AED Units Lifesaving units with few regulations where there to be mounted and stored

At left is one of many AED units Automated Emergency Defibrillator Unit.
designed to assist those having a heart attack whose heart has stopped beating you are finding them in more public buildings and office's as CPR alone does not have the success that AED units due.
The units are designed to be operated by some one with even limited medical knowledge and come with voice instructions and excellent graphics show where to
apply the pads and the units will not administer a shock unless an abnormal rhythm requires it.

With this in mind you would think there would be be rules and regulations where these units should be located and how there stored but that's does not seem to be the case While the FDA has stringent rules to the manufacture of the units that also require them to sound an alert when there battery goes low so you know its time to service the unit which currently is yearly . There are no national standards or guidelines which I have been able to find as far as where to mount how to mount or high high to mount these units.Or if and when to alarm them.

While some units simply sit on a shelf in a covert like at my dentist office some are in simple cabinets with signs directing you to them. While other as have alarms which sound when there removed from a cabinet and flash a strobe light . While others like the one I installed at a lodge at a public park are tied to a supervised loop on a Fire Alarm system which calls a central station which notify s medics the AED has been deployed.
Which can save valuable time during an emergency to help 911 know exactly where the emergency is going on in the park.
So as you can see it is pretty much up to who buys them where and how they mount them.
In the case of my dentist I would hope the staff during an emergency remembers the unit is in the covert.I have suggested he mount it out where public can see it.
But once again instead of common sense recommendations being put forth with the units its being left up to each buyer how to handle it which one day will cause an unneeded death and bring lawsuits which will then bring national codes and regulations which make no sense and cause undo burden.Because there written by the big guys in the industry with strictly there interests and profits in mind.
But that's always the way it seems to go make a product push it with out guidelines and sit back and watch the calamity happen.

Your disabled theres a Fire . Will you get assistance when you enter the Area of Rescue Room and push the Help Button?

Your a Disabled Individual in a Wheel Chair your working late at your desk in an empty to almost empty office building when a severe storm suddenly envelopes your building and the high winds have knocked out power and the IP phones. The emergency lights come on but you can not get out the elevators have no power. Now what?
You guide yourself into the Area of Rescue Assistance room a special built fire proof room
designed to keep you safe during an emergency and alert authorities you need assistance.
You push the big red button you see the communicate light come on but no one is coming to help you. Or you push the button there is no light because there is no back up battery on the system or its not been tested and maintained. Now what are you not suppose to be able to get help 24/ 7 in this room ?
Well until the latest code update the answer is NO.
The button you have pushed has turned the alerting light's and buzzers in the lobby panel on but theirs no one attending the entry desk down stairs. You could end up spending the night in the building unless some one knows to come looking for you.
Why ? Good question when these rooms where first designed they where intended to protect during a fire which they do with 2 hr rated fire walls . But the communication systems where not required to be in continuously attended locations or wiring supervised for breaks or even tested at regular intervals to make sure there working.
While you could go over and pull the manual Fire alarm station if there even is one ,which would get Fire dept to building who would see your trapped. Some Fire alarms are local only and do not report and if the phone lines are down and no back up cell phone in place now what.
Well you say to your self should the disabled person have been more prepared. Yes most are even carrying flashlights and cell phones and haven taken special classes to deal with emergency's. But as we all know things can and do fail at the wrong time and that includes cell phones batteries.

With the above scenario having played out in the news The NFPA 72 Fire codes now require that Area of Rescue Assistance Systems report off site to a supervising station if the lobby stations are not continuously attended.
But why did it take 20? years to bring it about ? Because as usual its the normal agenda if it just does not happen and do not listen to the people in the field who encounter these problems or realize they could happen.
NFPA never takes that one extra step of looking forward as a result codes are always catching up after a tragedy has happened and lessons learned. Close your eyes NFPA and UL and never listen to people like me and keep suffering the humiliation every time problems like this keep popping up. Its time UL and NFPA pulls its head out of its ass and start taking a better look at codes and filing in the gaps that are missing.

Also as usual all the existing rooms and communication system will be left as is only new systems
have to meet the 24/ 7 supervision and off site reporting. Most systems being sold still do not have this option and most installing companys and AHJ have no idea this provision was even put in the code.
Just hope your in a new building if you would get trapped. and there not using IP or digital phone
lines to do the reporting.

Whats with all the different Colored Strobes I now see in buildings and have Alert marked on them ? Alert for what?

Have you been in a Federal Office Building or a large College/University Campus and noticed that different colored Strobe Lights are in Clear, Blue or Yellow and beside them it is written " Alert "

Alert for what exactly?

Well these strobes are part of a new Mass Notification System
intended to warn you of problems in the building or campus.
While clear has been the traditional color for Fire Alert some systems are now using clear, yellow or blue to alert you to an approaching dangerous weather condition like a Tornado or a gunmen may be approaching , or a dangerous cloud of gas from an industrial accident is drifting towards you.
When you see a Yellow , Blue or Clear strobe activate you should here an alerting tone followed by voice instructions what to do such as stay in place report to an evacuation point etc.
But what about hearing impaired, they can not hear the message. In this case digital display boards may come on with written instructions if installed or come over security/surveillance monitors in halls . Also at same time dialer's /communicators are sending out Text and Email messages to staff and students giving instructions as well.

The systems are designed to notify as many people as possible no matter where they are in a building or on a campus as to what is happening and what to do.

While you may not encounter these systems in your daily travels as they are normally found in larger college and corporate campuses and military installations they will slowly be making there way into smaller installations as they become more popular and lower in cost to install.

Colored strobes have been around for years in Industrial/ manufacturing environments to warn of dangers and have worked very well at protecting workers.

The important thing to remember if you hear tones or see strobe lights activating stay alert for announcements or what might be displayed across screens and monitors in your area.
There may also be permanently posted instructions on walls to follow as well.

You will love this Music / Intercom system

ON-Q Legrand Lyric System
is one great sounding music ,Intercom and surveillance system all in one.

http://www.legrand.us/onq.aspx

Forget even looking at Nutone or wasting your money on that system its garbage every system I ever put in I ended up ripping out and replacing it out of disgust with the product which is a total waste of money.

On -Q has so much more and is backed up with the power of Pass& Seymore Legrand brands .

First off its a whole house sound system
that sounds great and is individual room controlled . you can dock your I pad or other MP3 player to it for a great sound

Every one I have put them in for loves them easy to use and operate and be able to keep an eye on things.

Or if you opt for the full touch screen can get Internet Radio Stations , The Weather , See who is at the door and let them in with optional electric strikes. stage and control lights and so much more and even control it with your smart phone. The system uses cat 5E cabling and 2 conductor speaker wire and can use any ones good quality speakers. Everyone I have put them in for loves them. and new features are coming out all the time. you can go from a basic system to full blown easily . Check out the video on the system below .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhBiZsabYes&feature=player_embedded#!

:One sad note first time I set all cable up and wired one of these in the local Representative for ON Q come on site to help show me and friend how to program this system and he was shocked to find all the cat 5 wiring correct every other time he has helped there has been wiring issues.Which sadly tells you the quality of installers and techs out there in my area all this is cat 5 wired to 2568A style . The Fire Alarm experts in Pittsburgh who install these systems as well have never gotten one right first time. sad indeed. Its just simple data wiring nothing more they can not even do that right.

Honeywell Tuxedo Touchpad and Z-Wave a new Automation Technology you should get to know

At left is the new Honeywell Tuxedo Touch pad control center which utilizes Z- wave technology
http://www.z-wave.com/modules/ZwaveStart/

A low power radio wave system which allows this controller to lock and unlock doors control heat and cool thermostats control lights and many other items in your home .

It is a far superior control technology over the older X-10 system which has been around since the 80's which sent a wireless signal over your home wiring and was hit or miss working and required filters and phase couplers to work properly.

Honeywell's new tuxedo line with Z-Wave is designed to work with its new "Total Connect 2 "series of cellular and IP communicators which gives your smart phone full control of your home or business. The graphics of the Tuxedo Touch Pad are the same as "Total Connect 2 "on your smart phone to help keep things simple and elegant and any one can use it.
I addition the Z- wave thru Total connect 2 can send email and text messages as t items status etc. check it out at.

http://www.security.honeywell.com/hsc/products/keypad/gr/ad/317517.html

Thinking of installing Home or business security or fire systems take a look at Honeywell products .
Check out the Tuxedo in action

Why can you not update Security systems Firm ware chips Etc.?

I love using Honeywell Products there a good solid engineered product the problem though is Honeywell like every other manufacturer of security panels will not allow you to buy firm ware updates chips.

You buy and install vista 20P Version 2.1 your stuck with it and when Honeywell comes out with some new thing like the tuxedo Keypad Z Wave keypad yep you guessed it the panel you put in 3 years ago will not support it and you have a customer who wants the Tuxedo Keypad and would buy it but not if they have to buy a whole new board.
Why can I not buy an update chip?
Well one answer is UL underwriter Labs. changing the firm where requires testing etc etc. But lets face it folks its a whole bunch of horse shit.
I work on all types of Electronic systems and I can firmware update them I do it all the time with, Routers, Mini Storage control automation systems , EAS radio control systems, which give the emergency alert ,CNC Machines etc etc.

So whats really stopping it. I think its because you could take a vista 32FB and all of a sudden make it a Vista 128FB panel etc.
But why not install the 32 and then when customer is ready to expand buy the update chip.
but as usual in the security field manufacturers never listen to the guys working in the field they build what they think we want not what we really want because the big guys in the industry rule we want an upgradable control we want USB interfaces we want to be able to use any 56K modems to program not 1200baud Hayes etc etc.
Some day they may get it Honeywell and every other panel maker would sell so much more equipment if we could update firmware instead of having to change out the whole board and even sometimes all the keypads. This is not what customers want to do update every time some new gadget comes out

Interested in becoming an electrician in UK

The demands for Electricians is world wide and the sky's the limit what you can earn depending on the specialty and where your working.

If interested this is one of many schools out there . Do your home work and investigate all education programs before investing your time and money.

A Guide to becoming an Electrician

There are many ways in which to begin the process of becoming a fully qualified electrician. Many candidates begin by following an apprenticeship program or through an external electrician courses provider. Apprenticeships are a great way for prospective electricians to gain some firsthand experience from professionals in the industry.

Electrician courses are perfect for people looking to change career or include the service as an additional service offering to their current profession. Those mature candidates who are looking towards changing career can become qualified through external course providers. Courses such as the City Guilds 2391 course alongside other electrician course qualifications will allow you to inspect and certify both your own work and other peoples work. The course which is available from any top trade course supplier will allow you to overlook and certify work done both to today’s standard and assess work that was done over 50 years previous.

There has also been an increase in young people entering the trade world over the last few years showing that there is a continuous growth in the industry. School leavers and students between the ages of 17 and 19 can begin by becoming an apprentice within an electrical maintenance facility. Beginning your career as an apprentice allows you to gain some firsthand experience of the industry as well as learn the basic skills needed to become fully qualified. Basic skills such as wiring for both commercial buildings and home property are some of the simple skills needed to begin a career as an electrician.

Become fully qualified with electrician courses

Where you work within the trade will depend upon the training and qualification that you choose to undertake. The City Guilds 2391 course allows you to work in both the private and public sectors and is regarded as one of the highest rated courses in the industry. The electrician course will allow you to work within factories or as a sole trader.

Many fully qualified electrical technicians choose to work as a solo professional or freelancer instead of being part of an electrical maintenance provider. This offers a variety of different avenues as you will have the chance to choose your own working hours as well as making the most of your profits. Although being a self employed electrician does include some disadvantages as it may be difficult to find a large client base in the beginning. It is suggested that working in an electrical maintenance facility for a period of time will provide you with the relevant core competencies to attract your own large client base to give you the best possible start as a self employed engineer.

For more information on the City Guilds 2391 electrician courses for professionals certification or if you want to help improve your trade skills knowledge and expertise contact Trade Qualified UK at http://www.tradequalified.co.uk/.

Welcome to Guest Blogger Guardian Fire Protection

Guardian Fire Protection has an excellent blog you may like to check out here is there latest article they have posted.

http://www.guardianfireprotection.com/blog/

Why You Need to Test Your Fire Alarms

You probably already know this, but well-maintained smoke alarms are the simplest and most effective means of preventing deadly fires in your home. The most basic rules for fire alarms are as follows:

• Test your alarms once a month

• Replace the batteries once a year

In addition, you and your family should develop a fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year. Make sure you designate the quickest route out of every room as well as a spot outside to meet up and regroup.

Fires cost millions of dollars in property damage every year and take about 3,000 lives. Contrary to popular belief, most deaths from home fires are not caused by burns, but by smoke inhalation. And while most fires start between the hours of 5pmand 8pm (around dinnertime), most deaths and injuries occur from fires that happen at night, while people are asleep. This is where properly maintained smoke alarms come in most handy – they cut the risk of dying in a home fire by 50%!

As a result, it’s critically important you make a habit out of testing your smoke alarms and replacing the batteries. To make it easier, pick a date and write it on the calendar every month. Also, make changing the batteries a seasonal routine (most people recommend changing them every time you change your clocks). Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for testing your smoke alarms and changing the batteries.

Note: if your smoke alarm makes a chirping noise, this means that the battery is getting low – you’ll need to replace it as soon as possible to ensure the smoke alarm will continue to work properly.Make sure you never disable a chirping smoke alarm, no matter how annoying it gets. If it’s located in a place like the kitchen or bathroom, steam may be causing it to go off. Relocate it away from the source of the steam, dust or other persistent aggravator.

When you replace your smoke alarm batteries, you should also replace the batteries in your carbon monoxide (CO) alarm. CO is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced when any fuel is incompletely burned. About 150 people die each year from non-fire, carbon monoxide poisoning associated with home fuel-burning heating equipment. For more information on CO, see CPSC Publication #466.

CPSC recommends the following on smoke alarms:

• Install a working smoke alarm on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas and inside bedrooms.

• Test your smoke alarms at least once a month.

• Replace smoke alarm batteries at least annually, such as when resetting clocks in the fall or spring.

A dangerous Practice by Amish in lighting their wood stoves results in many Injurys and even Deaths

When you ride thru rural areas of Pennsylvania , Ohio and New york or Indiana you may encounter a Horse Drawn buggy being driven by an Amish man with plain clothing straw hat and beard.
a throw back to the days of old this is not something they do on the weekend for tourists this is there religion with roots that go back to Germany.Which prohibits them from using modern conveniences.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish

There homes have no running water , electricity gas or telephones. They live like the early pioneers of yesterday. There only educated to the 8th grade.
They have no Smoke Detectors in there homes thou some have wind up heat detectors and entire family's have been killed in night time fires . When this happens in the community they say it is Gods Will it has happened when asked why they do not have Smoke Detectors which require AC or battery power.

If they need to travel a far distance they hire a non Amish individual to transport them in a in van with shades.
They shun modern ways of living but they do embrace the use of modern hospitals if it is life threatening. Those of us not with in the Amish community are refereed to as" The English ".

With this in mind from time to time in the papers you will see where an Amish Man or women has been seriously injured or even died from burns they received lighting or keeping lighted there Wood Stove when they have thrown too much kerosene into it.
The latest incident happening in Indiana County Pa. where an Amish gentleman lighting his stove severely burned himself and his son's and had to be Life flighted to a Pittsburgh Hospital with Special Burn ward, and they will endure much pain and recovery after suffering life threatening 3rd degree burns. One of the sons has unfortunately passed

http://www.wtae.com/news/30295384/detail.html

While common sense would tell you not to do this taking a small cup of kerosene and throwing it on to an already lighted fire. or overfilling the stove with kerosene when first lighting it This is common practice in Amish Country and all too often it results in serious burn injury's to mostly women which they often try to fix with home remedy before arranging for professional care.

I asked a local fire marshal about this and he tells me yes He has talked to Pa. State Fire Marshals at seminars , who work these rural areas and despite there best efforts to educate the Amish community against this it goes on all the time.
Now I have been told by those (English) who live by or have vacation homes near Amish community's that they find the Amish to be extremely stupid people because of all the in breeding with in the community as they do not marry outside there community's. and end up marrying cousins etc. But I do not know if this is the case or even the cause of what is happening.
The Amish I have encountered on Job sites are very level headed but are set in there ways of following the rules of there Order and Bishop who is the figure head in there community and some community's are more lenient than others. Where they will allow Amish to have a phone
in there outhouse or use a generator to run a machine in there Wood/Furniture shop.
But there are some who are very strict not even allowing the use of the orange triangle on the rear of there buggy's to warn motorists as bright colors are forbidden.
In a world where Fire Safety Vs Religion
Religious freedom always comes first with the Amish community so all we can do is make suggestions that they follow safe fire practices which are one of the biggest dangers in there community's since they use candles , kerosene lights , wood stoves and fireplaces

Thats not a Ray Gun its a Flame Detector a what?

At left is one of the many different types of detectors used to see visible and Invisible flames which can happen in Petroleum and Chemical production and transportation facility's.
This product from Det-tronics a UTC Fire & Security Company is one of them

http://www.detronics.com/utcfs/Templates/Pages/Template-50/0,8061,pageId%3D2612%26siteId%3D462,00.html

When you have a critical need to protect lives and detect a fire conventional detectors may take to long to react or may not even be able to be used in the area where you need to be alerted to a fire or may not even be able to see the condition. This is where flame detectors are used.

They come in many different versions including Ultraviolet , Near In-fared etc. depending on the product needing watched and environment its located.

You can find them at Gas and Oil rig drilling and production sites and fueling terminals and Chemical production and storage facilitates.

Some products like alcohol do not produce visible flames . If you ever watch Formula 1# Open wheel racing on TV you may have seen incidents of these types of fires in the pits.

Thats why all these specialized detectors are needed . There not cheap but they are worth every penny when it comes to saving lives and protecting property's from explosions.

Tough to Protect Structure from Fire Protectowire it.

Need fire protection in a tough Industrial location
like a conveyor belt tunnel or manufacturing line
how about a large barn or Aircraft Hanger
Protectowire fits the bill

http://www.protectowire.com/index.htm

This unique product from the Protectowire Company fits the bill.

Available in many different temperature ranges and jacket styles and usable in all environments even Hazardous Locations protectowire is one of the most versatile products on the market for industrial locations
where traditional smoke and heat detectors will not work due to the environmental conditions.

Protectowire works when a heat sensitive polymer breaks down at set temperature and allows the two inner wire conductors to touch activating the alarm. Protectowire can even tell you where along the wire length the activation has occurred with there special designed fire panels.
While not inexpensive this product can solve many fire protection issues conventional systems can not. In addition to Protectowire's line of panels the wire can also be used with selected panels by other ,manufacturers Like Potter's releasing panel.
you can also use conventional rate of rise and Rate Compensation heats along the wires path to further enhance its capabiltys.

Theres more that can be monitored than just Burglar and Fire Signals

So you went and installed a Burglar and or Fire System
In your home or business so your protected against fires or criminal activity but what about flooding from Broken pipes due to freezing do to your furnace failing or your washer/floor drain backing up and its going into your collection room.
What about that fancy Wine Cellar or Cigar Humidor you have in your high end home when the temperature or humidity goes wrong because your power has gone out to your humidifier or de-humidifier.

Yes we can monitor these and many more things which can go wrong in a home or business. with products from company's like Windland Electronics

http://www.winland.com/

Which makes all type of sensors which can be stand alone or part of a complete system that can be monitored by your alarm systems unused zones.
Windland even makes its new EA800 -ip unit which allows you to look in and see temp levels etc. thru the internet .

But theirs is even more items which can be monitored and require critical response.
Such as 3 phase power loss or hi and low pressures even high and low PH or if a tank is maintaining its liquid level or getting ready to overfill what about a natural / propane or other gas leak or Carbon Monoxide Leak .Today if you can dream it some one makes a unit to monitor it and signals can be delivered just as many ways over internet via email , pager or text
hard line phone and cell phone via voice delivery to several land or mobile numbers you self monitor or to a central station . There are many options available. even where there's no power Solar/battery can supply the means to watch what needs watched.
So if you have a high end or even low end home and could benefit from Environmental monitoring
look around there are all types of sensors and systems from inexpensive and DIY to high end custom built.

Welcome to Fire Alarms Online

Welcome to Fire Alarms Online
another excellent source of information on Fire Alarm Systems
Thats constantly growing and run by:Kyle J. Schuler SET
a Nicet IV level technician
Who is very enthusiastic about learning all there is to Fire Systems
Kyle is a well educated pup compared with my over 30 years in the field and it is great that some younger people are so interested and ready to carry on the tradition of excellent work.
So drop in and say hello to Kyle.

http://www.firealarmsonline.com/

The Disrespected FDC Building Connection You need to make sure there working

At left is a Typical Y hose connection you might find on the outside of a building Known as a Fire Department Connection or FDC it is used to supply either a Dry Pipe run inside a multi story building which has no water in it, which feeds outlets on each floor to allow Firefighters to hook up a hose from there High Rise Pack to fight a fire instead of having to drag hoses all the way thru a building and they are also used on Fire Protection Sprinkler System in case pressure is low in the system to boost the pressure up.

In either case a Fire Engine which is attached to a hydrant for water supply
is hooked to the FDC connection which allows firefighters to fight the fire.

it is absolutely critical that no debris be allowed to block the FDC inlet pipes but all to often caps are removed by vandals and pipes stuffed with debris or scrap thieves have stolen the caps even the whole Y connection.

Because of these actions should this connection be needed there is no way to hook up to the system which could prevent bringing the fire under control and the building lost.
This is why when Sprinkler systems and dry stand pipes are inspected annually they should also be inspected and repaired and cleaned if required and checked to make sure no threads are busted.

They also need clearly marked with signs if needed and Fire codes require either a Bell or strobe/horn put near there location to help fire depts find them, and no debris etc around them so they can be quickly gotten to just like a Fire Hydrant.

The other unfortunate problem with FDC is many depts do not get a lot of practice time with these connections and there have been cases where the sprinkler company installed the wrong thread Say Pittsburgh 6 or 8 Instead of National Pipe Standard. In which case unless you have an adapter you can not connect .

There is also the problem where if you have an inexperienced pump operator hooking into the connection they drive in to much water pressure and can bust the pipes.

As critical as these connections are they are often overlooked and neglected. This is why they should be part of the regularly scheduled things you check as you go about your property doing routine maintenance. These connections my never be needed the entire life of the building but it only takes the one time it is needed and not available to bring tragedy.

Industrial Machine Repair Its getting expensive and hard to get parts

At left are pictures of a Bridgeport vertical milling machine
It is a manual machine unlike modern CNC computer controlled machines and is intended for small work pieces which are one of a kind and not worth setting up and getting ready a CNC machine for.
Thou not as popular manual machines still have there place in the production world especially when it comes to over sized and custom work.
The problem with this and every machine tool manual or automatic out there being used all across the country is the extremely high cost of fixing them.
With copper ,steel , aluminum now at all time records high scrap prices the cost to replace parts has in some cases exploded 400 to 500% in cost A simple forward /reverse switch I am replacing on this machine since it wore out use to cost $50.00 15 years ago
it now costs $165.00 to replace and is not even built as good as the older switch with more and more plastic being used in its manufacture. these high replacement parts cost are ultimately passed on to the consumer which is now a vicious cycle as material and fuel and shipping costs keep going up. It is leading some company's to not do required maintenance on machines which can ultimately lead to bad things as dies wear out and do not punch cleanly etc etc.
Which ultimately leads to inferior products being put out as the maker of parts keep looking for cheaper ways to make the parts and manufacturers keep looking for cheaper ways to make products. Where it is all going to end is nothing but bad news for the consumer. With more and more recalls the result.
While China and India continue to suck down raw materials as they build there country's infrastructure .We the consumer take it in the shorts. It is a viscous cycle that needs a solution to balance material need against want which if not kept under control will destroy natural resources and see more and more unemployment as jobs go overseas and shift from 3rd world country to 3rd world country as each try's to out compete the other as workers demand more and more in wages and benefits. It is going to take innovative solutions by our engineers and scientists in this country but we already have a brain drain where we are not turning out in quantity or quality what we. need. Education , conservation and innovation are what we need to stem this but will we be able to or will we destroy this world?