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Combined Fire Alarm and Emergency Communication Systems Grow to Protect Larger Applications and Advance Past Traditional Fire Alarm Evacuation
NORTHFORD, Conn. - Silent Knight by Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has expanded its Farenhyt line of combined fire alarm and emergency communication systems (ECS) with the new IFP-2000ECS, which offers higher capacity and more power to protect larger facilities and multiple buildings with one system. A growing number of diverse facilities continue to drive demand upwards for more reliable, cost-effective ECS solutions. The Farenhyt ECS line is now capable of providing nearly all sizes and types of properties with one system that provides both reliable fire protection and an effective means for broadcasting emergency alerts.
As many as 16 Farenhyt IFP-2000ECS panels can be networked together and support up to 10,176 points (i.e. detectors, pull stations, etc.) to provide comprehensive fire protection for large spaces and numerous buildings. This same system can deliver highly-intelligible audio communications pertaining to fire alarms as well as weather, terrorist, hazmat and other events. With one system capable of utilizing up to 16 amplifiers to deliver a maximum of 2,000 Watts of power to audio circuits, the IFP-2000ECS can easily meet required intelligibility levels, even in large spaces with high ambient noise, such as factories and sports arenas.
“With the ECS, we’ve changed the dynamics of a fire alarm to communicate more than just fire alarm evacuations using loud horns and flashing strobes,” states Jim Spooner, Farenhyt product manager, Silent Knight. “You may not want people to go outside. That’s why a combined system like Farenhyt’s ECS can alert people of a problem, provide instructions and even override the fire alarm evac signal if it was intended to create targets of opportunity.”
Each IFP-2000ECS includes a microphone for authorized users to send live messages, in addition to eight buttons, which can be programmed with pre-recorded messages. This same panel can also be equipped with 16 to 64 audio switches to which specific speakers in specific building locations can be assigned. Labels on each switch allow users to quickly choose the area(s) to which specific alerts should be sent, while a standard All-Call switch can be used to communicate with all areas within a building. In the event the main amplifier is damaged, back-up audio is available to ensure messages are still delivered.
For applications, such as high-rise buildings where two different messages are required to be sent at the same time, the IFP-2000ECS offers dual channel communications. For example, the Farenhyt ECS can send an evacuation message to the area of an incident, as well as to the floor above and below it, while sending a shelter-in-place message to all other floors to smooth the flow of egress.
Silent Knight’s Farenhyt ECS line meets the latest NFPA 72: National Fire Alarm & Signaling Code, UL 2572 Standard for Control and Communication Units for Mass Notification Systems, and Department of Defense United Facilities Criteria standards. Farenhyt ECS intelligent amplifiers can meet the 520 Hz code requirements set forth by NFPA for compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for alerting those with mild to severe hearing loss and those within commercial sleeping quarters. Per the 2010 version of NFPA 72, on January 1, 2014, 520 Hz fire alarm sounders are required to be installed in commercial sleeping rooms, such as hotels, school dormitories and nursing homes.
The Farenhyt ECS line offers a fire alarm and mass notification solution that is survivable, completely supervised and intelligible, as required by code. The Farenhyt combination of fire and ECS also comes with cost efficiencies by combining the fire alarm system and ECS system in one cabinet. The IFP-2000ECS can also use existing wire for fire alarm retrofits, presenting additional cost savings to facilities.
To explore the new IFP-2000ECS and other Farenhyt fire and ECS offerings, visit www.farenhyt.com or contact a local sales manager for a product demonstration.
