College Planning & Management

JUN 2012

College Planning & Management is the information resource for professionals serving the college and university market. Covering facilities, security, technology and business.

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system's overall condition, including wires. It also controls all information relayed to emergency services, and constantly supervises the integrity of the system. These monitoring systems detect problems with the components of the system and tell repair staff when components need maintenance or replacement. Maintaining the Center: The Fire Alarm Control Panel The fi re alarm control panel is the center of the process to provide instant notifi cation to emergency services, regard- less of whether there is someone in the structure or not. Even in the instance of a power failure, fi re alarm control panels can alert fi re departments for at least 24 hours after initial AC power loss. Fire panels rely on fi re safety devices, which serve two primary purposes: They protect life and they protect property. A working fi re with a visible fl ame approxi- mately doubles in size every minute, so it is crucial that emergency responders, who are instrumental in preventing or reducing property damage, be notifi ed quickly. All of the devices tied into the fi re alarm panel require some level of annual testing (there are also some components which may have exemptions from annual testing requirements). For the most part, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Stan- dard 72 governs the frequency and type of testing required for each device on the system. While most facilities regularly test initiating devices such as smoke detectors and pull stations, as well as notifi cation de- vices, for activation, many overlook other components, including proper decibel and candela levels for notifi cation devices and how many of the other system components already mentioned function during an alarm test. RQ UHG OHWWHUV IRU SURWHFWLRQ" LV \RXU FDPSXV VWLOO UHO\LQJ KHUHuV QXPEHUV WR FRQVLGHU 38% 3 LOWER RESALE PRICE 64% YEAR NON-PRORATED BATTERY WARRANTY LONGER RUNTIME PRO1500LCD VS. APC SC1500 Fire Alarm Notifi cation Appliances Fire alarm notifi cation appliances are usually required to have annual sound- level measurement testing. According to NFPA 72, 1999 edition, Section 14 of Table 7-2.2 requires audible alarm notifi cation appliances to have sound pressure levels measured with meters meeting ANSI stan- dards. Furthermore, Section 19 of Table 7-3.2 requires the frequency of this sound- level measurement to be accomplished at the time the appliance is initially installed, and annually thereafter. However, the commentary in the NFPA Handbook for NFPA 72 says if the sound measurement levels comply with the requirements of the code at the initial installation, then the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) may deem further testing as unnecessary. The comments in a handbook are not part of the enforceable code, but the AHJs can use 6WXGHQW DQG VWDII VDIHW\ GHSHQGV RQ 32:(5 :LWKRXW SRZHU VHFXULW\ V\VWHPV FHDVH WR IXQFWLRQ SKRQHV JR GHDG VHUYHUV VKXW GRZQ DQG VDIHW\ LV FRPSURPLVHG $W 0LQXWHPDQ ZH XQGHUVWDQG WKH ULVNV FDPSXVHV IDFH DQG VWULYH WR SURYLGH SURGXFWV WKDW SURYLGH WKH EHVW YDOXH LQ WKH LQGXVWU\ IRU HGXFDWRUV 6LQFH ZH KDYH SURYLGHG UHOLDEOH FRPSUHKHQVLYH SRZHU SURWHFWLRQ VROXWLRQV WR HGXFDWLRQDO LQVWLWXWLRQV &RPSUHKHQVLYH; 3URWHFWLRQ 0LQXWHPDQuV SURGXFW OLQH LQFOXGHV VROXWLRQV UDQJLQJ IURP HQWHUSULVH OHYHO 8QLQWHUUXSWLEOH 3RZHU 6XSSOLHV WR VLQJOH RXWOHW VXUJH VXSSUHVVRUV VLPSOLI\LQJ WKH SURFHVV RI EXLOGLQJ D TXDOLW\ SRZHU SURWHFWLRQ V\VWHP _ ZZZ PLQXWHPDQXSV FRP _ ZZZ VL]HP\XSV FRP 3DUD 6\VWHPV ,QF _ /H0D\ 'U &DUUROOWRQ; 7; JUNE 2012 / COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 53 6HH WKH IXOO FRPSDULVRQ DW PLQXWHPDQXSV FRP VFKRROSODQQLQJ Scan now!

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