[Cagdu] FW: Blind People and Fire Alarms

[Juliett Cody]

Hi Tina,
 Maybe, we should have a fire fighter come to our seminar.
JC and m 
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tina Thomas 
  To: cagdu at nfbcal.org 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 4:41 PM
  Subject: [Cagdu] FW: Blind People and Fire Alarms


  Subject: Blind People and Fire Alarms


  Audible Exit Technology Sets The Tone For Life Safety


  The Chief Engineer, IL, USA
  Friday, June 01, 2007
  Today's fire alarm control panels are highly sophisticated systems that
  use innovative smoke and heat sensing technologies to deliver a rapid,
  intelligent
  response to fire emergencies. When activated, a fire alarm system is
  capable of performing hundreds of pre-programmed action sequences 
  within
  fractions
  of a second. But regardless of how technologically advanced these fire
  alarm control panels are, their primary purpose is very simple - to 
  save
  lives.
  Fire alarm systems notify building occupants that a fire emergency 
  exists
  in the building. And in the cases where the fire alarm panel includes 
  an
  emergency
  voice evacuation system, occupants can be provided with detailed
  evacuation instructions based on their location and proximity to the
  emergency. But in
  an emergency, a timely evacuation can be challenging. Fire alarm 
  systems
  use a combination of audible and visual appliances to notify building
  occupants
  of an emergency. In addition, visual queues such as exit signs are use
  d to guide occupants to the nearest building exit. Exit signs work 
  very
  well in most applications. However, in a fire emergency, they can 
  become
  obstructed
  and difficult to see due to smoke conditions. Exit signs are passive 
  and
  require people to track them down, which becomes increasingly difficult
  if the
  occupants are unfamiliar with the building layout and the location of 
  its
  emergency egress routes. Factor in the smoke that accompanies a fire
  emergency,
  and the occupants can easily become disoriented or lost in the 
  facility.
  Furthermore, persons with visual impairment are unable to follow exit
  markings
  or signage, rendering them virtually ineffective. Finding an 
  alternative
  to using traditional exit signs and egress markings was the challenge
  facing Bud
  Liptak, director of facilities at The Seeing Eye(r), North America's
  premier guide dog school. Bud found the answer in Onyx(r) ExitPointT, a
  revolutionary
  audible exit technology from Notifier, a world leading manufacturer of
    commercial fire alarm systems and technology.

  Since 1929, The Seeing Eye Dog in Morristown NJ has matched nearly 
  14,000
  specially bred and trained Seeing Eye dogs with blind men and women 
  from
  across
  the United States and Canada. In pursuit of its philanthropic mission 
  to
  help blind people achieve greater independence, The Seeing Eye teaches
  dogs to
  guide blind people. Not only does the school instruct blind people in 
  the
  proper use and care of the dogs, it also breeds and raises the dogs,
  teaches
  instructors the science and technique of training the dogs, and 
  educates
  the public on how guide dogs enable blind people to live independently.
  This school
  is entirely unique; only dogs trained at The Seeing Eye can accurately 
  be
  called "Seeing Eye dogs."

  The school is, undoubtedly, unique, and requires a fire alarm system 
  with
  the flexibility to address its special needs as well as the needs of 
  its
  occupants.
  That's why, The Seeing Eye turned to Notifier and its local Engineered
  Systems Distributor, United Fire Protection [UFP] for a new fire alarm
  system. Although
  The Seeing Eye has been a customer of Notifier and UFP, it was just
  recently that the school and Liptak learned of the Onyx ExitPoint
  evacuation guidance
  system that perfectly addressed the needs of the blind students.

  It was Frank Savino, president and CEO of United Fire Protection, who
  actually brought this new technology to Bud Liptak's attention.

  Savino recalled, "About a year ago at the Notifier Annual Distributor
  Conference, I saw a demonstration of the Onyx ExitPoint notification
  device, and it
  just clicked with me; The Seeing Eye was an obvious candidate for this
  technology."

  What Savino saw, and what Liptak soon implemented, was an entirely new
  audible exit technology that supplements visual exit markings like
  emergency lighting,
  signage, and photo luminescent guidance strips with interactive 
  auditory
  guidance. Capable of reducing evacuation times up to 75%, Notifier's 
  Onyx
  ExitPoint
  system uses varying tones and intensities to provide directional cues
  that don't conflict with traditional devices such as horns and bells.
  ExitPoint emits
  four different field selectable sound pulse patterns to help direct
  occupants to egress pathways and building exits. It clearly defines an
  immediate escape
  route, especially for those without the gift of sight.

  Installed at building exits or along egress routes, Onyx ExitPoint is a
  compact sounder that produces broadband noise, acting as an audible 
  exit
  sign. Onyx
  ExitPoint is triggered by a building's fire alarm control panel; it
  guides building occupants towards the exits. Using changes in pitch, 
  for
  example, a
  descending tone sound that goes from a high pitch to a low pitch,
  ExitPoint can direct the students on upper floors to the exits on the
  ground floor.

  " Rich Fischer (the regional sales manager from Notifier) gave us a
  presentation, and everyone here at the school was on board right from 
  the
  start," Liptak
  said. "We knew we wanted to upgrade our system, and ExitPoint certainly
  fit the bill. The system has been installed throughout our entire
  administration
  building, and has received nothing but favorable reviews from students,
  teachers, the administration, and the local fire official.

  To meet the budgetary needs of the non-profit institution, Notifier
  donated the new equipment to the school, UFP designed and installed the
  system at no
  charge. Both the design and installation phases were extremely easy. 
  UFP
  was able to seamlessly integrate the product into the existing system,
  completing
  the installation in one week during the school's summer break.

  " Part of the beauty of the ExitPoint system," Savino said, "is that it
  can be easily retrofitted to existing notification circuits. This makes
  for fast
  installation. Also, the system draws an extremely low amount of power 
  due
  to the absence of strobes and other visual components. In most cases, 
  it
  can
  be connected directly to existing notification circuits without any
  additional wiring. However, consideration for power and load needs 
  should
  always be
  evaluated."

  Both Savino and Liptak appreciated the help they received from Notifier
  personnel throughout the installation and ramp-up period. "Notifier's
  Rich Fischer
  was very helpful," Savino said. "He took time to meet directly with us
  and The Seeing Eye people, explained how the ExitPoint technology 
  works,
  and provided
  clear demonstrations to everyone. And from what we hear, the system has
  been working without a hitch."

  Liptak agreed, saying "We are very excited to be pioneers in our field
  once again with this important life safety upgrade at our facility. In
  addition to
  the benefits of an auditory-based system, we have also found the
  ExitPoint to be extremely reliable."

  Onyx ExitPoint is currently in place on The Seeing Eye's main campus.
  "Our students find the ExitPoint system to be extremely intuitive,"
  Liptak said. "Usually
  when a class first enters the building, we hold an Orientation with a
  quick fire drill to help students get their bearings in the building. 
  We
  hold these
  practice frills about once a month when a new class of students 
  arrives."
  There are also plans for expansion beyond the main campus. "We have a
  'downtown
  lounge' in downtown Morristown where students can relax while their
  classmates are in training," said Liptak. "We're upgrading the lounge 
  in
  the coming
  months and are encouraging the landlord to install the ExitPoint 
  system."

  The benefits of this extraordinary system are clearly easy to hear. In
  fact, when it comes to this exit technology, hearing is believing.

  For additional information, please visit www.honeywell.com.

  http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_conten
  t/3019.htm
  --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
  You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "California Council of the Blind" group. 
  To post to this group, send email to CCB-L at googlegroups.com 
  To unsubscribe from this group, send email to CCB-L-unsubscribe at googlegroups.com 
  For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CCB-L?hl=en 
  -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---




------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  _______________________________________________
  Cagdu mailing list
  Cagdu at nfbcal.org
  https://www.nfbcal.org/mailman/listinfo/cagdu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://nfbcal.org/pipermail/cagdu/attachments/20070612/708e6291/attachment.html