A Beacon of Security

New technology helps protect Boston’s historic Old North Church

• By Brent Dirks
• May 31, 2007

ON the night of April 18, 1775, Boston’s Old North Church and its 191-foot steeple cemented a place into early American history and the Revolutionary War.

Famous revolutionary Paul Revere knew of the church well. Though he was not a member of the church, he was a bell ringer when he was 15 years old.

Revere knew the church steeple was the tallest building in Boston, and lanterns from Old North’s steeple could be seen across the harbor.

He then asked church sexton, Robert Newman, to use the steeple to help inform colonists of the movement of British troops who were coming to seize weapons. One lantern in the steeple indicated the British were moving by land through the Boston Neck and Great Bridge, and two lanterns indicated the troops were moving by sea across the Charles River.

Around 10 p.m. that night, after realizing the troops were crossing the river, Newman entered the church and climbed the 14-story steeple in complete darkness. When he reached the very top, he lit and held up two lanterns for less than a minute.

The signal accomplished its goal but also tipped off British soldiers. While the troops were trying to break in and investigate, Newman escaped through a side window.

And as the church provided the notification, Revere began his famous Midnight Ride, informing more colonists of the British troop invasion.

Built in 1723, the church still stands and has a congregation of more than 150 members, along with hundreds of tourists visiting the historical landmark on a daily basis.

Shining Technology
But with the structure’s age came the issue of proper and adequate fire safety protection. The church was behind the times with its fire equipment.

The four buildings that make up the church campus were using an outdated master box to connect the church to the Boston fire department.

With the old system, if a fire was to occur, firefighters only received a general location of where the fire was located and would have to spend invaluable time locating the specific point of the blaze. And when fighting a fire, every second counts, as fire can easily double in size quickly.

Looking to better protect two row houses, the gift shop building and the church itself, Old North’s facilities manager Carl Hoss looked to completely revamp the fire protection system and enlisted the help of integrator Congress Alarm.

Bob Modica, sales consultant with the company, recommended the church upgrade to addressable technology from Fire-Lite Alarms.

”The Old North Church’s old system was definitely in need of upgrading—I’d be surprised if the old black master box in their lobby even sounded an alarm,” Modica said. “We chose Fire-Lite equipment for the Old North Church because of the quality and ease of use that comes with the equipment and the high level of technical support. We also liked the fact that the Fire-Lite technology allows us the flexibility to program our own panels.”

Unlike conventional technology, addressable systems are able to more quickly narrow down a fire location, helping to save lives and property in the event of a blaze.

“An addressable panel costs a bit more than a conventional panel, but I felt it was a wise investment for the Old North Church since there are so many different rooms, and the facility was difficult to zone by area,” Modica said. “With an addressable panel, you can provide the fire department with more accurate information, pinpointing the exact location of the fire.”

Congress installed two Fire-Lite fire alarm control panels at the church – the MS-9200 and MS-5024.

The MS-9200, installed in the major church building, is a compact, addressable fire alarm control panel with a capacity of 198 Fire-Lite 300 series devices and a Signaling Line Circuit loop that supports up to 99 smoke detectors and 99 control or monitor modules. The panel also has a maintenance alert and automatic detector tester function.

For the smaller space of the gift shop, the MS-5024 has a built-in communicator and 3 amps of notification power.

Along with the control panels, manual pull stations were installed at every exit. Heat detectors were installed in the kitchen, boiler room and basement hall while numerous smoke detectors, horn strobes and sprinklers were installed across the property.

Fire-Lite M-300 mini modules were used to make the sprinklers addressable, as well, allowing officials to monitor areas where sprinklers activated.

And along with the modern equipment, the church’s system is watched 24/7 by a central monitoring station. After receipt of signals from an alarm communicator transmitter at the church, monitoring station personnel can quickly interpret information and dispatch appropriate personnel. With the addressable nature of the system and being able to receive information at each individual point, the fire department can be informed as to the exact location of the blaze

Perfect Protection
And the church has been satisfied with the new fire protection technology.

A fire alarm was set off after repairmen were working on the church’s organ, and the fire department arrived in three minutes—an impressive feat considering Boston’s well-known traffic problems.

The Fire-Lite systems’ battery operation also kept strong after the church was struck by lightning and lost power.

And with the addressable fire equipment keeping watch over life and property at the Old North Church, a historical treasure of the American Revolution can be preserved for generations to come.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .