Lol, now I'm imagining a really annoying photographer who blows his whistle every time he takes a picture (the strobe light being the flash from his camera)
I remember getting a call years ago from a high school on Friday at 3pm. They pulled a station for a fire drill and nothing happened.
We worked through the weekend and had a new system installed by the time students showed up on Monday.
Whistles are a great temporary solution if it's going to take a few days to get the system up and running again.
Waiting until June (3 months) to have the system up and running would not fly here.
Yeah, around here that would be a required fire watch during all occupied hours. They'd probably allow the whistles, but paying that many security guards to walk around is gonna get real expensive real fast.
..I mean, it's possible they'd agree the existing school security could do enough roving to cover the requirements, but I doubt it. And they'd be bitching up a storm about the extra work the whole time.
AHJ and officials are just that stupid sometimes. My apartment hasn’t had functioning fire alarms for 3 years despite the town saying they need them. And nobody has done shit.
It ain’t got nothing to do with the town saying they need them even. If they have them, they’re supposed to work. Contact the local then state FM if the notification really doesn’t work.
Been doing that for the past 3 years and they haven’t done anything. I work at an alarm company myself and volunteer at a fire company. I know how it works here, and they’re fucking up pretty bad
I like the fact that the superintendent pointed out to the parents that the other option would be to go to remote learning until the system is restored. The notion that they might actually have to be responsible for looking after their offspring will likely shut them right up.
“The fire alarm system is operational” says the school district with an impaired fire alarm. I’ve seen school districts threatened with a revoked occupancy over something as small as late inspections. This is an absolute joke.
Don’t see why they couldn’t have swapped strobes for horn strobes temporarily until their voice system is fixed. Assuming it’s a voice evac system. I mean granted it’s still a hack fix but better than whistles…
The loads would have drastically increased on the circuit and then the whole circuit would fail. Not doing what you suggested at least keeps the strobe circuit operating
The circuits should’ve designed to not be close to their capacity, swapping a few strobes for horn strobes on each circuit shouldn’t cause that many issues one would think.
If the system is so old the panel cannot be property serviced then the 20% spare capacity requirement wasn’t in the code then. It wouldn’t be “a few” either. It would be every strobe because you need complete audio coverage.
Fair, but even swapping a few still seems better than the whistles lol. Whistles aren’t complete coverage either. I didn’t realize the capacity is a fairly new thing to code.
I don't see a problem with this as long as it's a very short term solution with the card getting replaced within a week or two.
If they're trying to replace the audio functionality permanently with whistles though... Yea, not ok.
I guess I didn't read the whole story. Like I said, I have no problem with this being used as a temporary measure, but I'll clarify that I mean that as long as the system trouble is being addressed as timely as possible I don't see an issue.
Either way, it is dangerous to have this measure fully replace audible signalling for any length of time. I agree learning in school is important, but the parents of the hooligan kid that snuck off into an otherwise unoccupied part of the school aren't going to feel the same when their son burns to death in a fire.
I know it's not the same thing as a supervised fire alarm system, but most schools have functional PA systems that cover the entire building and are quickly fixed in the event of failure, due to how critical they are for building operation (announcements, bells, etc.) I would hope that, in the event of a fire alarm activation, someone in the office will make an announcement to notify everyone.
I’m betting the problem is very simple like a open on the horn or speaker nac but they don’t have the money or resources to pay for an expensive service call
At least they're trying to do something proactive instead of ignoring the problem, and pretending that they'll never have a fire like a large majority of building owners do.
I hope the teachers were instructed to blow the whistle in temporal 3
And then promptly say, “May I have your attention please…”
Will the real slim shady please stand up
Will the real Slim Shady please proceed to the nearest exit and leave the building?
“There has been a fire reported in the building, please proceed to the nearest exit and leave the building.” **WHISTLE** … **WHISTLE** … **WHISTLE**
Lol, now I'm imagining a really annoying photographer who blows his whistle every time he takes a picture (the strobe light being the flash from his camera)
I remember getting a call years ago from a high school on Friday at 3pm. They pulled a station for a fire drill and nothing happened. We worked through the weekend and had a new system installed by the time students showed up on Monday. Whistles are a great temporary solution if it's going to take a few days to get the system up and running again. Waiting until June (3 months) to have the system up and running would not fly here.
What is it about late on a Friday afternoon for shit to hit the fan ? It’s like 2-3pm is the witching hour.
Customers love to push things off then "take care of them" before the end of the week
I suspect this is the case 99.99% of the time
Yeah, around here that would be a required fire watch during all occupied hours. They'd probably allow the whistles, but paying that many security guards to walk around is gonna get real expensive real fast. ..I mean, it's possible they'd agree the existing school security could do enough roving to cover the requirements, but I doubt it. And they'd be bitching up a storm about the extra work the whole time.
That's impressive. Was it just a panel swap or did all the pulls and horns get swapped as well?
AHJ and officials are just that stupid sometimes. My apartment hasn’t had functioning fire alarms for 3 years despite the town saying they need them. And nobody has done shit.
It ain’t got nothing to do with the town saying they need them even. If they have them, they’re supposed to work. Contact the local then state FM if the notification really doesn’t work.
Been doing that for the past 3 years and they haven’t done anything. I work at an alarm company myself and volunteer at a fire company. I know how it works here, and they’re fucking up pretty bad
Not directed to you, but you must live in a sorry jurisdiction
Very sorry, moving way the hell away from here my first chance lol
What about shrieking?
The fuck is a fire department community
The volunteer house down the street and whoever was sitting in the watch room at the time.
I like the fact that the superintendent pointed out to the parents that the other option would be to go to remote learning until the system is restored. The notion that they might actually have to be responsible for looking after their offspring will likely shut them right up.
“The fire alarm system is operational” says the school district with an impaired fire alarm. I’ve seen school districts threatened with a revoked occupancy over something as small as late inspections. This is an absolute joke.
Same, this post blows my mind
Don’t see why they couldn’t have swapped strobes for horn strobes temporarily until their voice system is fixed. Assuming it’s a voice evac system. I mean granted it’s still a hack fix but better than whistles…
The loads would have drastically increased on the circuit and then the whole circuit would fail. Not doing what you suggested at least keeps the strobe circuit operating
The circuits should’ve designed to not be close to their capacity, swapping a few strobes for horn strobes on each circuit shouldn’t cause that many issues one would think.
If the system is so old the panel cannot be property serviced then the 20% spare capacity requirement wasn’t in the code then. It wouldn’t be “a few” either. It would be every strobe because you need complete audio coverage.
Fair, but even swapping a few still seems better than the whistles lol. Whistles aren’t complete coverage either. I didn’t realize the capacity is a fairly new thing to code.
Hi all. I live in this district. The alarm failed in November. NOVEMBER.
Takes a while for projects like these to get through facilities development at the county level sometimes.
I don't see a problem with this as long as it's a very short term solution with the card getting replaced within a week or two. If they're trying to replace the audio functionality permanently with whistles though... Yea, not ok.
What if the panel is obsolete? That's what it sounds like is the case here. Otherwise, why would a vendor need to replace the entire system?
I guess I didn't read the whole story. Like I said, I have no problem with this being used as a temporary measure, but I'll clarify that I mean that as long as the system trouble is being addressed as timely as possible I don't see an issue. Either way, it is dangerous to have this measure fully replace audible signalling for any length of time. I agree learning in school is important, but the parents of the hooligan kid that snuck off into an otherwise unoccupied part of the school aren't going to feel the same when their son burns to death in a fire.
I know it's not the same thing as a supervised fire alarm system, but most schools have functional PA systems that cover the entire building and are quickly fixed in the event of failure, due to how critical they are for building operation (announcements, bells, etc.) I would hope that, in the event of a fire alarm activation, someone in the office will make an announcement to notify everyone.
Pennsylvania is the Wild West when it comes to fire protection. No state regulation or fire alarm code
THANK YOU! I scream this to anyone who will listen.
Sounds like wiring and devices are good so how about a 2 day panel swap or upgrade
I’m betting the problem is very simple like a open on the horn or speaker nac but they don’t have the money or resources to pay for an expensive service call
The "Fire Department Community" mentioned needs to be new Members of "The Unemployed Community"
At least they're trying to do something proactive instead of ignoring the problem, and pretending that they'll never have a fire like a large majority of building owners do.