Change – Is it already happening? By John M. Stofa ©2014

It has been often said that change never seems to happen in the fire alarm industry and that we just plod along from one year to the next without keeping pace with other adjacent technologies. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is evidenced by the very fact that when one educates Fire Responders on the technology changes and product introductions that we’ve seen just in the last 10 years, they are quite simply amazed and even skeptical.

If you want proof for yourself, schedule a lecture with your local fire department and spend an hour providing them with a technology update. Talk about products like Video Smoke Detection/Verification that utilize ordinary security cameras as smoke detectors. Or maybe discuss Multi-Criteria Smoke Detectors that “learn” the room they are in and effectively reduce nuisance alarms. Or how about Aspiration Smoke Detectors that can sense the byproducts of combustion before we as humans can see or smell them, often detecting a hotspot before a fire breaks out. And last but certainly not least discuss the evolution of the low frequency evacuation tone and when and where it is more effective than a traditional evacuation device. More often than not when I discuss these products, they perceive them as science fiction rather than fact because they simply haven’t been exposed to them. However, they are always appreciative of your knowledge and your desire to share it with them to make their jobs safer and easier.

But now let’s think back to some of the changes that we have witnessed in the fire alarm industry and then forecast what is around the corner. We saw the xenon strobe become the industry standard in visual notification back in the 90s, and of course this kick started the remote NAC panel industry that was nonexistent before then. We watched conventional zoned FACP sales be converted almost entirely to addressable FACP systems because of the superior information they provide. We also witnessed the Liquid Crystal Display become the choice of manufacturers rather than populating FACPs with numerous LEDs that offer limited information.

So what does the future bring? Plenty. Just the topic of communications/alarm transmission itself will be a future blog subject. We will also see our entire industry shift from simply being considered a Fire Alarm System to now a Life Safety System. Of course this has already started to happen with the advent of ECS/MNS, but the difference is the acceptance of the system being considered a Life Safety System will be widespread rather than selective, based on the type of end-user or subject to the whim of the AHJ.

What are some of the other changes that we’ll see? Well, if you have 20 more years left in this industry before your retirement you will see the day that the last xenon strobe is sold, whereas all strobes will be LED because of their flexibility, foot print and life span. You will see the last horn device placed on a CAD shop drawing because soon speakers will be the gold standard as Voice FACPs continue to get smaller, more powerful and more economical. And finally, you will no longer see the radioactive symbol on the underside of a smoke detector because ionization detectors will be long gone from our offerings; replaced entirely by more effective photoelectric smokes or better yet multi-criteria smoke detectors.

What other technologies will be developed further and become more readily available within our offerings?

Fiber Optic SLCs
Cellular & Satellite Communications
VOIP & VOLTE Communications
More Robust Wireless Devices & Networks
Advanced Human Interfaces
Artificial Intelligence within Devices

But these are just a few of the changes that we will see. Every day as technology advances, our engineering teams will continue to work on how that technology can be embedded into Life Safety Systems to make us safer. So if you think that our industry never seems to catch up to the times, just look around. We’re more cutting edge than you think!