Mass Notification and Fire Alarms

mass-notificationWhile fire alarms remain a critical component to every life safety program, improved technologies have enabled our ability to provide information to those that are being evacuated. In an emergency situation, one broad reaching message does not always apply to every floor or section of a facility. Also, different scenarios demand different messages.  Having a mass notification system installed provides information beyond a traditional fire alarm, which simply alarms people to evacuate.  These systems allow you to inform people of where the fire is located and how to evacuate in a more organized way.

This year at our Annual Life Safety and Security Seminar, we were honored to welcome Chuck Wilson, Executive Director of the National Systems Contractors Association who gave an enthusiastic presentation about Mass Notification and Emergency Communications(MNEC). He emphasized the value and importance of MNEC as both a communicatins AND emergency management tool to provide real-time insutructions and information to building occupants and visitors during and emergency event. When are Mass Notification & Emergency Communications used?

  • Weather Emergency
  • Medical Emergency
  • Security Breach
  • Public Disturbance
  • Act of Terrorism
  • Chemical Release
  • Fire
  • Utility Outage

The applications for MNEC are numerous.  It’s primary function is to notify people in a building, on a campus or in a geographic area about an event.  This helps them to know what is happening, what to do, where to go and when it is safe.  MNEC has both internal and external components allowing messages to be distributed over large areas.  Platforms also include text messaging, paging and email.  Some of the more common applications include:

  • Corporate
  • Recreation
  • Retail
  • Transportation
  • Hospitality
  • Education
  • Healthcare
  • Government

The professionals at Reliable Fire & Security can assist you with design of a new fire alarm system that incorporates mass notification.  We can also help with integrating a mass notification into a variety of existing systems.