HHTS News - Hudson High-Tech Systems

Case Study - Gamewell Reduces False Alarms

Gamewell Reduces False Alarms by 98% Project Profile: The Vail Cascade Resort & Spa Location: Vail, Colorado False fire alarms are a problem no one can afford, especially a four-diamond resort like the The Vail Cascade Resort & Spa in Vail, Colorado named as one of the top 4 ski resorts in North America. After experiencing frequent nuisance alarms caused by the current building layout and fire system configuration, the resort called on Acme Alarm Company, the local Gamewell distributor, to engineer a new fire alarm system. Using Gamewell’s IdentiFlex 654 and IdentiFlex 658 intelligent fire alarm control panels and over 2000 points of intelligent fire detection, they reduced false alarms by 98%, helping both the employees and guests at this slope-side paradise sleep better at night. Read full story

Case Study - THE RINKS AT SHELTON

THE RINKS AT SHELTON SCORES WITH GAMEWELL FIRE PROTECTION Project Profile: Gamewell Analog Addressable Control Panel Provides Fire Protection for Entire Sports Complex Location: Shelton, CT

At the new 90,000 square foot, multi-level sports complex known as The Rinks at Shelton, fire and ice definitely do not mix. The management has made sure of this by protecting patrons at this state-of-the-art ice rink in Shelton, CT, with the most advanced fire safety system available – an Identiflex (IF) 632 Analog Addressable Control Panel from Gamewell. The Rinks at Shelton is a two-story ice rink, and the first of its kind in the nation. Completed in 2004, it’s the newest addition to SportsCenter of Connecticut, a facility that also includes a driving range, batting cages, and miniature golf course. Read full story

NEW SMARTSCAN PROTOCOL OFFERED

NEW SMARTSCAN PROTOCOL OFFERED ON ALL GAMEWELL 600 SERIES ANALOG ADDRESSABLE PANELS - Improves Speed and Accuracy of Event Reporting

Link: Gamewell - FCI - News

NORTHFORD, Conn.

Gamewell, a manufacturer of commercial fire alarm control panels and emergency life safety systems, and part of the Honeywell (NYSE: HON) Fire Group, introduces SmartScan – a new, fully digital communications protocol for improved event-reporting speed and accuracy.

The latest addition to an expanding portfolio, SmartScan provides alarm verification per detector and polling speed that is 10-15 times faster than existing protocols. The new protocol reduces panel end-to-end response to less than five seconds and supports 198 devices per loop (99 detectors and 99 modules).

Gamewell - FCI ( Fire Control Instuments ) Merge

Fire Alarm Industry News

September 6, 2005 As the industry leader in commercial fire alarms, Honeywell Fire Systems has routinely seized and capitalized on new opportunity as the market has evolved. Such proactive accomplishment has continued to fuel our growth and allowed us to out-perform our competitors.

Today we find ourselves with yet another significant growth opportunity—that being the ability to create another channel to market with the critical mass necessary to satisfy the smallest and simplest applications to the largest and most sophisticated. We will therefore now bring a complete and product-rich portfolio into the marketplace through the newly created entity: Gamewell-FCI.

Gamewell-FCI will combine the best of Gamewell and the best of FCI into one sales, marketing and support network. Gamewell-FCI will stand apart with its unique combination of Technology and Tradition that’s unavailable from any other source.

We look for this growth offensive to very much benefit our Distributor partners by providing product access, market reach and operating leverage that neither Gamewell nor FCI could achieve by operating in their separate niches. And, while certainly successful and enjoying recent sales gains while functioning independently, together Gamewell-FCI will be an even more enticing proposition within the ESD community with the unparalleled depth and breadth of its portfolio.

Steve Birdsall will remain Vice President, Sales, and will be responsible for the complete sales effort, along with satisfying Gamewell-FCI’s growth objectives. Mike Madden will continue his role of National Sales Manager for Gamewell-FCI and will handle key accounts, Distributor development and special assignments as directed by Steve Birdsall. Together with the now-extended Gamewell-FCI Regional Sales force, these two Honeywell Fire Systems veterans will ensure utmost continuity as Gamewell-FCI flourishes. Of course, Gamewell-FCI will be backed by the demonstrated strength and resources of Honeywell Fire Systems, which makes this new combination even more compelling.

As we accelerate ahead, you will certainly be kept informed of all the Gamewell-FCI developments. In the interim, I urge you to interact with your Regional Sales Manager as questions arise and periodically visit our new www.gamewell-fci.com website for updates.

In addition, we look to provide further detail at what will now be an expanded Gamewell-FCI Annual Distributor Conference (ADC), which has been scheduled for October 31-November 3 at the Harbor Beach Marriott in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The Gamewell-FCI ADC will supersede the previously scheduled Gamewell Conference in Ft. Lauderdale.

Please join me in welcoming our newest star player—Gamewell-FCI—to the Honeywell Fire Systems team, and I look forward to your continued cooperation and commitment.

Allen Fritts

President

Honeywell Fire Systems

Three-quarters of Americans are not prepared to escape a home fire

Link: NFPA.org

Only one in four Americans has devised and practiced a plan to escape from the home during a fire, a survey by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has found.

Such preparation can be a critical factor in surviving a fire, and the NFPA has long urged every family draw up a plan and practice it. Indeed, before the NFPA conducted a three-year Fire Prevention Week campaign called “The Great Escape,” only one-sixth of households had developed and practiced escape plans. But one-quarter is not good enough; there remains a long way to go in this aspect of fire safety.

The good news is that two-thirds of Americans have an escape plan. But most of those who say they have plans have not practiced them—a key step in preparedness.

NFPA urges caution with heating choices for the home

Link: NFPA.org

Two out of three reported home heating fires and associated deaths and injuries in 2001 involved portable and fixed space heaters and related equipment, such as fireplaces, chimneys and chimney connectors, according to a newly released National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) report.

With home heating costs already rising toward this winter’s predicted record levels, NFPA is urging caution about the use of space heaters and other supplemental heating devices to keep home heating costs down. Consumers should be aware that space heaters carry a much greater risk of causing home fires than central heating, such as furnaces.

Space heaters present a greater potential for human error. That includes leaving them too close to mattresses, bedding, clothing, upholstered furniture or other combustibles, or failing to install, fuel, operate or maintain them properly.

The estimated 54,900 home heating equipment fires in 2001 killed 220 people, the lowest death toll in the 22 years studied (1980 through 2001), according to the report. The number of civilian injuries, 1,120, and amount of direct property damage, $502 million, also reflect historic lows.

Reciprocity bill seeks to honor alarm licenses across state lines

Link: Security Systems News

By Jeffrey Sanders, managing editor

After years of discussion and anticipation, the Alarm Industry Communications Committee has completed work on a proposed piece of legislation that would allow monitoring firms to have their licenses recognized outside of their home states.

Known as the Alarm Monitoring Licensing and Reciprocity Act of 2005, the committee seeks to eliminate the requirement to attain additional accreditation when a license has already been granted in one of the 50 states. It does not seek to change the fee structure imposed for licensing, which is a source of income for the individual states.

Report: Fire systems may be stumbling block to building systems integration

Link: Security Beat

As organizations recognize the benefits of combining physical and digital security, integration of building security systems with other security systems is fast becoming a reality, according to a new report from the Frost and Sullivan research group.

Accepting security as a single entity will allow end-users to combat threats, lower costs, and increase efficiencies as the number of corporate mergers escalate.

Stringent codes regulating fire safety, however, are restraining the trend of integrating building automation systems (BAS) into information technology (IT). The conflicting interactive levels of fire safety equipment, which require minimal user interaction, and highly interactive security systems, could lower system reliability.

Federal gov’t proposes sprinkler bill

Link: Security Systems News | Fire Systems Installations

By Jeffrey Sanders, managing editor

Bill would affect all nursing homes that accept either Medicaid or Medicare

HARTFORD, Conn. - U.S. Representative John B. Larson has proposed legislation that would require all nursing homes throughout the United States that accept Medicare or Medicaid payments to install fire sprinklers within five years of the measure passing.

The Nursing Home Fire Safety Act has been influenced by fatal nursing home fires in areas of the country that include Connecticut and Tennessee.

Last year, the Greenwood Health Center in Hartford suffered the loss of 16 residents as a result of fire, as did a nursing home in Nashville, Tenn., where 15 died.

These incidents prompted government officials within those two states to separately introduce and successfully pass legislation that requires sprinkler systems at all nursing homes. On a similar note, officials in Alabama adopted a rule to require fire sprinklers within all nursing care facilities within the state as a preventative measure.

“How many more lives do we have to lose before people get the message?,” asked John Viniello, president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association, which supports the measure. “If the states are not going to do something to protect the elderly, then the federal government should.”

Fire Control Instruments - Solutions - Case Studies

RITZ CARLTON - COMPLETE STORY

There are certain luxuries we expect when we stay or reside at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York City. We expect exceptional service and an array of amenities. We expect breath-taking views of Manhattan and New York Harbor. We expect five-star restaurants, grand ballrooms, high-tech appliances and audio-visual equipment, and sumptuous furnishings in every room.

There are luxuries we expect, and then there are necessities we demand. Advanced security and fire safety systems are recognized to be more important than ever before, especially in public buildings -- and especially in public buildings as the new $144.5 million Ritz-Carlton & Residences at Battery Park, located just five blocks to the south of the World Trade Center site. There may have been a time when these systems were taken for granted by visitors and residents, but that time has passed.

FCI Article Link: Fire Control Instruments - Solutions - Case Studies.