panel: Simplex 4100U with voice evac (possibly upgraded to a 4100ES but I have no way of knowing)
Notification Appliances: Simplex TrueAlert SmartSync speaker/strobes and remote strobes (there are also some SmartSync TrueAlert horn/strobes in some outdoor areas)
Pull Stations: mostly Simplex 4099-9001 pull stations but there are some 4099-9004 pull stations in the additions
Detectors: Simplex TrueAlarm Addressable smoke detectors
(New!) Mandan High School: (Opened in 2024)
Panel: Siemens FireFinder XLS with voice evac
Notification Appliances: Siemens SLSPSWW-F and SLSPCW-F LED Speaker/strobes and Siemens SLSWW-F LED remote strobes
Pull Stations: Siemens HMS-X Addressable pull stations
Detectors: Siemens FDO421 Addressable smoke detectors
UPDATE: We were touring the new school today and the fire alarm went off not once, but twice- for a few minutes each. Apparently, they were doing the final checks on the system before school starts. It appears that the system uses the standard Siemens voice evac message with the typical 900hz temporal-3 tone and the standard female message.
My high school was built in 2007 and is one of three public high schools in my city. It is the only Magnet high school that is in my city, pulling students from all over Fairfield County.
- Panel: EST3 (remote mics all over Level 1)
- Pulls: EST SIGA-278s and one SIGA-270 in the gym
- N/As: Genesis speaker/strobes in most areas and labs, and remote strobes in the stairwells and small classrooms
- Detectors: SIGAs
I went to school in Michigan, and both of the elementary schools I went to have mostly Gentex Commander 2s.
The 5th/6th grade building I went to has Gentex GMS’s (though this was between 2009 and 2011, not sure if they’ve replaced them since then).
The middle school I went to has mostly Wheelock AS24MCWs with a few Exceders (as of 2011–2013; not sure if they’ve replaced them or are going to).
The high school I went to has Gentex Commander 3s.
I currently reside in the Pittsburgh area, and the building I work out of has mostly Simplex TrueAlert horn strobes, mostly white ceiling mount (I believe they are the 4906-9130) with a few red wall mount ones.
In and around downtown Pittsburgh, I’m seeing mostly SpectrAlert Advances, Simplex TrueAlerts, and Wheelock ASWP’s. The Terminal in the Strip District has Wheelock Eluxas.
Now, I will explain the systems at all the schools that I attended!
Preschool #1
This is located in the United Methodist Church in Stamford, CT as part of their nursery school/Kindergarten program.
I vaguely remember the system, I believe the pull stations were BG-10s, the N/As were SpectrAlert Advances (or maybe Wheelock MTs), and the smoke detectors were i3s. I do not remember the panel, maybe it was a SK panel of some sort??
Preschool #2:
This is the public preschool that I attended for Extended School Year and when I was in the “4s” program at both schools. (I attended so I could receive the proper special services) This was in the same building as Rippowam Middle School and the same property as my current High School. (my HS is behind the middle school/preschool building)
The panel was an EST3, the pull stations were SIGA-278s, and the notification appliances were Integrites. (In old photos, an Integrity was installed in my classroom.) The smokes, I believe, were SIGA detectors.
Elementary School:
This is one of the public elementary schools in my school district. This school’s system was upgraded while I was there, and got totally remodeled again when I was riding my bicycle around the school!
Originally, the panel was an EST QuickStart, the pulls were 270-SPOs, the N/As were mostly 792-7A-006 horn/strobes, and the detectors were 6250C detectors, with Edwards heat detectors in the kitchen. But, there was an Integrity horn/strobe in the Kindergarten and Special Education hallway, and a Genesis in the media center, which replaced dead 792s at some point.
Then, in 2020, the panel was upgraded to an EST iO64, but all the devices were kept the same.
However, in 2022, all the EST components were removed and replaced with a new Silent Knight system! The panel is now a SK6820EVS with voice-evac built-in. The pulls are now PS-DAs, the notification appliances are now L-Series speaker/strobes and Advances outside, and the detectors are SK-PHOTO-W detectors. (I saw all this when I was riding my bicycle around the school and looked in some windows)
Middle School:
My middle school that I attended was a small Catholic school located behind my church. Originally a PreK-5 school, the building is now a PreK-8 school, with an upstairs consisting of a guidance office, math classroom, and science classroom.
Originally (before about 2017), the panel was a vintage Edwards panel, the pull stations were “LOCAL ALARM” 270-SPOs and one Fire-Lite BG-10, and the alarms were old Edwards “FIRE HORN” Adaptahorns. The system lacked any detectors and was not aligned to code, so, when my school was founded, a brand new system was put in!
All the old Edwards devices were left up due to a risk of asbestos in the school walls, but disconnected. The only device that remained connected was the BG-10 up by the guidance office. The new panel was a Fire-Lite MS-5UD, the pulls were BG-12s (and the BG-10), the N/As were Advances set to high-volume code 3, and the detectors were i3s. We always got surprise fire drills (but the teachers knew and could not tell us), so the Advances would always jumpscare me and my classmates when it would go off.
Planned High School:
After receiving a generous scholarship from this school, we applied here for me to go to high school. This school has a Mircom system, with Mircom dual-action T-bars that look like this:
Credit: The Fire Alarm Supplier
The alarms were L-Series speaker/strobes in the classrooms, and Advance speaker/strobes in the auditorium. The detectors were unknown, maybe they were 2151s.
I ended up at my current high school after a seat opened up and in consideration of the logistics of both schools. My current HS is 5 minutes away, while the other one was 35 minutes away. I could not continue my extracurricular activities if I went to the other school, but I could at this school. So, in the end, I decided to attend this school in the end!
I don’t know for sure the model numbers, but:
There’s Simplex vertical strobes (4904-9174?) and 4903-9219 horn strobes, along with Simplex conventional single-action T-bar pulls.
I have no idea what the detectors are, as I barely see any.