[Cagdu] FW: Blind People and Fire Alarms

[robert stigile]

Hello All,
A couple of years ago, when the National convention was held last 
in Kentucky, we were in a meeting when the fire alarms went off.
They said everyone had to evacuate, so I grabbed my braillenote, 
and followed the crowd.  Wonder went slowly for the first time in 
his life, following the crowd as we made it out to the street 
with the rest of the 3,000 people.
It turned out that there was a fire in the kitchen on the second 
level, and the fire department got it out very quickly.
It is nice to see that when there is an emergency, that our dogs 
will do whatever they need to do to get us to safety.
Take care,

Robert Stigile


> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Ken Volonte" <kenvolonte at comcast.net
>To: <cagdu at nfbcal.org
>Date sent: Wed, 13 Jun 2007 00:45:23 -0700
>Subject: Re: [Cagdu] FW: Blind People and Fire Alarms

>One wonders how Hinkson got out of the towers.  Seriously though, 
we were at a movie once and the fire alarm went off.  Gulliver 
found the exit just fine.  He just followed the crowd.  I think 
my trusty cane Dickey the stick would have done just as well.  I 
gotta go.
>  ----- 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/seqnumbe
r_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



>-----------------------------------------------------------------
-------------


>  No virus found in this incoming message.
>  Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>  Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.14/845 - Release Date: 
6/12/2007 6:39 AM