Evolution of Mass Notification
Provide Effective Facility Communications and Meet Code Requirements
Nineteen U.S. servicemen were killed
and 372 people were injured in 1996 in a
terrorist attack on the Khobar Towers,
USAF Housing Complex in Dharhran,
Saudi Arabia. Despite being on heightened
alert, a post-incident report concluded
there was no effective notification
system to warn personnel.
The principal means for sounding the
alarm at Khobar Towers consisted of having
personnel go door-to-door throughout
the eight-story dormitory, alerting residents
of the danger. This primitive approach
prompted the U.S. Military to
develop force protection standards.
In 2002, the Department of Defense
(DoD) developed the Unified Facilities
Criteria (UFC) 4-010-01 Minimum Antiterrorism
Standards for Buildings, where
mass notification was first defined. Two
years later, the DoD published the UFC 04-021-01 Design and O&M: Mass Notification
Systems, which required the installation
of intelligible voice notification
systems in and around new “inhabited
buildings.”
In creating the UFC, the DoD discovered
that most fire alarm systems were unable
to communicate with people in
non-fire emergencies such as severe
weather. The U.S. Air Force petitioned the
National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) to develop MNS requirements.
As a result, the NFPA added Annex E
Mass Notification Systems as recommended
guidelines for MNS in the National
Fire Alarm Code 2007 edition.
This was the first time in the history of
the code that a non-fire alarm system
could take precedence over a fire alarm
system.
In the NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code 2010 edition, Annex
E became Chapter 24 Emergency Communications
Systems (ECS), the first mass
notification code for the private sector.
And, most recently United Laboratories
(UL) has moved towards establishing a
new standard for mass notification as well
– UL 2572. It will measure how a Mass
Notification System (MNS) performs
against the NFPA ECS codes.
Implementing Mass
Notification in Your Facility
Today, facility managers are not only
concerned about protecting their facilities,
personnel and community from complex
threats, but also complying with government
mandates and codes. Ensuring success
does not have to be a difficult
endeavor and can be accomplished by
starting with the following steps:
• Begin with a vulnerability and risk
assessment;
• Develop a Master Plan that integrates:
• Protection Systems
• Alerting Systems
• Emergency Action Plans
• Implement on a phased basis; and
• Leverage existing systems and
equipment.
Completing a vulnerability and risk assessment provides building owners a
scope of their current situation and allows
them to develop a master plan to address
the needs of the facility. It is highly recommended
that these master plans integrate
protection systems, alerting systems
and emergency action plans. Facilities can
utilize solutions that enable them to leverage
existing infrastructure, systems and
equipment and still meet codes.
In-Building Solutions
As defined by NFPA 72 2010 Emergency
Communications System chapter,
In-Building Mass Notification Systems
are installed in buildings or structures for
the purpose of notifying and instructing
occupants of an emergency.
In-Building MNS Components Include:
• Primary control unit for In-Building
MNS, which monitors and controls
notification appliances;
• Dedicated microphone for live emergency
communication messages;
• Notification Appliance Circuit (NAC);
• Interface to a FAS;
• Or audible and visual notification
devices.
An effective In-building MNS manages
all audio and visual notification appliances
and reports trouble and
supervisory signal through the Fire
Alarm System (FAS). In-Building
MNS control unit will override the FAS
with live voice from dedicated MNS microphone
or manual activation of a high priority
emergency message.
After the In-Building MNS relinquishes
control, the fire alarm system
will automatically restore to normal operation
(without an active fire alarm signal),
or operate based on the Emergency
Response Plan with an active fire alarm
signal.
When disaster strikes, whether natural
or man-made, you need a Mass Notification
System (MNS) you can trust – one
that has been tested to the industry’s latest
standards. In-Building Mass Notification
Systems that are compliant with NFPA
72 and UL 2572 requirements for MNS,
are available today to instantly inform
people of exactly what to do and where
to go with clear, intelligible and timely
communications.
When public safety is at risk, why
would you rely on anything less?
For a live demonstration on the latest code
compliant mass notification solutions, visit Cooper
Notification, booth 1143 at the NFPA Conference and
Expo, June 7-9, Las Vegas, NV. From WAVES Wide-Area
Alerting System to SAFEPATH Voice Evacuation System
and Wheelock fire and security notification
appliances to RSAN text and voice messaging systems,
Cooper Notification can help protect, alert and
inform your employees and building occupants.
FSM
