FA pics from my elementary school! (kindergarten) 2.0

OK, with the way the forum is designed now, and I had some new pics from the K-8 school I went to for kindergarten, as well as a summer day program during the summer of 2000 (before I started junior high) I thought I’d just do it all here now, in a more appropriate place.
Back then, this was a regular K-8 school, but not much has changed since then…


The school currently has two fire alarm panels installed: a Simplex 4010 and a Simplex 4208. Obviously, the 4208 is the original from when the school was built in 1974, and is used for the existing pull stations and heat detectors. The 4010 is for newer duct detectors and for system monitoring (when I went here for kindergarten, I think they had a Simplex 2001 or 4002 panel tied into the 4010.)


Most of the alarms throughout the school are Simplex 4051 horns on 4050-80 light plates. When I was here, the 4051s were on Slow March Time, and the pitch could vary in several areas (I recall at least one or two of them sounding pretty deep-pitched, almost like in SimplexTech’s videos!)
These are the original alarms from when the school was built; however if you look around there are a few interesting differences…


The 4051 in the small gymnasium (referred to on the doors as the “Playroom,” and this is where they have sporting practices and election votings) is on a Space Age AV32 light plate. This AV32 is obviously not original; it is probably replacing a 4050-80 that was damaged by a ball or something (you can see the imprint from where the 4050-80 was.)


There’s another 4051+AV32 combination in the main gymnasium, but this one has the “FIRE” lettering. I imagine they were both installed separately over time (probably some time in the 1980s.)


The Simplex 4051 horn in the music room broke down some time after 2000, so they removed it and slapped a Wheelock NS horn/strobe onto the 4050-80 light plate, and removed the lens from it! You can obviously tell by this install job that it was due to replacing a broken alarm.


Located in the boiler room is a Simplex 4903-9236 electronic horn/strobe. The boiler room was redone in 1998, and I’m guessing there used to be a 4051+4050-80 in there, and they replaced it with this in the process.


Most of the pull stations throughout the school are Simplex break-glass 4251-30s (a popular choice on Simplex systems in my area from the 1970s and early 1980s!) Many of them still have the original glass in them.


The 4251-30s in the main gymnasium had those Simplex red wire guards installed over them (IDK what they called the 2099-9800s in the 1970s.)


For some reason, one of the 4251-30s had the wire guard AND the break-glass mechanism removed some time between 2000 and 2009! When I first saw this, at first glance I thought that a new pull station was installed there until I saw the old Simplex logo and the holes and peg above the lever.


OK, I found this 4251-30 already looking like this, in one of the hallways. It looks like someone broke the glass or pulled the alarm at one point, and they never got around to fixing it (as 4251-30s are designed so the frame flips down once the glass is smashed.)


There are also a few Edwards/AIP 270-SPO pulls replacing 4251-30s that stopped working in the 1990s and early 2000s.


The boiler room has these two Federal Signal pull stations, for some reason. IDK if this is run off the 4208 or the 4010.


There are also two Simplex 2099-9103 break-glass pulls in the main lobby/cafetorium, installed in early 2009 to replace a couple of 4251-30s that stopped working. I’m actually kinda surprised they used these!


An OLD Simplex 4262-5 ionization smoke detector in the cafetorium.


Other areas have Simplex 4255-1 mechanical heat sensors (the ceiling was being replaced here, and that’s why this one looks like that.)


These 2098-9806 test stations are also common in many areas. They were installed in 1998 and go to the current duct detectors run off the Simplex 4010.


Simplex graphic annunciator in the main lobby. It looks like the kind that was used on Simplex 2001 systems in the 1980s (which is what leads me to believe the school had a 2001 or 4002 at one point.) The 4010 was in trouble mode when I took this pic, hence the “TROUBLE” LED being on here.


At least two of the 4050-80s have no lens on them! This one has been like this for as long as I can remember, and it had the bulb removed a while back.


The 4251-30 pull in the west wing computer lab has the hammer broken off, but the glass remains intact.


This alarm has an unusual install job, with the 4051 horn on two backboxes mounted onto the 4050-80. The 4251-30 pull (missing the glass and hammer, but with frame still intact) is also on a backbox underneath it. This was obviously not how it was originally installed in the 1970s, but was probably done during a panel/duct detector upgrade.

We’ve seen these pictures before, why did you post them again, out of curiosity?

Some of them are old, but others are new. This is also for the newcomers that may be checking out this thread.

That 4251-30 pull station no longer looks like that. They had now removed the glass frame and the hammer and converted it to single-action:


So there are now two 4251-30s in the school like this. I actually wasn’t sure if this was the same pull yet until I got a good look at it and saw the old Simplex logo and the hinges above it that would hold the frame in place.


This 2099-9103 pull in the cafetorium is now missing the glass. The one in the main lobby area still has glass (only a few of the Simplex pulls here have no glass, at least one 4251-30 recently had new glass installed in it.) It still seems a little unusual seeing it with a 4051+4050-80 instead of a 4903/TrueAlert-series signal (though I’ve often seen the other way around!)


A 4051 horn that really needs to be re-adjusted, found in one of the classroom pods.


There’s an Edwards 270-SPO pull outside the main gymnasium that has the silver trim and an Edwards logo on the bottom. It may be because this was installed around 2001, after the other three were installed; nonetheless it’s still obviously newer (as one could tell by the typeface on the lever and how it says “FIRE ALARM” on top.)

Here’s some updates I forgot to share…

I found this outside one of the sixth grade classrooms…


This is obviously replacing a 4251-30 that broke in the early 2000s. I had mis-counted; it turns out there are five Edwards 270-SPOs replacing 4251-30s. Only two have the silver trim and the Edwards logo like this; the other three are the AIP version that is completely red and with no Edwards logo. (They all still have “FIRE ALARM” on top instead of “LOCAL ALARM,” showing they are newer models.)


Alarm with paint on the sides, an obvious mistake from a wall-repaint job (the grille for the school bell was also painted over, but that was probably intentional.)


One of the alarm setups in the main gymnasium. I am surprised they didn’t put protective guards over the 4051+4050-80s to prevent damage to them…


…like what happened with this alarm back in the 1980s (hence the 4051 horn on an AV32.) Note the school bell is mounted much higher than the alarm, unlike in the previous photo…


The alarm setup in the west wing computer lab. That 4251-30 has had the hammer missing for as long as I can remember.


Simplex duct detector, located in the small kitchen adjacent to the computer lab (it was formerly a multi-purpose room.) The ceiling tile was removed, thus making the detector visible. I imagine most (if not all) of the school’s duct detectors are this kind, installed in 1998 when the boiler room was redone and the 4004 was installed (since replaced with a 4010.)


Test station for the same duct detector.


This recently had the break-glass frame and hammer removed. There are now three 4251-30 pulls in the building like this.

Now, the school is scheduled to get a new fire alarm system this summer. I was told I can probably have parts from the old system, so if that is the case I will definitely save stuff for you guys! (I will probably want to keep the Simplex 4010, but not the old 4208 panel!) I am sure the new system will mostly be horn/strobes, instead of all voice-evac like other new/renovated schools have. Several classroom pods got repartitioned into individual classrooms, and most (if not all) had SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobes installed in them, and in rooms with direct exits outside, a conventional Notifier BG-12 pull was installed next to the door (I hope they will put Stopper covers on them or something once they upgrade!) Judging by the new components, the new system will probably be Notifier, like what some of the Brockton schools and Massasoit College have also been using recently…

Yes, I am a newcomer, and I do appreciate the images.

It isn’t surprising that there aren’t wire guards over the horns in the gymnasium of this school. My high school didn’t have any wire guards over the -9838s either. Both gyms at my middle school have the 4051s mounted near the ceiling. My elementary school had the -9838s in wire guards though.

Nice system. However, it is definitely in need of replacement. When it is removed, how much would you ask for one of the 4050-80 horn/light combos?

Whoever painted at that school needs to learn about painter’s tape!

Oh, I already talked with some of the faculty members and the school department, and they said I can probably have several parts from the old system (likewise with my middle school, also scheduled to upgrade this summer!)
I agree, though it is a rather unique system, the 4208 panel, alarm signals (most of them) and heat sensors are very outdated now; they were made and installed back when disco music was popular! :wink: A new system would definitely be for the better. Not just here, but the mentioned middle school, THEY have an even older Gamewell FlexAlarm system from 1957!

I’m sorry. I should have phrased that question a bit different.

Not to get too far ahead, I was asking if and when you get the parts, if I could buy a 4050-80 off you. How much would you want for one? Also, would these be 24 Volts DC?

Also, I wish I grew up with more systems like this. I have only seen a Simplex 4050-80 once in real life. That was in the Heath Department video I uploaded a couple years ago that you commented on.

Yes, the alarms are 24-VDC. I will PM you with pricing information when the time comes (I can let you know it’d be rather inexpensive!)
I think the old alarms are currently run off the Simplex 4010 panel. The 4208 is a 24-VDC model too, but now it is just used for the existing Simplex pull stations and heat sensors. I think they actually began that sort of setup back in the 1980s, except with a Simplex 2001 or 4002 in place of the 4010 (if there has ever been a Slow March Time module or something similar for 2001s, then that would confirm my theory!) In 1998, a 4004 was tied into the 4208 for the newer duct detectors, but that was soon replaced with the 4010 (probably some time in the early or mid-2000s.) I think it would’ve been easier to just get rid of the 4208 and wire the whole system into the 4010 (with the use of zone adapter modules that is!)

Thanks. And I agree with the wiring thing you said. They should have just put the new panel in and wired the whole system to that. However, all the old initiating devices would need addressable modules wired in to make them compatible with the 4010.

My current school has a pretty mixed up and similar system too. Simplex 4002 panel. Here is the large mix of devices it has:

Simplex 2903 strobe plates with 2901-9806 horns
Simplex 4903-9101 strobe plates with 2901-9846 horns
Simplex 4903 rectangular electronic horn/strobes
Simplex 4904-9137 remote strobes
System Sensor SpectrAlert strobe

Simplex 2099-9754 pulls
Simplex 2099-9756 dual-action pulls
Simplex 4251-30 pulls (glass frames removed) (only 3 remaining)
EST 270-SPO pulls.

Too bad I graduate from this school in 6 days LOL.

Heh, I am betting the 4251-30s were installed with the 2903+9806 horn/strobes. For some reason, 4251-30s were popular on Simplex systems in schools from the 1970s and 1980s.
Though to be fair, the 4051+4050-80s are the most common alarms at my K-8 school. Many of the original alarm devices from when the school was built in 1974 are still intact…

Yeah. I agree.

Please contact me if/when you get devices as I may be interested.
Thanks.