Answering Fire Safety Prayers
A pair of church case studies spread the gospel of fire safety.
The system is composed of nearly 200 devices, including Fire-Lite Alarms smoke detectors, pull stations, duct smoke detectors, water flow switches, input and output modules, door holders, speakers, strobes, and elevator control relays. “I requested that the devices should be easy to program or to change-out if needed,” says Izoita.
“As confusing and involved and intricate as this system is, the Fire-Lite way of doing it is the most straightforward, simple and direct way to get it done,” says Dana.
Izoita and the other volunteer electricians installed all the devices, numbered them and provided a record to the Protection 1 technicians. The changeover happened overnight. The old system was shut down on a Friday night and the new system was up on Saturday morning.
“Alex bought the devices, and I provided support either onsite or remotely as the installation progressed,” says Dana. “Then, our technicians connected the panels, programmed the system and tested it with the fire department.”
Today, growing, young families drive the growth of the school and church congregation, making it necessary to take possible future expansion into account when choosing a fire alarm solution.
The MS-9200UDLS panel can support as many as 198 points, making it conducive to future building growth.
One system also helps to simplify monitoring the entire facility’s fire protection. “The fire chief says it’s better to have one integrated system,” says Izoita. “We want to follow that model to provide the highest level of safety possible.”
Voice Evac Is Important Feature
Voice evacuation is a building code requirement based on the number of people in the building. Emergency communication is a critical lifesaving tool to warn people of fire and other threats, particularly for places of assembly, like churches and schools. The fire alarm control panel communicates with the ECC system, so it “knows” where a fire is located in the building and can broadcast customized voice messaging based on that information. “It’s easily done through the Fire-Lite software,” says Dana.
The church facilities comprise an ECC-50/100 primary operator console, an ECC local operator console and an ECC remote microphone. Now, when first responders enter either building, they can pick up one of the ECC microphones and alert every-one onsite, directing them to vacate the building, to stay seated, etc. A variety of audio zones have also been set up, allowing ECC users to send certain live and recorded messages to specific building areas.
When a fire is detected, the emergency voice system activates and broadcasts a prerecorded message to the people in the building. Dana says the voice system, which directs people where to go in an emergency, is less likely to cause panic than just sounding a horn that could cause confusion.
At the same time, the Fire-Lite system turns up the house lighting (in case there is an assembly in progress that uses stage lights), in addition to shutting down the theatrical sound system to ensure all emergency messages are audible. In addition, it recalls elevators to the ground floor, shuts off fans and releases door holders to shut doors and isolate smoke.
The Fire-Lite system aligns with Protection 1’s commitment to use only nonproprietary equipment in its systems. “It means we have to earn our customers’ loyalty,” says Dana. “We don’t hold them hostage based on being locked into hardware. It’s our policy, and it was a smart request by the church to use nonproprietary equipment.”
Dana also noted cost was another ad-vantage Fire-Lite offered this installation. Sold through authorized equipment distributors across the U.S., Fire-Lite parts are normally readily available and competitively priced.
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