GE Security Provides Integrated Solution For San Diego Military Housing Facility
GE Security Inc. recently announced that the Pacific Beacon apartments in San Diego, the first privatized community for enlisted single sailors in the country, is being protected by GE Security’s integrated access control and fire/life safety solutions.
Consisting of 941 dual master suites in three high-rise buildings overlooking San Diego Bay, Pacific Beacon was developed through a public-private venture between the Department of the Navy and Clark Reality Capital as part of the Homeport Ashore program to improve the quality of life for single sailors.
In addition to residential units, the facility includes a pool, rooftop terrace, barbeque area, poker room and café. To meet the challenge of helping protect this facility and the active duty men and women who live there, Clark Realty Capital and the Bergelectric Corporation, a GE Security Strategic Partner and the project’s integrator, selected Facility Commander Wnx v7.5 to serve as the main security system.
Pacific Beacon represents the first large-scale deployment of the popular InfoGraphics ACU architecture integrated into Facility Commander Wnx v7.5; run under the familiar Microsoft Windows platform.
Currently, the system guards common areas and individual apartments for more than 1,800 residents, integrating over 1,000 GE Security access control Transition readers, 300 GE Security fixed and dome cameras, and numerous entry and exit points into a single, unified system, operated through a central monitoring station.
With military personnel coming and going while serving our country, Facility Commander Wnx v7.5 allows the staff easy access to approve and give entry to new and returning residents. The fast, clear transmission of data is made possible by GE Security’s Fiber Optic capabilities. Additionally, the system will be compatible with the Navy’s new Common Access Card (CAC), which will allow personnel the convenience of using their existing CAC cards at Pacific Beacon.
The fire and life safety system is anchored by GE Security’s EST3 life safety control platform. The customized solution designed for Pacific Beacon is comprised of three separate networks totaling 14 EST3 panels. More than 500 SIGA-PS Addressable Photoelectric Smoke Detectors cover all corridors and common areas. In addition, the system has three additional Local Operator Control Units and 180 Text Signs along with eight custom messages. Additional components of the EST3 system include three Graphic Annunciator Panels, 296 Firefighter's Telephone Receptacles, over 2,700 Speakers and more than 800 Speaker/Strobe units.
“We are honored that our technology was selected to secure Pacific Beacon,” said Tom Welham, U.S. Commercial Access Control Leader with GE Security. “Facility Commander Wnx v7.5 is designed to help security teams do their jobs more efficiently by providing the tools to monitor and integrate effective security operations across a variety of facilities into a single, unified structure. Our EST3 platform allows large and small facilities to manage a wide-range of crises including fire, natural disasters, terrorism, environmental threats and health hazards. This project is an extension of the work we have done helping secure government installations around the world.”