Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31501
24 FIRE SYSTEMS INSTALLATION www.securitysystemsnews.com APRIL 2011 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS FIRE SYSTEMS INSTALLATION Company is mass notification provider for Florida universities By Tess Nacelewicz JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Life Safety Designs recently was cho- sen to provide a mass notifica- tion system for the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. That university is now the third Florida state university campus for which Life Safety Designs is the mass notification provider, said J.R. Sykes, head of contract sales & inspections for Life Safety Designs. Based here, 60 percent of the company’s business is designing, installing and servicing fire alarm/mass notification systems. Sykes said the company last year completed a mass notifica- tion system at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, and also maintains and services a mass notification system at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, as well as doing retrofit- ting and installation there. Life Safety Designs is an inte- grated systems partner with Cooper Notification, whose sys- tems are being used at all three campuses., Sykes said the company’s con- tract at USF St. Petersburg is Life Safety on Fla. campus notable because “we now have three of the Florida state uni- versities utilizing not only the (Cooper) manufacturer of the equipment ... but Life Safety Designs themselves as their life-safety provider for mass notification.” He noted that UCF alone serves about 56,000 students. “Both Cooper Notification as well as Life Safety Designs have a hand in the protection and safety of all those people, and not just the students, but all the staff, the faculty and the visitors,” Sykes told Security Systems News. SSN Sprinkler law under attack By Tess Nacelewicz PATTERSON, N.Y.—A new Pennsylvania law requiring automatic fire sprinkler systems in all new one- and two-family homes as of Jan. 1 was battling for survival in the General Assembly in March. A bill to allow builders to opt out of the sprinkler requirement and instead require additional fire- proofing of floor construction won approval in that state’s House of Representatives on March 7 by a margin of nearly 4 to 1. The bill also appeared to have strong support in the Senate, according to observers. At the time of SSN’s deadline, the governor’s stance on the legislation was unclear. Buddy Dewar, VP Buddy Dewar of regional operations for the National Fire Sprinkler Association, told Security Systems News that Pennsylvania legis- lators are being fed misinformation by homebuilders trying to protect their profits. But Dewar said that even if this legislative battle is lost, the NFSA, which is based here, will keep on providing factual information to lawmakers on the need for home fire sprin- klers, and he expects they will eventually become a requirement nationwide. “I call this the 10 Years War,” Dewar said. “Within 10 years it’s going to be a requirement in all new homes ... It’s in the code and it’s not going to go away.” According to the International Residential Code Fire Sprinkler Coalition, “when the International Code Council publishes the 2012 International Residential Code next year, the code will include a requirement for fire sprinklers to be a standard feature in new homes. That requirement was SPRINKLER see page 25 Monitoring bill alarming By Tess Nacelewicz ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill.— The Illinois Electronic Security Association is leading a fight against a new state bill that would give public fire districts sole control over fire alarm monitoring, and says its efforts have received strong support from the industry and other business groups. “The response has been incredible,” Kevin Lehan, execu- tive director of IESA, which is based here, told Security Systems News on Feb. 17. He said the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the state chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association have all “given us their blessing to list their orga- nizations as opponents of this bill.” He said called the bill “an overstepping of government. This is a cash grab and nothing more.” Approximately 500 alarm companies could be negatively impacted, Lehan said. HB 1301, entitled the “Fire District Antitrust Exemption,” has ignited concern among industry Kevin Lehan members since it was formal- ly introduced in the General Assembly on Feb. 8. IESA considers the bill a job-killing, monopoly-creating measure because it would allow fire districts to mandate that all customers in the district use the district’s monitor- ing business. The group has been urging Illinois industry members to contact their elected representatives in Springfield to ask them to oppose the bill. MONITOR see page 27 CSAA battles falsehoods By Tess Nacelewicz VIENNA, Va.— To combat the problem of frequent false alarms in commercial facilities, the Central Station Alarm Association has been working with the International Association of Fire Chiefs for the past year to come up with some proposed NFPA 72 code changes. Now the groups say they’re fight- ing a misinformation campaign, battling claims that they’re “in bed” together and that the propos- als are dangerous. “Nothing is further from the truth,” Steve Doyle, executive VP and CEO of CSAA, which is based here, told Security Systems News in late February. “The IAFC has been absolutely terrific ... working with us with all the best of intentions in the world to just try and reduce false alarms and we’re working in For a more robust version of stories in this section, see: WWW.SECURITYSYSTEMSNEWS.COM n the same way and nobody stands to gain a penny out of this, other than the fire services will save some lives and maybe a whole lot of unnecessary runs if we can get this thing worked out.” Since the submission of the proposed NFPA 72 changes in the fall, there has been “considerable misinformation” about them, according to the CSAA. The IAFC has produced a fact sheet to counteract such “myths.” The approximately 30 pro- posed changes are undergoing review and public comment and would be added to the 2013 ver- sion of the code if any of them win approval in the summer of 2012, according to Shane Clary of California-based Bay Alarm, a member of CSAA’s codes and standards committee and the NFPA standards council. The IAFC says among the untruths are claims that a pro- posed change for a 90-second verification delay is dangerous. But the IAFC says the delay, for which an AHJ can opt out if it determines it cannot accept such a wait, actually would add to the safety of the public and responders if implemented properly. SSN BRIEFS LYNN, Mass.—James Keighley, tech- nical operations manager for Wayne Alarm Systems, based here, has been appointed to the National Fire Prevention Association Code Committee NFPA 72. The committee formulates the neces- sary codes used in regulations and laws by states and countries to minimize the possibility and hazards of fire and other risks. Keighley, a recognized expert in the fire alarm field, has been with Wayne Alarm Systems for more than18 years. He holds a master electrician license in several states and Nicet II and Boston F1 master box certification. Among boards and committees he serves on are the Central Station Alarm Association Standards Committee and the Electronic Security Association Fire Life Safety Committee. Free Silent Knight seminars Code CommitteeA 72 Keighley on NFP Antonio, San Francisco, and Seattle. cities: Chicago; Detr eral new markets, including these major- oit, Phoenix, San r elationship allows VES to have pr eadily available for local dealers in sev r locations nationwide. The Accu-T oduct central office markets. 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