A lengthy fire alarm in the Mackenzie Chown Complex Monday, March 7 was exactly what is supposed to happen when the fire alarm system is activated.
For many who work and study in the building, the continuing alarm on March 7 was unusual and perplexing.
But, the building is being retrofitted with a new alarm system and it was working as required.
“Yesterday’s alarm bells rang for as long as it took the staff to respond, investigate and clear the issue,” said Rick Faser, Brock University’s Manager of Emergency Management and Life Safety. “The fact that the bells did not stop until the alarm was reset is a good thing.”
He said Chown Complex occupants are used to the bells simply stopping, despite the fact the alarm hasn’t been investigated and the cause determined.
When it comes to fire alarms, the audible alarm should never stop ringing on its own, he said.
He said the fire alarm retrofit in the building was a result of its age and degrading functionality. As well, the old technology could no longer be repaired or sourced in North America.
“Most importantly, the system was beginning to impact the overall life safety of the occupants by providing inadequate notification (fire alarm bells) during evacuations,” Fraser said.
He said that lack of fire alarm bell continuity gave the impression to evacuees that the fire alarm had been reset and that it was safe to re-occupy, which was in fact not true, and in very serious cases it was possible that persons would be walking into a building that was unsafe.
“This new system will increase the overall life safety of the building and its occupants by improving the detection and notification during normal operation,” Fraser said. “We’ve also gone above and beyond the minimum code requirements by installing automated voice messages that require no human intervention and will ensure that evacuation announcements are broadcasted throughout the building, as well as installing external speakers which are connected to the fire alarm and will be used to broadcast the “All Clear” messages to evacuees waiting outside the complex. This is a historical burden that we now lift from the Fire Wardens, which will hopefully make their jobs that much easier.”
