Mass notification has become an increasingly critical issue in the wake of campus violence, terrorist attacks and other threats to life safety. These events have underscored the importance, in  the military, public and private sectors, of implementing more sophisticated, reliable and practical notification systems to inform, direct, relocate or evacuate people in an emergency.

Voice-enabled fire alarm systems have been used for decades to provide mass notification to warn building occupants of fire conditions as well as other emergency situations, such as severe weather alerts and chemical spills. The code-driven reliability and survivability of a fire alarm system makes it a highly effective platform for a mass notification solution.

A wide variety of technologies and devices can be used in mass notification systems, including amplifiers, speakers, electronic digital message displays (all monitored for integrity), computer interfaces (e-blast and pop-up messaging), reverse 911, commercial radio broadcast, cable TV, PDA’s, cell phones and pagers. The most advanced solutions use a wireless network or a fiber-optic network capable of simultaneously transmitting audio and digital communications over a single fiber-optic strand.

Delivering an Overall Solution
With decades of fire and life-safety experience and hundreds of NICET- and UL-certified specialists, SimplexGrinnell can plan, install, test, and maintain customized mass notification systems for virtually any type of application. SimplexGrinnell also has the resources and know-how to integrate a Mass Notification System into an overall life-safety solution that can include fire alarm, fire sprinkler, fire suppression, integrated security and emergency communications.

Military Installations
Mass Notification Systems have now been mandated in all United States Department of Defense facilities through the DoD’s “United Facilities Criteria” (UFC). In exterior military applications, Mass Notification Systems are essentially gigantic public address systems that provide prerecorded or live voice communication to personnel over a wide area. Interior systems mirror the requirements of NFPA 72: National Fire Alarm Code® through the use of a highly secure encrypted wireless network. This wireless communication increases survivability of communications between panels and speaker towers during a disaster or attack. Our base-wide systems incorporate primary and back-up control centers, individual building systems, giant voice, telephone alerting systems and other customizable options.

GSA Agreements
To help simplify the purchasing process, most of our mass notification products and services are available through SimplexGrinnell GSA agreements for Fire and Security Products (GS-07F-0396M) and Fire Alarm and Suppression Services (GS-06F-0054N).

For more information on SimplexGrinnell’s Mass Notification Systems, please contact your local SimplexGrinnell office (150 locations throughout the United States) or Todd Shearer at tshearer@tycoint.com or 732-493-1110.

  Mass Notification Systems Sell Sheet
Life Safety Sell Sheet