I’ve got a few Jewel Osco stores in my area that we go to often to shop.
One of those has old ceiling mounted Federal Signal horns, but it, and one other Jewel I have been to have white Wheelock MT horn/strobes. And they aren’t around the store. They are only in the bakery and the deli. There is usually one mounted on either side of the deli and bakery, and one in the middle or something.
Do you know if they are used for fire alarm service, or if they are used for general notification, like if the ovens are overheating or something?
The one without the FS horns just seems to have no fire alarm system at all, besides the MT’s. It’s just a bit weird. The next time we go, I’ll see if I can snap a pic of one.
I think code 3 can be used for other applications than evac. I saw a video once, of a burglar alarm sounding in code 3 (I don’t think it was a hobbyist system).
I’m not sure. Most people probably don’t even associate temporal code with fire alarms, unless it is that stereotypical smoke alarm/Wheelock NS type noise we have all heard.
I would venture to say that if a fire alarm system went off because of legitimate fire conditions, almost no one would evacuate a store. That’s the problem with traditional horns, everyone assumes it’s a false alarm or fire drill and don’t take it seriously. (Vimpex, a European fire alarm company, did a study about that for their Fire-Cryer line of voice sounders, their equivalent to speaker-strobes.) That’s why I think that voice evacuation, or horn-strobes used in conjunction with the PA system, is the way to go in public buildings.
Well, for example, my elementary school setup had Integrities being used for the NA’s and the PA system was either playing a hi-lo tone, or the administrators were giving instructions. Something like that.
That has its advantages. The horns give an urgent feel, whereas the PA system gives instructions and also might play a calmer tone as well to allow for a calm exit.