Simplex 5 Reasons Why You Should Have an Emergency Communications System

5 Reasons Why You Should Have an Communication System an architect or engineer when you design a facility life safety your primary goal is to achieve compliance with state local fire code requirements While that approach can help a building is well equipped to protect lives and property an emergency you may be missing out on some worthwhile Those capabilities can help you better support all of your building including aging disabled or other requiring added levels of assistance you building a multi story facility whose occupants may a level of assistance you should consider installing an Communication System ECS 72 describes ECS as system for the protection of by indicating the existence of an emergency situation and information necessary to facilitate an appropriate and action Also referred to as an of Refuge an ECS is typically connected to an off site supervising for 24 7 monitoring Supervising station operators can with the occupant that needs assistance and forward that to the proper emergency responders as needed NFPA 101 and the International Building Code IBC an is a requirement for many High Rise Assembly Education Business Hotels and Dormatory buildings But other can benefit from the greater peace of mind improved and the better coordinated emergency response an ECS can support It may not be required by code but are five reasons why it will benefit you and your occupants All populations deserve equal treatment Imagine how you would feel if you found yourself in your and a fire broke out Now imagine how you would feel in same situation if you were disabled elderly or otherwise to evacuate swiftly on your own You would appreciate you had a nearby place to go where you could wait to be evacuated You would also appreciate having the to communicate back and forth with emergency personnel entire time ECS offers those capabilities You can establish areas of equipped with easy push button communications can give occupants requiring evacuation the assistance and reassurance they need in an emergency it means everyone in your facility is treated equally they can evacuate on their own or not Emergency communication is useful for more than fire ECS is not just for fire evacuation Once an ECS is installed operating people can use it for any emergency situation assaults and active shooter incidents to power outages natural disasters An ECS with power backup will function during power outages ensuring that you better equipped disseminate information to occupants under almost any That something everyone will appreciate Buildings are getting smarter and communication is more important used to be that elevators were off limits to evacuees in emergency That no longer true Today elevators can be installed and integrated with the fire alarm system facilitate evacuations occupants requiring added levels of assistance in emergency these Occupant Evacuation Elevators OEE are a benefit offering them greater ability to evacuate and safely when seconds count how do you inform occupants that they can evacuate safely selected elevators An ECS system can be used to direct to the nearest designated elevator via message boards or In addition the ECS can play specific voice messages those areas to provide helpful instructions to occupants You can be sure OEEs are fully utilized in an emergency save lives You may be required to have an ECS in the near future 101 and the International Building Code IBC now require for certain facilities However while your local authorities not mandate it today if history is any guide they will do so in the near future You can plan ahead and better all populations in your building by considering the of an ECS now It will likely be less disruptive and affordable than to do it later An ECS today is smarter more robust and reliable and easier to manage and maintain you wary of installing an ECS because it means yet another building system to learn manage and But an ECS can be tightly integrated with your facility safety system enabling you to control both systems from central location In addition an ECS is a highly sophisticated system with redundancy power backup and communication which can make management There are even ECS solutions that include sophisticated and hardware that can identify and pinpoint the of gunshots enabling faster response in an active situation Your buildings get enhanced protection communication without a major increase in facilities workload the next step now learn more about the best ways to design and deploy an ECS www simplex fire com Johnson Controls All Rights Reserved