A Close Call

New addressable fire alarm system saves historic inn

A historic landmark is much like a piece of art. It reveals something about us and our past, and it must be protected and preserved as if it were priceless. That’s why the threat of fire is one of the top concerns for owners and operators of the nation’s historic landmarks.

“Imagine the loss of an irreplaceable historic site,” said Nick Martello, director of marketing for Fire-Lite Alarms. “It’s just not the same if it’s rebuilt. Once a fire begins, it can ravage a building in seconds, not minutes. That’s why smoke detection is so important. Once a fire starts, we know almost immediately.”

Old Meets New
Revamped from a farmhouse built in 1850, the Inn at Danbury is exactly the type of historic landmark that must be protected and preserved. The inn, located in a scenic rural area of central New Hampshire, features 14 guest rooms, an indoor pool and the award-winning Alphorn Bistro restaurant. A family of six runs the inn, which is famous for its combination of old-world German hospitality and New England charm.

Last year, the Danbury fire chief, Thomas Austin, determined that the inn needed a new fire alarm system throughout the restaurant, barn and guest quarters. Although several companies offered bids consisting of less sophisticated, conventional systems, the owners of the inn wanted a much higher level of protection. In the end, they chose Fire-Lite, which completed the installation of an addressable MS-9050UD system by mid- November 2007.

The MS-9050UD features advanced detection and point identification capabilities. Remote upload/download programming, notification appliance circuit synchronization and detector/module autoconfiguration made the system easy to install and maintain.

Just in Time
On Aug. 15, a four-alarm fire broke out in the three-story barn, threatening the attached inn and restaurant. The Fire-Lite MS-9050UD addressable fire alarm system detected smoke and notified fire and police a full five minutes before the first phone call was made from the premises to report the fire.

“The system detected smoke, which triggered an immediate alarm within the building,” said Beth Welch, public relations manager for Honeywell Fire Systems. “Simultaneously, the fire alarm system sent an alarm to the central station, which sent the emergency responders rolling toward the inn. The innkeeper heard the alarm and went to investigate, finding only smoke. Soon thereafter fire erupted, engulfing the top floor of the barn.”

Martello explained that the Fire-Lite system senses the changes caused by smoke and heat within just a few moments.

“Once the panel ‘sees’ the level change from the specific address of the detector in alarm and goes into alarm mode, the notification appliance circuits activate, sending voltage to horns and strobes for a local audio/visual alarm, the panel displays a text description of the alarm point and the system’s communicator automatically dials the central station with the coded alarm,” he said. “This whole process takes place in mere seconds.”

Back on Track
The fire drew firefighters from nearly 20 area departments. In the end, the barn only suffered water and smoke damage, and the inn and restaurant were left unscathed.

“Had it been five more minutes, the inn would have suffered total devastation,” Austin said. “I can’t compliment the alarm system enough. If it hadn’t worked, they might not have realized the situation until it was too late.”

After the fire, the Inn at Danbury’s fire alarm system was restored and put back into commission within 48 hours. According to the inn’s Web site, both the inn and restaurant are once again operating as normal.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Megan Weadock is a communications specialist at Monitronics.

Featured

  • Integration Imagination: The Future of Connected Operations

    Security teams that collaborate cross-functionally and apply imagination and creativity to envision and design their ideal integrated ecosystem will have the biggest upside to corporate security and operational benefits. Read Now

  • Smarter Access Starts with Flexibility

    Today’s workplaces are undergoing a rapid evolution, driven by hybrid work models, emerging smart technologies, and flexible work schedules. To keep pace with growing workplace demands, buildings are becoming more dynamic – capable of adapting to how people move, work, and interact in real-time. Read Now

  • Trends Keeping an Eye on Business Decisions

    Today, AI continues to transform the way data is used to make important business decisions. AI and the cloud together are redefining how video surveillance systems are being used to simulate human intelligence by combining data analysis, prediction, and process automation with minimal human intervention. Many organizations are upgrading their surveillance systems to reap the benefits of technologies like AI and cloud applications. Read Now

  • The Future is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reason. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. But as the number of cameras grows and resolutions push from HD to 4K and beyond, the cloud’s limits are becoming unavoidable. Bandwidth bottlenecks. Latency lags. Rising storage costs. These are not abstract concerns. Read Now

  • Right-Wing Activist Charlie Kirk Dies After Utah Valley University Shooting

    Charlie Kirk, a popular conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, died Wednesday after being shot during an on-campus event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah Read Now

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • PE80 Series

    PE80 Series by SARGENT / ED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin

    ASSA ABLOY, a global leader in access solutions, has announced the launch of two next generation exit devices from long-standing leaders in the premium exit device market: the PE80 Series by SARGENT and the PED4000/PED5000 Series by Corbin Russwin. These new exit devices boast industry-first features that are specifically designed to provide enhanced safety, security and convenience, setting new standards for exit solutions. The SARGENT PE80 and Corbin Russwin PED4000/PED5000 Series exit devices are engineered to meet the ever-evolving needs of modern buildings. Featuring the high strength, security and durability that ASSA ABLOY is known for, the new exit devices deliver several innovative, industry-first features in addition to elegant design finishes for every opening.