St. Timothy High School

System Specifications
FACP: Kidde VS4 System Type:Addressable System Line Voltage: 120VAC NAC Voltage:24VFWR Date of last known Upgrade: 2020 Year Opened: 2004

St. Timothy High School is a junior and senior high school in the neighborhood of Sunset Ridge in Cochrane, AB. It was built in 2004, and the fire alarm system is from 2020. Only the pull stations are original. The school is two floors. The system is managed and serviced by Altex Security Systems.

System Specifications (2020-present)

FACP

The school is protected by a Kidde VS4 fire alarm system. It was installed in spring 2020, replacing an EST QuickStart QS1 from 2016. The main panel is not visible, it's in the caretaker's office. The system runs EST's Signature addressable protocol, and when the system goes into alarm, all horns and strobes (indoor and outdoor) are synchronized, and all horns do code-3. It took Altex Security two whole months to do this system. The annunciator is on a rectangular plate covering the QuickStart's space.

Annunciators

There is a Kidde K-RLCD-C LCD annunciator and a K-RLED24 LED annunciator at the entrance.

Notification Appliances

The notification appliance circuits were mostly re-wired when the VS4 was installed. The main notification appliances are EST "Genesis" GC-HDVM (white, ceiling, no FIRE marking) horn/strobes on the ceiling in the hallways and classrooms. There is one horn/strobe per classroom, and the library, there are three horn/strobes. The open ceiling areas, such as the atrium, gymnasium, band/music room and the shop have EST "Genesis" G1R-HDVM (red, wall, no FIRE marking) horn/strobes. The gym has two of the horn/strobes where the old bell/strobes were, but the other two are in new locations, having two per side. The shop has the horn/strobes moved to different locations as well. In each washroom, there is an EST "Genesis" GC-VM (white, ceiling mount, no FIRE) remote strobe. All horn/strobes are set to high volume, and random candelas (a few are at 110cd). These horn/strobes were installed in spring 2020. Plates are covering where the bell/strobes were. One of the three outdoor bells was replaced with an EST "Genesis" WG4RN-HVMC (red, no FIRE) horn/strobe by the tarmac, and it is now covered by a wire grill. Unlike the rest of the horn/strobes, this one was installed in the summer of 2020. Metal plates are covering the former outdoor bells' space. The EST "Integrity" CS405-8A-T weatherproof strobe by the bike rack that was replaced in February 2020 when the QuickStart was still in use, is still in use on the VS4.

Initiating Devices

Pull Stations

All of the pull stations are the original EST SIGA-270 addressable pull stations, which were installed during construction.

Automatic Detection Devices

The smoke detectors were replaced with Kidde KIR-PD optical addressable smoke detectors, which were installed when the new system was. The duct detectors in the air handling units are Kidde SD-2W two-wire photoelectric duct smoke detectors.

Former System Specifications (2004-2020)

System Specifications
FACP: EST QuickStart QS1 System Type:Addressable System Line Voltage: 120VAC NAC Voltage:24VFWR Date of last known Upgrade: 2020 Year Decommissioned: 2020

FACP

The school was formerly protected by an EST QuickStart QS1 addressable fire alarm system. This panel was installed 2016. The original fire alarm panel was also an EST Quickstart QS1, but it failed. It rarely had troubles at all, but usually when the power is out. The panel had an SL30 card. There is an annunciator at the entrance, but the panel itself was in the caretaker's office. The original QuickStart did continuous, and the second one did code-3 with all strobes synchronized. Both systems ran EST's Signature-series addressable protocol. The system was replaced in 2020 with the Kidde system.

Annunciators

There was an EST QS1-CPU-1 annunciator at the entrance, and an SL30 card in it.

Notification Appliances

The main notification appliances were Edwards MB6-24 motor bells on EST "Integrity" 403-5A-R (15cd) strobe plates. They could also be found in the library, the music room, and even the changerooms! The gym and shop have louder ambient noise levels, so they had Edwards MB10-24 motor bells on EST "Integrity" 403-5A-R strobe plates. There were 3 in the gym, and they were very loud. For outdoor notification, there were three Edwards MB6-24 motor bells. One by the hill where stairs to the basement are, one in the staff parking lot, and one in the tarmac. There is also an EST CS405-8A-T (110cd) weatherproof Integrity strobe installed in February 2020, after the original one stopped flashing in October 2019. The strobe is above the bike rack, close to the main entrance. It is still in use on the Kidde system.

Initiating Devices

Pull Stations

All of the pull stations were and still are EST SIGA-270 addressable pull stations, original to the school from 2004. The gym one is missing its glass rod. These are still in use on the Kidde system.

Automatic Detection Devices

The smoke detectors were EST SIGA-PS addressable photoelectric smoke detectors. Most were original, but some were replaced over the years: some had the EST/GE generation and some had the current EST logo.

List of known activations

September 21, 2020 - alarm at around 9:45 AM, activated by duct detector in air handling unit in gymnasium. Scent of smoke reported in gym and nearby areas prior to alarm. School was evacuated, Cochrane Fire Services responded and the cause was found to be a motor overheating, burning red hot and smoking from the electrical panel outputting 4x the rated current, due to FORTIS working on power. Alarm shut off after 30 minutes.

Gallery

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  An Edwards MB6-24 bell/strobe combo in the basement. (This alarm does not exist anymore)

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  This one was located by Room 209. Note the sticker on the bell. (This alarm does not exist anymore)

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  This bell/strobe was in the band room. Note the Incredibles logo on it, which was vandalized by the band teacher. (This alarm does not exist anymore)

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  An original EST SIGA-PS smoke detector in the stairwell. Also pictured is an Enforcer ceiling speaker. (This smoke detector does not exist anymore)

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  The QuickStart annunciator in the entrance. Note the new EST logo. (System has been replaced)

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  A pull station by the stairwell in the basement. This pull station is still installed on the Kidde system.