Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

A NEW WAY OF IMPLEMENTING SAFETY

  • 08/01/04

Here's the way schools traditionally have implemented life/fire safety products. The school would apply to the state, which had contracted with a number of vendors who then, in turn, provide the school with the needed devices. But, there's now a trend to go about this process in an entirely different way. Nick Martello, product manager for Northford, Conn.-based, Fire Lite Alarm, part of the Honeywell Fire Group, explains it through the following case study.


The School District of Greenville County is the largest public school system in South Carolina and the 63rd largest school system in the nation. This county has been the recipient of one of the state's most ambitious building initiatives — a five-year construction and renovation project that will encompass 72 schools. To date, 17 schools have opened with the rest slated for completion in 2006 at a cost of about $862 million.


Instead of going through the state, the district outsourced all of the fire protection and security technology to a local construction management consortium, International Resources, which worked with Blue Ridge Security Systems, a systems integrator based in Anderson, S.C., which in turn recommended fire protection technology from Fire Lite.


Fire Lite's addressable alarm system, pinpoints the source of the fire within the school, the central station and fire station, with all of the audio/visual components. It combines the different types of detection,iiii as well as provides a signal when maintenance is needed.


An advantage for the school district, Martello says, is "instead of dealing with multiple vendors it has to relate to just one company that manages the entire process."


Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Sam Houston State University Completes Athletic Stadium Renovations

    Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, recently announced the reopening of Elliott T. Bowers Stadium after an extensive renovation project, according to a news release. The university partnered with Stantec and DLR Group for the project’s design.

  • Building Beyond Simulation: Creating Immersive Ecosystems for Healthcare Education

    Health sciences education is one of the fastest-growing facility types in colleges and universities. The demand for medical, nursing, and allied health professionals is driving the creation and renovation of medical simulation training facilities that provide students with real-world experience through advanced simulation-based learning.

  • UT-San Antonio Begins Residence Hall Renovations

    The University of Texas at San Antonio recently began a $6-million renovation project to one of its residence halls, according to a news release. Originally completed in 1986, Chisolm Hall measures in at 120,860 square feet and is the oldest and largest residence hall on campus.