Nick's Fire - Electrical- Safety & Security Blog

That Security System Sign makes you safer from Burglars? Really?

2012-01-31T17:46:00.006-05:00

You see them all over the place like Mushrooms.
Security System signs and stickers with whoever s company name on them.
or just a generic sign like this one.

WARNING I HAVE AN ALARM STAY AWAY.

Well that's what there suppose to do . But do you know that sign could be very attractive to certain Professional Burglars .
How can this be well it all depends some professional burglars who ply there trades in the more affluent neighborhoods look for these signs deliberately. Because when you have an alarm and no one else in the neighborhood it peeks there interest why?
Because they figure you have something of value like a Gun or Coin Collection or other high value target your worried about protecting while everyone else on the street do not seem to be concerned. If you do not believe me look up Willie Carter in the Pa. Dept. of Correction's
a master burglar they called "The Snake " he was so good at sneaking into and out of homes and never got caught breaking in but when he fenced the goods. When he was interviewed in the Pittsburgh Papers years back he told why he targeted certain homes and alarms are what told him that's where to go looking something of value is in there. Due to the fact he had been a contractor he knew exactly where and how to get into a home and bypass alarm systems.There have been several professionals like the snake around Western Pa. over the years with the same story how they picked there victims.
now I am not saying do not use signs and stickers but for the most part my customers do not .
They would rather surprise a burglar there's a system than clue them off to it.
This is a personnel choice.
With so many cookie cutter freebie alarms out there burglars know exactly whats armed and whats not armed and how to get around them. When you put a known brand sign out there the burglar knows exactly what type of system you have and how to beat them.Often just having to cut the phone line unless it is backed up with cell ,radio or IP monitoring.
Yes the signs and alarms keep away most amateur criminals and junkies but not professionals
and even if they do trip the system they know they have several minutes before the police arrive that's why they often carry police scanners with them in case they trip a silent burglar alarm .
A security system is only one step in fully protecting your home and business. proper lighting , locks and keeping shrubs etc clear . and being guarded in what you show or do all help.
There was just a home invasion in McKeesrocks Pa.yesterday because some one showed off there guns to the wrong person and you guessed it they where hit this morning.
When it comes to security always think is what I am doing attracting some one.

Resolution Products a product that solves Wireless alarm Compatability issues

2012-01-31T16:43:00.007-05:00

Taking over existing Honeywell ITI, DSC,2 Gig , NAPCO
wireless systems and making them work with what ever panel your using has always been an issue which means everything in the system has to be changed.
Well that use to be the case till resolution Products came along

http://resolutionproducts.com/

They make the impossible possible. By allowing an existing hardwired system tie to a wireless self contained system control like Honeywell Lynx or DSC Alexor or allowing one manufacturers product to work with another manufacturers product. Such as DSC wireless transmitters to work on a Honeywell system.

This is important when you have a customer who wants a new system but does not want to have to change out every last wireless sensor in the home or business to there preferred panel they want to use.
The alarm industry has always allowed hard wired devices except for addressable devices to interchange such as door contacts and motions but when it come to wireless forget it you had to change everything. Now you do not . Resolution Products set up fast and work well.

A new IP based monitoring Service for Alarms and Data

2012-01-31T15:44:00.003-05:00

I was at the supply house yesterday when I ran into 2 reps from ipDatatel
who provide Broadband Data monitoring

http://www.ipdatatel.com/

They have an interesting line of products to monitor and control any ones alarm system over the Internet VS cellular communication which can get expensive if your using large amounts of data.

There products use the Zigbee Interface to allow for control of many different items in the home

http://www.zigbee.org/Home.aspx

They have products that allow the monitoring of Serial output RS232 etc.

which I am looking into for some customers who want to monitor process levels etc. and this is definitely a company you want to keep your eye on.

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

2012-01-29T10:00:00.009-05:00

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?

2012-01-28T09:20:00.012-05:00

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?

2012-01-28T08:31:00.007-05:00

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

2012-01-27T21:03:00.007-05:00

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

2012-01-27T19:27:00.005-05:00

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.?

2012-01-27T19:05:00.007-05:00

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

2012-01-27T16:11:00.002-05:00

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

2012-01-25T17:33:00.003-05:00

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

2012-01-25T06:09:00.013-05:00

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?

2012-01-24T07:54:00.008-05:00

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.

2012-01-24T07:15:00.007-05:00

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

2012-01-23T21:03:00.006-05:00

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

2012-01-23T19:53:00.004-05:00

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

2012-01-23T18:19:00.003-05:00

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

2012-01-22T12:27:00.008-05:00

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?

So whats a Mass Notification System I keep hearing about ?

2012-01-21T10:29:00.004-05:00

At left is a Typical Notification device Manufactured by Wheelock you might find in a large warehouse or manufacturing facility. It is designed to get the word out when there is a problem
in a facility such as a fire or gas leak an approaching tornado and the white strobe activates and siren tones are heard followed by an announcement as to what to do. These Voice Evacuation Systems or EVAC as they have been known have been around for many years and typically where only found in big plants and auditoriums and hotels . They are not cheap to install and require all wiring to be supervised like a Fire alarm System.
But with the events of September 11th 2001 That has all changed . EVAC systems have been redesigned and bolstered to allow the general public to know there is a problem in such places as college campuses , malls etc and in Specific Military Installations.
Mass Notification Systems as there now known not only incorporate the Speakers and Strobe lights
which can be several different colors to show what is going on systems nowadays can also send out
Text and emails with warning messages and call pagers and home phone lines with messages and can automatically lock doors to prevent a threat from entering a building etc.
and provide instructions what to do during the emergency.

Reverse 911 systems can dial and send out prerecorded messages to homes in a community to warn of dangers as well. Such as gas leak , Hostage situation etc to either warn people to stay in there homes or evacuate and where the.
Dangers are as well .

To learn more about these systems check out the following link.

http://www.wheelock-products.com/index.aspx

Free Security System Dont be a Chump or Dupe

2012-01-21T09:43:00.005-05:00

If you listen with any regularity to Talk radio and have come across Dave Ramsey or Clark Howards Consumer Shows
You may have heard them say how bad a deal the Free security systems deals are .
Well here is the proof at left is a current flyer by a alarm distributor and for $253.35 Wholesale Typically $975.0o retail on the web there is the typical kit that is put in by these door knocking alarm installers who you sign up and pay $45.00 a month for 5 years of monitoring and no service .

So lets run the numbers
It costs the dealer $253.95 for the kit $75.00 to get it installed by some one for a total of $328.95
he gets monitoring for $4.00 a month yet your paying $45.00 so the monitoring $240.00 and total cost to dealer complete install and 5 years monitoring is costing the dealer $568.95 and for that 5 year free system you have paid$2700.00

Which means you put $1500.00 dollars profit in the dealers pocket for what exactly not even the best panel a package panel.
Now everyone is entitled to a profit but $1500.00 dollars for little to no work well you can see why everyone is ready to sell you a free system. So even if they give you a couple extra doors etc there still making $1000.00 for that free system.
Do not get burned. Purchase a traditional system $1200.00 to 2000.00 and pay a reasonable monitoring fee $20-35 a month
do not go with the free deals.
Traditional dealers are out there typically small operations with out big adds etc. shop and compare and if they say free hang up the phone or close the door.
Also professional products are out there on the web for the DIY crowd with good skills.

Every business owner is entitled to a fair and reasonable profit for producing a product whats fair? That's for you the consumer to decide.

Sorry I am not taking new residential clients.

High Risk faciltys need more than a standard Heat Detector

2012-01-20T18:38:00.008-05:00

At left is a Rate Compensated Heat detector made by the Fenwal Company a division of UTC Fire& Security

http://www.fenwalcontrols.com/utcfs/Templates/Pages/Template-53/0,8062,pageId%3D3887%26siteId%3D375,00.html

These units take and utilize the best of fixed and rate of rise features to react quickly to a fire yet not false alarm like other units.Because they sense the surrounding air no matter the fires growth

You will find them where fast hot fires develop very quickly like Engine rooms on Boats Boiler rooms , both liquid and vapor Gas fueling, handling and production facility's and Chemical Plants

There hermetically sealed against the elements and utilize a self resetting Bi metal element which allows it to be tested multiple times unlike one time use fixed temp sensors

Needless to say there not cheap around $100 each compared to a $20 heat you find in a home or business but when you need a rugged well built quick reacting fire sensor this is it.

The units also have the advantage of being able to be used in hazardous and explosive environments as well as all weather.

have a high risk facility which needs fire protection this is what you need to install.

This is how Electrical Fires Start wheres the Bushings?

2012-01-13T09:22:00.004-05:00

I was working in a brand New home yesterday trouble shooting a problem in a sound system my friend was having problems with he was installing in his brand new home they are finishing up the inside in Mt Lebanon Pa. . When I went into the basement to check connections and discovered these major Electrical code violations which could cause a fire.
In the picture at far left you can see a connector missing from the electrical box which allows the wire to be free and loose and which could allow objects to fall into the box causing a spark and large arc and also the metal pipe does not have on the end of it a metal or plastic bushing which protects the wire from again being abraded in the picture directly left you can also see wiring run down thru pipes to protect it but again the bushing s are missing and when these bushings are not used and wires become frayed an arc fault can develop and subsequent fire.
Now I am sure your asking your self . Hey wait a minute brand new house was it not inspected?
Well that was my question to the builder .
I asked him has the Electrical Inspector been thru for a Final inspection as I only saw a rough Wiring sticker on the panel he said he was not sure I told him the wiring is not going to pass and he needs to get his electrician back and correct things and showed him where. He did not seemed worried he said it was the electricians problem. I said no its going to be both your problems when the inspection does not pass and no occupancy permit and owner can not move in. It will be a bigger problem 3 years from now when home owner starts getting wiring issues and even bigger problem yet when the house catches fire due to sloppy wiring I spotted and neither of you did any thing about it. At which point I told him I do fire inspection and investigation. needless to say he changed his attitude and called the electrician to get there and get it fixed.
Which now has me wondering is there even going to be a final electrical inspection. With new construction your suppose to have two inspections a rough and Final a rough checks the service so you can get power on to the structure and final after all the devices wire is run etc.
But all too often the 2nd final inspection is never completed and electricians and owners do what ever they feel like and this is how the problems start and how a 10 year old home can burn to the ground.
Again it falls on the local code authorities to make sure all inspections including both rough and final electrical inspections are done but all too often they just go and hand over the temporary occupancy permit with things to be checked in 30 days and they never come back and check things where done and issue a permanent occupancy permit .
this is a very bad way of doing business but it happens every day here in Pa. and is why we lead the country in fires fire deaths and deaths of firefighters

Dirty Little Secrets Alarm dealers do not want you to know. Who owns your account?

2012-01-10T19:12:00.007-05:00

Who really is providing your alarm system servicing and who is actually monitoring it.
It all comes down to who actually owns the rights to your account.

OK you decide to put an alarm in and you call XYZ alarm dealer down the street there nice and local and you like to help local business people but are you really ?
the answer comes down to it all depends.

I have always been an independent stand alone dealer who does not use any type of Dealer Program as there known.

I choose the equipment I choose how its installed and I choose where and who monitors it.
This is not the case with many alarm company's like XYZ who is involved in one of many different dealer programs out there.
Some programs the dealer sells your account outright to a company like ADT who gives the local dealer a Lump Sum payment for the account and the account becomes the sole property of ADT after 90 days of free and clear operation. At this point you deal with ADT for monitoring and service not the local guy any more all he did was install it.

Then theirs cases where the dealer will maintain your system and service it but sells the RMR
Recurring Monthly Revenue to a company like Monitronics which gives them a lump sum of cash
based on how much the account makes each month. Lets say your paying $30.00 a month and it costs a dealer $5.00 a month or less in many cases to get wholesale monitoring so he makes $25.00 a month in RMR he sells all or part of that RMR and gets paid cash for it so he can pay bills etc.
He can sell all or part of his accounts it all depends what he sets up with whoever he is going thru for a dealers program. or he may only sell part of his accounts each month and keep the rest independently

Some companys RMR is making them Hundreds of thousands of dollars each month so now you know how they can Give away so called FREE systems.
You pay for it in monthly monitoring fees.

With me being independent operator and not playing any of these games with funding my business , my monitoring generally is lower than others so yes it pays to shop around and get several quotes and ask plenty of questions where is my account monitored who is doing it who owns it and who is going to service it.
In many cases its often a sub contractor as many of these door knocking company's from Utah do not have a local service person they hire sub contractors like myself to do work for them.

If your blood is starting to boil a little bit I understand. Its the same old story Buyer Beware and due your homework.

I am always up front with customers on my monitoring fees and they know I make a couple bucks and it helps keep my business running and bills paid and I often give them free services such as Up/Down loading and programming etc as part of the monitoring fee like many company's do.
But some dealers charge for every little thing plus add a maintenance fee on top of monitoring as well.
But that's what makes the world go around this world is made up of many different people and business man.

Be Careful working in Old Burglar Alarm Panels

2012-01-09T08:02:00.008-05:00

I found this old FBI 650 panel few years back. It operated on 6 volts DC often used a dry cell lantern battery for back up power however this panel used a rechargeable battery today 12 volts DC is what you find in modern panels.
The business owner had just bought the building to expand his business and while in the process of hooking up a new system
I ran across this beautiful little booby trap.
These alarm panels such as FBI 650 and Ademco 221, 330 etc where manufactured back in the late1960s' to early70's and you brought the
120 VAC power directly to the panel instead of using a a wall transformer like modern version used.
A large frame transformer was built into the cabinet. Of course this meant you had live 120 volt terminals on the board which presented a danger to the installer if he was not careful in some cases manufacturers put a plastic cover over the 120 VAC terminals to prevent problems while most did not.

You where suppose to use Armored Cable also known as BX cable to the panel which properly grounded the metal case or rubber coated SO or SJ cord with ground if you where plugging it into a 3 wire outlet or Non Metallic cable NM also known as Romex and ground it to case . Early version panels did not include a ground wire terminal or flying ground lead while later models did this one did not as grounding back then was not seen as important as it is today. But as you can see here some one used 2 conductor lamp cord no ground and mickey moused the plug in transformers off the 120 VAC lamp cord by soldering the wires and then taping them instead of using a proper plug strip. It amazes me more alarm installers where not shocked and homes burned to the ground over this deadly trick and there are still plenty of these panels still rigged up this way floating around in old homes and buildings waiting to cause a fire or shock some one.
This is why you should always be on your guard any time you take out one of these old alarm systems boxes they can still be plugged into 120 volts not doing anything but sitting there ready to shock you. If you have to open one do so very carefully trace and disconnect the 120 VAC wire if possible as the wiring to these panels are very old and brittle in most cases.
Yes these panels are from the heavy relay days and before all the modern codes where in place but they never should have been wired this way even back then The National Electrical Code was in place and should have been followed. But as usual it was not until fires and electric shocks and law suits being filed etc. because installers wired these incorrectly where panel styles changed.
Its a dam shame manufacturers always have to idiot proof alarm panels but they have to do so do to the amount of idiots and uncaring alarm system dealers out there who will not even try and get properly trained.
Because I still see panels such as the Ademco/ Honeywell Vista 32FB and 128 FB panels which require a 120 vac line run to them still being hooked in with lamp cord.
because alarm company's will not hire an electrician to properly do it.
Alarm panels are designed for professional installation but I see very few professional installs in my area. Mostly just hacks who do not give a damn.

No way to install a Fire System or Enforce a Code

2012-01-06T08:21:00.003-05:00

Although it has finally been replaced and new panel installed indoors now I hope they did? this INDOOR ONLY rated non functioning Fire Panel
as rusted as it is was what was protecting an 5 unit apartment building in the town of Leechburg Pa. along River Rd.

It probably worked well that summer of 86-87 but as soon as all the fall rains came and they could get under the enclosure where the panel was installed the panel was toast.
So for how many years this building had no fire protection and the towns code enforcement officer if the town even had one allowed this situation to exist.
Pa.Passed in 1984 the Pa. Fire and Panic act which required all apartment buildings to have fire alarm systems for community's who where not enforcing BOCA Code at the time.
With the rush to comply back then all types of installs where done like this where state and local inspectors allowed INDOOR Only rated system to be installed under semi closed in areas exposed to weather and temperatures because there was no other area to install them.
At the time custom outdoor enclosures where not available but the panels could have been installed in enclosures which could be properly sealed and where was available at the time and it would have protected the panels but instead they let contractors get away with this very bad practice. Leechburg is not the only community I have seen this in Greensburg as well which has many apartment stuctures.
But then again why would you expect anything else in a state where code enforcement has always been a complete joke to excellent depending where you live.
Of course the big rush in the 80's to put these systems in are no longer required when building new apartments but sprinklers are more often now specified now that Pa. has a standard state code in place but too many apartment owners and code people think its OK? to now no longer maintain them and in many cases the non functioning alarms are being ripped out.
But this is not proper either it takes permission of the State of Pa Labor and Industry dept to do so because once a system is installed it must be maintained for life of the building . But then again this is Pa. do what ever you feel like becuse some areas enforce the code properly while the vast majority do not.

Why some Code officers need there butts FIRED

2012-01-02T18:22:00.005-05:00

At the photo at left you see a strobe used for fire alarms . It was originally installed at 79" to the top which was fine as ADA and other codes see it but not in this case when a jack booted good little Nazi State of Pa. Building Inspector said no you have to move all them up.
he wanted them exactly at 80" at bottom of the box. So now you have a brand new day care center at a church with a bunch of extra holes in the walls. Because an idiot of an inspector who has absolutely no common sense and reads a code and enforces it exactly how it is written with out taking in any other consideration .
In fact the way the strobe was installed was perfectly fine the new floor had not been installed and no one told him that. Needless to say I had a nice long conversation with this idiot after I got involved in the project to Finnish it when another contractor went belly up. I filed a formal complaint against the inspector as this was totally and completely avoidable .This ADA American with Disabilties code says You can put that strobe between 80" and 96" and its fine you can put it even higher where it might get blocked and you still can see it and have just as much light as tests have been shown by testing agency's. such as in dollar stores etc.
But how many inspectors have to be total idiots and say no it must be 80" .
While this inspector came thru and passed the whole system I also showed him all the problems with the system he never caught as well and could have impacted it operating properly which needed corrected. Yes he was all hot aand bothered by a non 80" strobe which would have been after the floor was installed but totally missed important violations I had to correct.
Is this the kind of inspectors we want out there absolutely not.
But this is why you see so many systems that fail to operate properly because these inspectors where never properly trained for there position and go around with there jack boots thinking there the almighty. sorry that position is filled.what we need are inspectors who know what the hell there looking at and passing not what just the book says. Or we all pay the price when a system fails and there's plenty of those out there.

Simple device stops disasters caused by frozen sprinkler line yet there often not installed

2011-12-24T18:39:00.005-05:00

What you see to the left is a very simple $20.00 Low Temperature Switch which warns when a buildings temperature goes below 40 degrees F. which uses a simple therm o disk made by United security products

http://www.unitedsecurity.com/Website%20PDFs/F20.pdf

By NFPA 72 Fire Alarm code you are required to install these or similar manufacturers simple switches any time sprinklers are installed where the weather gets below freezing like where in Live in Western Pa. there are even more sophisticated units you can dial in exactly when you want notified when the buildings temperature drops or rises above what you want.
Yet how many times I go to take over a system or work on one as a sub contractor and there is no low temp switch any where.
there required yet there not installed and most inspectors do not even know there required so up to 98% of the sprinkler systems out
there in Pa and other states do not have them a simple $ 20 switch which can warn pipes are freezing vs thousands of dollars in damage yet no one uses them. Why many installers do not know they need them despite being certified by NICET or other agency and the reason no one mentions them. Too many company's think its the HVAC contractors job to install them wrong its the company's installing the sprinklers and the fire alarms to jointly make sure one or the other company has installed them. But as usual who ever reads a code book let alone owns one and these idiots are out there installing systems incorrect and AHJ are passing them because they have no proper training either. The result every year when the temps go down below freezing for a week or more all you hear coming over the Fire scanner is calls for broken sprinkler pipes, which are flooding buildings and damaging electric systems etc. dam shame but we go thru this every winter around here. Due to ignorance ,arrogance ,greed and stupidity.

Co Detector Saves lives Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T17:52:00.004-05:00

My parents needed new Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Detectors in there home so being in the business I always get them for them wholesale priced.
I put in these new 10 year battery life smokes and she told her friends about it and they mentioned they have smoke detectors but not a Co Detector and asked if if could get them the same deal on the price as my parents and I said sure no problem there retired and can use a break so I got them one and my mom gave it to them 2 weeks ago .

Tonight I get a call from my mom that Co detector I got for them just saved there lives.
She had been cooking on her moms old stove all day and unknown to her there was a problem with the burners on the stove and it was putting out high amounts of Co.
The alarm went off so she took it outside and put in some new battery's in thinking maybe the battery's she put in where not good when in ten minutes it was going off again. She and her husband worried something was wrong called the gas company who told them they needed to get out of the residence and upon the gas company arriving they found the faulty stove which was putting out 90 parts per million PPM of Carbon Monoxide gas. Had she put the roast in the stove to night and let it bake like she planned and they took there evening nap they may never have woken up from having succumbed to Co Poisoning.

Carbon Monoxide is nothing to play with it is just not the car left running in the garage under the house or the furnace that can kill it the gas cooking stove and it could be the gas fire place.
Co Detectors can be gotten for as little as $20.00 and if you can not afford one many Fire depts will provide them for free or at reduced cost. get a co alarm the very life it saves could be your own.

How safe is that Elevator your about to get on? It depends

2011-12-21T19:05:00.003-05:00

How safe is the elevator your about to get on? well for 99.9% of us the answer is no problem however approx. 27 deaths resulting in the use of elevators are reported annually in the USA.
Almost all of them can be traced back to poor maintenance practices by the buildings elevators owner and or company performing the maintenance and New York city which has more elevators than any city outside of Japan is having a crisis with old elevators not being properly maintained and 2 people have died there with in the last year with Criminal Negligent Homicide Charges being brought against one elevator repairman this year for an accident that happened last year which trapped and killed a woman when it suddenly went up with out warning because a safety switch had been bypassed on the door.
One New York Politician is calling for buildings to be torn down and replaced because there are so many old crumbling not well maintained buildings and elevators in NYC.

So what does it take to become a Elevator Mechanic as there commonly known in the trade.
well some states require extensive training and licensing and proved skills under a journeyman
while some states like Pa. just require repair company's not the workers to register with them, in other words fill out a piece of paper.

While many elevator manufacturers require you be certified by them to work on there elevators while there under warranty this does not stop any one from working on them because if they can they will.
This is why especially in states like Pa. you want to make sure the company you hire to do your work is properly qualified and insured.

If you get stuck in an Elevator will the Emergency Phone Work?

2011-12-21T18:17:00.006-05:00

You get on the elevator to go up to the 4th floor Doctors Office when all of a sudden it stops you push the button ring the Emergency Bell no one hears you . Now what? normally you either open a small door or its already in open the Elevator Emergency phone box is standing there ready to work Really?
Well that all depends when was the last time it was checked to see if it even works? was it when it was inspected last year ?
Well as you can see this is a big problem especially when you cell phone will not work either. yes in fact late night workers and maintenance/Cleaning people have been trapped inside an elevator for as long as 72 hours on a long holiday weekend when the building is locked up and everyone has gone home.

This is why it is imperative that elevator phones be checked to make sure there working. the problem thou is there has been no code requiring it other than annual inspection. But that has all changed now that ASME ( American Society of Mechanical Engineers ) Yes the idiots who came up with the Elevator Shunt trip circuit which can trap you in an elevator during a fire has come out with a new standard ASME A17.1 which now requires all new elevator phones to be supervised similar to how we now supervise lines on Fire Alarms to insure the phone line to the elevator is actually working. The problem has always been the Elevator phone line must be dedicated just to the elevator no other phones on it so it will not be jammed . unlike a Fire panel which has a special relay which turns off the premise phone so it will not interfere and starts beeping if phone lines voltage goes out. with the line dedicated to the elevator you have no way of knowing if it works or not .
Why it took the code geniuses so long to come up with this excellent code is beyond me we should have had something like this all along.
But as usual it had to take tragedy's to have it put in place . There is no such thing as forward thinking in code panels and then when they do make codes they never ever think them thru to address local or gray area issues.

Well the good folks at Viking Electronics Inc. now make a new unit LV-1K which can be seen in the image at left which can be added to there emergency elevator phone units as you see in the image above . Which now supervises the elevators phone line. for more information on this and all kinds of neat telecom products got to.

http://www.vikingelectronics.com/

Do you Really Know where your Alarm systems signal is going?

2011-12-21T17:50:00.006-05:00

Do you really Know where your Alarm Systems monitoring signal is going?

is it really local like with in yours or adjoining area code or is it going out of state?

Many alarm systems especially national alarm company's signals go to New York or Chicago or California.
with the advent of cellular and analog phone line communication your signal could be going anywhere. Often times even small dealers use out of state central monitoring stations regardless if they answer in the alarm dealers name.
This means your panel is dialing an 800 number service line. If the 800 service goes wacky guess what no signal delivered. unlike dealers like my self who use 3rd party monitoring services which are with in the region and who have programmed there alarm panels to dial both an 800 number plus a back up normal area code number such as 412,814,724 etc.
This way if the 800 service is not working properly the signal will get thru on the normal local area code exchange number.
How often does 800 service go out More often than you know. Regardless if the central station pays extra for " always Up service " from Verizon or AT&T .
800 service will go down. then also the central station operators who answer your calls are not aware what severe weather is going on or other issues a local 3rd party service would be aware .
of.
also do the national services keep an eye on panels not communicating and getting hold of the dealer when a 24 hr report is missed? don't bet on it.
After having worked as a sub contractor and seeing all the problems with delayed signals and no signals being received at these national services this is why my customers are all thru a regional 3rd party UL listed central and my customers know exactly where there signal is being received and can talk directly to the owners when required.
that's also another good point is the national service UL listed do they have proper trained operators etc etc etc.
Also smaller stations with fewer operators generally have there receiving equipment right near there work stations so they can watch and see the recivers and know if there working properly
while big centers have all there gear in racks off in a separate room and no one watching to catch any anomalies quicker than the big centers there by getting it corrected faster
If you have critical alarm needs you need to be asking questions where exactly is my signal going and should be able to visit the central station to satisfy your requirements are being meet.

Whats that single Headlight looking thing on the outside of buildings

2011-12-19T08:08:00.003-05:00

Walking around almost all new commercial construction and you will notice a single headlight looking light on the outside of the building.
Whats that light for ? I often get asked when installing them.
what this light is used for is emergency lighting so that when the power goes out inside a building you can see where you are going when you are following the exit signs to get out.
For years only emergency lighting powered by back up batteries needed to be inside a structure except for certain buildings which had generators and where required to have outside lights working on fire Escapes etc.
But that all changed a decade or so back now all structures must have lights outside on buildings to light the exit path.
One of the main reason for this is to prevent panic as it has been found after catastrophic fires how peoples remains where found behind open exit doors stacked up all because they could not see what they where stepping out into.
While these lights are a good idea and are not very designer looking they do serve a very important purpose but unfortunately are often the target of vandals and of course if the emergency light system is not properly maintained they do not work either. You may also find these light heads being used in restrooms and elevators depending on local codes as well.

Tamper Resistant Electrical Outlets there now required in new construction

2011-12-17T07:59:00.005-05:00

Every year small children are injured in homes when there curiosity gets the best of them and they explore that funny looking device in a wall. In most cases a child receives and bad shock and gets an early education in the monster in the wall ad after some crying and tears its a lesson learned how ever in other cases the exploration is fatal.
With this in mind manufacturers for many years have made plastic receptacle covers you inserted to keep children safe and they have been required in child care facility for many years. But there hard to take in and out and have to be replaced once removed.
Well now manufacturers have come out with a better idea. A self closing receptacle which works
to keep children safe while still being convenient to use.
They are now required by law in new residential construction in community's which enforce the current version National Electrical Code. Which is most but not all community's in the USA .
They must also be used where a receptacle in an older home is being replaced with a new receptacle or where new outlets are being added.
The new receptacles cost couple penny's more to the same as regular receptacles and are available at almost all places which sell electrical items.
The following links Provided by Pass & Seymor will provide a wealth of information plus code updates. have young children at home consider using these receptacles.

http://www.legrand.us/passandseymour/tamper-resistant-receptacles.aspx?utm_source=passandseymour&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=all-arts_20111216_holiday-electrical-safety

Welcome to Fire Technicians Network

2011-12-13T07:13:00.006-05:00

www.firetechs.net

The Fire Technicians Network is a website maintained by Frank Kurz who is from Canada and has all kind of excellent resources for Fire Alarm Technicians he has put many hours into the effort and has been doing his part to help promote professional standards for technicians.
One thing you will notice in fire alarms in Canada vs. USA is that they have much higher standards to meet.

Mini Lithium Batteries still dangerous when depeleted

2011-12-12T18:09:00.003-05:00

The little battery that could is what you might say about Lithium Batteries popular in all kind of wireless alarms , cameras etc along with bigger ones for computers these batteries pack a big amount of power in a small foot print but they also pose a very major fire and explosion danger when not properly handled and disposed of. Even depleted these batteries still pack a wallop, and can catch things on fire.
when disposing of these batteries it is best to recycle them at approved recycle center or dispose of them by wrapping them with some type of non conducting tape to prevent them from bumping against something metal and shorting out and heating up.
A recent fire in a gift/card shop at Pittsburgh Mills shopping mall has been attributed to these batteries in improperly stored cards which played music and its a major big time fine to ship them on passenger airplanes. for more information on proper use and handling of these batteries check the manufacturers web sites.

Why have these batteries not been recalled

2011-12-12T18:02:00.003-05:00

These batteries manufactured by Ultratech have a very dangerous
habit of causing Fire and Burglar Alarm Systems to not function on AC power when they are depleted like normal batteries do.
Instead the overloads activate and the panels shut down. these batteries also bulge and in some cases have exploded.
The CPSC Consumer Products safety commission was notified of the problems with these batteries over a year ago and still no word the batteries in particular where manufactured in last 4 years and are as much as 2 pounds underweight compared to competitors.
I have stopped using these batteries along with UB Universal batteries for the same problem all together and have been replacing them with other manufacturers batteries.

The Cellular back up game

2011-12-12T15:52:00.009-05:00

Cellular back up has been around since late 80's which allows the backing up of a phone line to a Burglar Alarm in case a thief cuts the phone line, trying to keep the signal from going to Monitoring Station. It runs on the side channel of a cellular signal known as side bands Type a and B which allows signals to go thru with out busy and other signals getting in the way since only data not voice is being sent.
Over the years the units have evolved from a large suit cased size unit to a small compact board and now instead of back up there now also being used as the primary way to communicate an alarm since so many homes have no land line or a business is running all VOIP ( Voice Over IP ) instead of traditional dial tone .
How ever almost all units run on AT& T's GSM ( Global System Management ) cellular network while other carriers like Verizon use a technology Known as CDMA ( Code Division Multiple Access ) so if your out a ways from the city you may not be able to get an AT&T signal but a Verizon CDMA signal may be available .
So to bridge this problem UPLINK has produced a cell unit capable of running on CDMA instead of GSM to solve this problem. There a few bucks more to install and they work just as well if not better than the GSM networks .
So your thinking to your self fine, but they sell Cell Phone Jammers illegally which a burglar could use. This is true but because of supervision techniques and fact units run on side band it takes specialized knowledge to stop the signal from being blocked. Which only the most sophisticated burglars have and even if they do jam the signal the burg panels still activate there local sounders which you must deal with and depending on supervision the monitoring center knows your jamming as well. so it is not like you see in the movies. there are even units which attach and use the internet as primary signal and cellular as back up again which is fully supervised no signal and monitoring station starts investigating.
If your home or business is a high risk install for either a Fire or Burglar system due to high ticket life safety value it would be very wise to install a cellular back up unit especially if your using any of the newer digital phone networks which require power from both ends to operate.
Check out up-link cellular service at

www.uplink.com

Which is available thru your local alarm dealer

Guest bloggers

2011-12-12T07:35:00.003-05:00

From time to time I get individuals who ask to post on my blog. Some are unknown authors trying to get notice or spread news of general interest and some are trade journalists who represent manufacturers and there products which I have no problem with when there up front with there intentions and there selling a legitimate product our readers may be interested in purchasing.
However I will not put up with Plagiarism or trying to get free advertising by deception and I have removed comments and 2 articles I have found to be such.

If your an author or a manufacturer or web or blog owner and would like to exchange links etc . your more than welcome to post here .
If your up front with your intentions other wise go away.

If you wish to post please email me at

nmarkowitz@gmail.com

Thank You to all my readers

Many Fire Sprinkler Systems are not monitored why you should call 911 when you here a sprinkler bell ringing

2011-12-09T08:22:00.003-05:00

They sit there on the sides of buildings usually round some oblong
almost always painted red and in rusty condition.
There sprinkler water flow bells which sound when water is flowing thru a sprinkler system .
There purpose is to warn the sprinkler system has activated due to a fire or broken pipe some are mechanical bells operated by the water pressure itself some are electrically operated from 6 volt -120 volts AC or DC and often times they ring and no fire engines are arriving because the sprinkler system is not tied in to a fire alarm panel with dialer or a stand alone DACT
which notify a monitoring center that the sprinkler system has activated.
Strange as it may seem there are many sprinkler systems which stand alone and do not report.
This is why if you are passing a building and one of these bells is going off and no authorities or any one else is around the structure you should notify 911 the bell is sounding so it can be investigated.
In Ambridge Pa. in a shopping plaza with a dollar store there was a small fire in an office where a computer caught fire and stand alone sprinkler system activated and flooded the store for several hours till police on patrol came by and heard the bell despite the fact the plaza is next to busy Rt 65 .
Every one assumes they here an alarm on a building and police are automatically notified and there wrong.
Despite building codes because these systems are grandfathered they are not mandated to be monitored by code and even new systems in some cases are not required to be monitored all they have to have is a visible bell or strobe /bell horn combo and systems with no monitoring and no mechanical bell and rely on power always being on to ring a 120 VAC bell are still being installed. Yes it sounds crazy why they would allow non power backed up non supervised sprinkler systems and why a property owner would not pay for sprinkler monitoring to prevent thousands in damage . But if they do not have to they do not. It often comes down to there insurance carrier mandating it.

Low Pressure device on Fire Sprinkler fails to do its job.

2011-12-05T19:02:00.005-05:00

I get a call from the Central station I use early this morning and there receiving a
Water Flow alarm on a sprinkler system at a local shopping plaza I service.
Its a dry pipe system which has given us frequent problems over the years but since I put in proper controls and started frequent bleed offs of the system drip drums of moisture in over 3 years we have not had a problem till this morning.
As i am getting dressed to be able to respond to the plaza the local fire chief calls and tells me where just leaking in pump room there's no damage . Good ill be up in few minutes and they lock up and I arrive and shut off the system valves and begin draining the water down out of the dry pipe system.
the Fire dept should have shut off the OY&S valves but did not but other than a waste of water there was no damage done.
I start looking things over what went wrong I should have gotten a call the air compressor was not working after the system looses 10 pounds of air before the system filled with water but the
Potter Electric Pressure switch that was installed by sprinkler company never activated.
I find after looking thru the panels log there was a power failure which is why the compressor is not working apparently there was a wreck nearby and power went out causing a single phasing condition which tripped its overload I reset the overload and the compressor is back on line no problems compared to when I first took over this plaza an ass of an electrician installed the compressors 3 phase motor with out proper motor starter combo switch and in days past they have had to replace the motor at least 4 different times till I found out the control was missing.
and installed proper unit. so at this point all the water is drained out of the dry pipes and the technician from sprinkler company has arrived and resets the flapper valve and we test the low pressure switch and find it works which is strange why it did not do its job previously but he agrees as I do that Potter Electric is not turning out the high quality of sprinkler products they once did I personally refuse to use there products I have had so many problems with them seems that ever since they changed management and started making things over seas decade ago there products are very inferior and cheap pot metal they use cracks very easily .
Its a shame they use to be the premier provider of sprinkler products but many dealers like me are no longer using them.
Well the system pumped up we readjusted the low pressure switch put everything back to normal and called it a day. But had the Potter Electric low pressure switch worked the way it was suppose to it would have taken 10 minutes to fix things vs all morning.
Unfortunately Potter electric is one of the few company's that make it, so your stuck using there products.

Low Voltage Wiring it can Catch on Fire

2011-12-04T09:08:00.007-05:00

A long time customer of mine who loves making his yard look great with land scape lighting asked me to look at something the other day that puzzled him.
Seems he was smelling smoke the other day and came out to find his mulch on fire and smoking and that his land scape lighting had caused it.
He thought that low voltage wiring 50 volts and below could not cause a fire.
Well the answer is it depends what type of wiring is being used where it is being used and what wiring class and size of power supply being used.

Low voltage wiring is divided into 3 classes in the NEC National Electrical Code

Class I Class II and Class III

Class I -wiring- is wiring used in safety and essential circuits to make sure a piece of equipment operates properly like a furnace or boiler

Class II wiring is used primarily indoors and is designed to minimize fires and electrical shocks this includes door bells burglar ,fire alarms energy control etc.

Class III wiring is generally found outdoors includes outdoor lighting , and signalling
again it is designed to minimize fires and limit electrical shock
But no low voltage wiring is totally immune from it and it can cause fires, explosions and shocks under the right conditions when several things line up and goes wrong.

Such as power surges and lightning or when indoor rated system get soaked with water etc.
As you can see with the fire panel at left which was struck by lightning.

In my customers case he was tired of the wimpy out door power supply's which came with the lights so he bought a 900 watt commercial grade power supply that's well over 30 amps of power so yes you will get a significant spark if the wires short and in his case a loose connection filed with water caused a high resistance hot spot which eventually allowed the mulch to catch fire.
Well why did the fuse not blow? Well that's a good question because the short and arcing that occurred below the rating of the breaker on the unit the heat was allowed to build till it finally blew thru a process known as Pyrolysis.
here is a classic case of why Arc Fault breakers are such a good idea.
now luckily since the much is slow to burn there was never any danger to the home made of brick yet under the right circumstance of the home being wood etc. yes there could have been a disaster.

This is why it is important to install low voltage circuits to manufacturer and wiring codes so that the systems will self limit and prevent problems.

FIOS Installer puts 125 lives at risk because he is lazy

2011-12-01T18:35:00.007-05:00

Yes once again lives put at risk because of poor training and poor attitude of a telco installer.
this time it was a 5 apartment building complex in Penn Hills where 125 individuals lives where put at risk because this lazy ass hole failed to even ask if there was a fire alarm connected even though he had to walk right past it. and was installing new FIOS service which is phone and internet lines in the management office. With the fire alarm remote keypad beeping in the lobby he walks out and never says a word to management because it was 3pm and time to go home . What a LOSER.
But then again what do you expect. with the break up of AT&T in the 80's they offered buy outs to all the older high paid installers who where well trained and instead hired a bunch of young guys give them 3 weeks training and send them on jobs so multiple installers have to go some where and fix things till it is done right. If you have older style phone lines servicing a complex forget getting any help none of the newer installers have any ideal what a ISDN or Serial Data Line or 46K line is let alone have any ideal how to fix it.
No all the telcos want to pay and train as little as possible so they can maximize profits. The result thousands every night put at risk all over the country when installers do not hook fire and burglar and medical alarms back in correctly and its not discovered till trouble signals sound or a an alarm goes off and theirs no response. What a way to run a company. full of corporate pukes.

COMCAST INSTALLERS STAY OUT OF MY FIRE PANELS

2011-12-01T08:08:00.002-05:00

Why is it that COMCAST Cable Installers have in the last 3 years been snooping around in my fire panels .
Good question because they could be facing felony criminal charges or risking a catastrophe
for messing around in these panels should they cause one not to work and there's a fire

It does not matter if I have the panels locked or not because many COMCAST Installers and there Sub contractors where former Alarm System installers who have the generic keys which can open a panel makers line of product.
I have filed complaints with fire officials in Penn Hills , Emsworth and Wilkinsburg after responding to panel troubles to find out a COMCAST Installer or Sub has been in the room the panel is located doing work.
No installer or tech or handy man of any type should be opening a fire panel and even looking inside only the company that services and maintains the panel is permitted under law in most states. even if your trying to figure out a telco problem you should never enter a panel unless an alarm company tech is present.

I just recently had to respond to an apartment complex in Penn Hills to fix broken wires in a fire panel after a Comcast installer was working in the room and all of a sudden the panel now has problems.

This is a warning to Comcast and all Cable and Telco company's keep your people out of my and other alarm company's panels or face the consequences of being sued by one of my customers or there insurer and your installer being arrested .
This is not a game this is life threatening if something goes wrong.

Private Career and Trade Schools Most are nothing more than a Government RIP OFF

2011-11-30T19:34:00.004-05:00

Be an Electrician , Welder etc etc in 18 months the commercials tout WRONG
the Big Secret no one wants to talk about is the vast majority of for profit career and Trade schools are nothing but a big rip off. They fill young guys and gals heads full of mush how there a trained and certified professional when they come out of school and there going to make all this fantastic money.
The truth they get you ready for an entry level job and even that is not even true some times your training is completely worthless.
How do I know this because I once taught for a short period at one of these for profit schools and left after being totally and completely disgusted with all the lies and poor training going on.
I saw many cases where students where excepted that never should have been and this worthless schooling costs big bucks as much as $30,000.00 or more to go to these schools. There is no way these loans will ever be repaid and now the Federal government is going ofter several schools here in Pittsburgh.
Then there's the instructors who for the most part are individuals who have been kicked out or otherwise forced out of the trade because there work skills where very poor or they where just plain lazy . One of my customers a large welding fabricator recently hired one of these so called welding instructors for his plant thinking he would get an excellent welder WRONG his welding skills are so bad he works as a helper laborer in the plant , and this guy was teaching others how to weld.
The truth is if you really want to learn a trade you need to go to a trade school run by a school district or community college where you will get the basics and then go to work as a helper till you learn what you need to become a journeyman with your skills this takes up to 5 years not 18 months there is so much that must be learned including how to think on your feet and good mechanical and fitting skills,
I am not saying all for profit schools are bad but way too many are out of all the 100 plus schools that are for profit here in Pittsburgh there are less than a dozen I would even recommend going to.
Go to a community college where the fees are much less and affordable and you get better instruction and a better chance of getting an entry level job or apply as a laborer some where and work your way up under a well trained journeyman.

DO NOT GET RIPPED OFF BY A WORTHLESS FOR PROFIT SCHOOL

Changing Phone service could have been disasterous for this business owner

2011-11-30T16:22:00.004-05:00

A customer of mine a very high end restaurant in Butler county
recently decided to change there phone service from a hardwired phone service provided by Consolidated to Armstrong cable digital IP service. and it could have been disastrous as unknown to the owner and the cable installer the Fire Alarm was not properly wired back into the new phone service instead when they walked in this morning the Fire and burglar alarm panels where in trouble because they had not sent in the daily test which is required by NFPA 72 fire code.
This restaurant experienced over $3000,000.00 in damaged last winter when a valve was bypassed on a sprinkler system which should have been tampered and was not and luckily the burg system caught the leak and triggered getting the police and owner there . But this might bit have been the case this time as both alarms had no phone service. Now as a back up on Fire and burglar alarm systems that are high risk I always install outside sounding devices and strobes to get attention should the phone lines go out and alarm not transmit and this has saved my customers several times over the years but there is always a delay getting a response from time the alarm goes off to some one hearing the alarm and notifying 911.
so once again as a precaution I will be installing a cellular back up system on these alarms as a back up precaution .I always encourage customers to install cellular back up but it costs extra and I understand when they do not want to do it but as you can see it can be a very valuable service and prevent needless tragedy and heart ache. In one case a previous customer of mine switched phone service said nothing and then had a process line freeze up and cause over a million dollar loss in productivity.

There needs to be a law mandated that cable and phone company's be required to notify alarm company's when phone service is changed to prevent these problems as I have already had customers over the years change phone service not tell me and fires and flooding due to broken pipes etc has caused major issues with major dollar damages. all because people are trying to save a buck.

40 years later a Phone Call from a Bully

2011-11-29T07:12:00.004-05:00

That was surprising last night when I got a phone call from some one who bullied me back when I went to St. Basil s Grade school in the 60's.
He was calling to apologize for having done it and was worried it had hurt me all those years ago.
Well I forgave him and told him how it actually made me a better and stronger individual as I will not put up with it when I see it on a job site.
He explained he was bullied and in return since he could pick on me that's why he did it.
You have to remember I was very skinny and sick as a child but grew into a 6' 2" -225 LB individual so yea many of those bully's had lots to worry about if they ever unfortunately crossed my path and several paid for it the hard way just like they bullied me. Some just got the shit kicked out of them etc. wasn't so funny for them after they where on the reciving end of it.

Like me he also has fought and is winning his battle with cancer and I explained to him how many old ghosts and skeletons have come out of the closet when I got the cancer and he said that's part of what prompted his calling me. He has mellowed out and become a man and confronted his old ghosts . Its a shame it took this long to learn just how precise life is as it can be here one day and gone the next . But I wish him well and he finally have peace in his life because so many I grew up with did not either dead by there own hand , in Prison ,addicted or just living a horribly miserable and tragic life. We learn by our mistakes and I have made more than my share and if I have offended any one it was not intentional . May we all learn , love and lead
good lives and be able to handle the speed bumps we encounter. It makes you a better human being. It starts by treating your fellow man the way you want to be treated.

Note: Since writing this article My younger brother tells me he has gotten several of these calls over the years when he did further research why it is some times because an individual is going thru one of numerous 12 step programs for an addiction. How ever after 40 years I find this not the case .

This is no way to wire a building

2011-11-27T15:25:00.004-05:00

Yes once again an Excellent Job by "The Fire alarm experts in Pittsburgh"
It was back in the 80's when the Downtown Pittsburgh Building experienced a fire on the 12th floor of a 23 story building and it made all the papers and TV news how the system failed to operate.
How when Office workers tried to activate pull stations they fell out of the wall and no signal came on.
How my late neighbor a City fire Lieutenant carried a wheel chair bound worker down 15 floors
on his back. Luckily the building was well built with lots of concrete and steel and fire never got out of the one room but smoke got everywhere. Yes it was a very bad day in deed after a complete investigation it was found that even thou the city required metal encasement on all fire wiring only 3 of the floors where so encased and all of the trunk wires etc where run down a utility shaft attached to a length of Bull Rope .
Although the G-uys where cited for not doing the work properly . The reason the fire alarm did not work properly is because a maintenance man reset the fire panel from a previous false alarm and the Edwards Panel had a slide switch which did not fully slide back to proper position and the panel did not give any indication it was not functioning properly . Needless to say after that they always had a technician to do it. I took over servicing the panel for a new owner and when they started the process to go to court over the system not working properly it was found there was problems all around including the city approving a wiring schematic that showed the wrong wiring connection
for the bells using 3 trunk lines and it was also claimed the individual who sold the owner the system parts from Edwards had stolen them from Edwards. Needless to say it was a mess and after this fire the city started to crack down on permits and inspections which they where doing a good job as till a few years ago and it is again now sliding as they have only 3 inspectors for the whole city and some Inspectors do there job exceptionally well while others do not and it is just going to be a matter of time till once again we have another tragedy. Luckily no one got seriously injured in this early 80's fire but it is going to be just a matter of time till something does go wrong in a city which I now here techs saying is going to turn into hooter ville .

Smart Emergency Lights they let you know when the back up battery needs serviced

2011-11-22T17:52:00.005-05:00

You see them in almost every commercial building back up emergency lighting units whose 2 lights come on and light the way for you to find your way out if the power goes out . but how many when the power goes out how many actually work?
Well up to 50% or more do not . Why? because there is a
a sealed lead acid battery which must be replaced every 3-5 years and they are suppose to be tested at least annually in some cases monthly but it never gets done and the 45 minutes of emergency light your suppose to have is not there and your stuck in a dark building not fun .
How many times when I have opened up and checked emergency lights I still find the original battery's in them just last week I found one which had never been changed from 1984 as it was hiding in a ceiling in a restaurant which called me after there lights went out and most did not work. Well one way to avoid this is with new Smart Packs which warn when theirs a problem with the system but at 2-3 times the cost of a standard unit you can be sure there not a big seller .
That's why it takes vigilance to make sure there tested and even set up for a service to come in and do them when they check the fire extinguishers which many places have started to do.
Yet you would be surprised how many buildings in Pa. I can walk into including day cares , personnel care homes etc and no emergency lights or lighted exit signs. But that's the way it is when local fire and building officials do not inspect properly . But then again this is Pa. do what ever you feel like. I just found a Head start Program in Armstrong county where they some times have night party's and sessions and no exit lights and no emergency lights and a steep pair of steps from 2nd to first floor. The director gives me the bull shit this is an existing structure.
yes for an office not a day care the new laws must be followed.Will see if they do or not now that every one has been put on notice.

Standard CFL Bulbs can not be used with Dimmers

2011-11-22T16:32:00.005-05:00

One of my customers called me the other day her dual dimming switch (top) for her lighted paddle fan stopped working. I stopped by and took a look and you could see the dimmer switch was slightly melted. So I went to the supply house and got a new dimmer at $42.00 since it was special dual dimmer compared to standard dimmer (bottom ) and put the new dimmer in and notice the fan works fine but the lights do not dim?
I take one of the bulbs out and instantly know what the problem is. The bulb is a Compact Fluorescent Bulb CFL made to look like an incandescent bulb and 99% of the compact fluorescent bulbs can not be used with dimmers in fact it can lead to a fire if continued to be used constantly this also goes for regular straight florescent bulbs as well which require a special dimmer.
If you have a dimmer switch you must buy a fluorescent CFL which can be dimmed and it must be compatible with the dimmer you are using. Of course they cost 2-3 times what a regular CFL runs as well.
But if you want to dim a fluorescent the dimmer and bulb much be matched properly or you risk a fire. So needless to say my customer had a discussion with here husband when he got home because he has put the CFL bulbs all over the house to save money.
So your saying to your self should they not warn on the dimmer or bulb package not to use fluorescent bulbs? Well some do some do not and the ones that do the writing is very small and hard to read.
So once again a perfect storm caused by energy saving devices with packaging not well thought out. to warn against a fire danger. but then again what do you expect from manufacturers overseas.

New line of Electrical Safety Gloves

2011-11-21T14:46:00.011-05:00

From time to time I get asked to evaluate a new alarm or electrical product , in fact I do beta testing for several company's who want an honest tradesman's opinion on there product.

The latest company to ask me is Magid Glove & Safety manufacturing Company LLC located in Chicago Illinois
I have used there Work/Welding gloves at various plants I work at where the plant has provided them and they have always been hard working so I knew I was not going to be disappointed when I was asked to look over and evaluate a new line of electrical Rubber Insulating Gloves known as there " Magid A.R.C. " Line and I have found them to fit ,flex and wear extremely well .
First off the gloves are much more flexible than normal Class I gloves. which allow you to work up to 7500 volts I work up to 480 volts so these gloves might be overkill but when your working on industrial voltage or changing an electrical service tap you want all the protection available to you.
The problem always thou with these gloves is flexibility while trying to perform a operation like connecting a nut and bolt together. The entire protective glove system properly worn includes a first layer of a cotton type glove to absorb sweat then the rubber gloves and finally a over set of leather gloves to prevent the rubber gloves from being torn.
Needless to say with 3 layers on its difficult to due a task so any extra flexibility is important and that's where Magid A.R.C. Gloves deliver. So many times I have put rubber gloves on and found there is just no flexibility to them this was not the case with the Arc Gloves I was easily able to put together a nut and bolt with washers on a Industrial Buss with no problems. After 2 months of using the gloves on projects several times a week there just as flexible as the day I received them as you can see in the picture on left .I had the gloves blown up with air and tested as well and no signs of holes or tears or other deterioration which can be detrimental to your health.
I have showed them around and let other electricians try them as well and they agree on the flexibility of these gloves compared to what there currently using and the gloves are very competitively priced as well. and they come in half sizes.
If your going into protective gloves for the first time or need to replace your current set take the time to check out the Magid A.R.C. rubber insulating gloves

www.magidglove.com

The Dangers we all face on Holiday weekends

2011-11-20T19:32:00.002-05:00

Holidays and Long Weekends

The dangers our country faces every time we take time off to celebrate?

Its time to turn off all the lights. Lock the doors and gates and take off for the long Holiday Weekend. Be it Memorial Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Many places close up and enjoy the time off and places which must be staffed like Hospitals ,Police depts. TV Stations Etc . Are running with very limited staff and this is where the problems can begin.

Many businesses now rely on technology to warn if something goes wrong to notify on call personnel to problems and with such reliance on technology we are leaving our selves very vulnerable to not only things that can go wrong naturally like broken water pipes and accidental fires .But we leave our selves open to major criminal activity and possible terrorist attack.

Take for instance the local AM/FM radio station at one time some one had to be always on duty to make sure the station was running properly and to make sure any emergency weather or other messages where gotten out to the public. Today many stations are fully automated no one is on site and if you needed to get a emergency evacuation message out to the public due to a accidental release of dangerous chemicals you could not do it.

This even goes for many Low power TV stations which are fully automated and with so many people on MP 3- Ipods – XM /Sirrius radio etc. Cable TV or satellite dishes getting there attention is almost impossible.
Many communities in addition have shut off there fire depts. emergency sirens and dismantled them as well to. One possibility to get the message out is to have the local National Weather Service office send out a signal which activates emergency weather and disaster radios but many Responders do not know you can do this and not everyone has one of these radios. Even if your successful in getting the message to the weather service and they activate the emergency signal tones at the fully automated radio and TV stations your depending on the technology at the station to pick up the message and retransmit it ,some times it gets thru some times it does not as the recent nation wide test on November 14^th proved .Even the manned stations have to have some one who is paying attention to retransmit as well and many times they can miss the signal if they are busy handling another problem, and a signal can be delayed for several minutes before it gets out.

But let’s talk about what caused the release of the dangerous chemicals’ in the first place.

Many company’s have eliminated there weekend Guard and maintenance staff and instead are relying on automation systems and alarms to take there place again some are installed properly and work well some do not and even if an alarm system picks up the signal getting the signal from the plant to the people who need to respond is another problem, since many plants to save money use internet based phone lines to get signals out and these phone lines unlike traditional phone lines are them selves very vulnerable to not working when needed becuse they must be powered from both ends unlike traditional phone lines.

So that simple power failure in your community has now turned into a disaster because everyone is trying to save a buck.

Of course having guards and maintenance staff in place is not a 100% guarantee there will not be problems but at least some one is on site to react and make sure proper people are contacted even if they have to get in a vehicle and drive down to where they can notify emergency personnel. That is if emergency personnel are at there stations. Many communities no longer staff there police/fire stations after 5pm and 911 centers handle all the emergency traffic. Many smaller communities do not have local police on after 5pm or weekends either leaving the emergencies up to state police and sheriff depts. that have very large territories to cover with 2-3 officers for an entire county. Some times only 1 officer available during a shift.

Then the other problems faced on holiday’s weekends is getting hold of people on the “on-call” call list especially on the weekend in Pa and other big hunting states have there opening of Buck Deer season where an entire work staff could be gone for the weekend and no reaching any one.

This is why weekends are so dangerous too many places in this country do not think out there emergency and back up plans and this is why we are seeing bigger problems as preventive and predictive maintenance programs are cut or abandoned.

Yes technology is a wonderful thing when it works but when it does not all hell can and does go wrong. It is not just weekends but any time after 5pm in this country.

Yes we all need a break to relax but before we do relax there needs to be some serious due diligence to make sure if things go wrong when we take off do not get out of hand.

If this article has made you uneasy it should because I am one of those people who are On-Call on the weekends and I get to see all the things that can and do go wrong.

I am very worried as more and more automation technology is being brought on line and there is no human interaction. Technology is a good thing but it can come back and bite when not handled properly.

When is Ceora going to get a new roof when is Pa. going to get off its ass and crack down on bad contractors

2011-11-18T19:22:00.010-05:00

My Friend Ceora who Lives in Erie County and is on Disability and needed a new roof for her trailer was able to get a USDA backed loan for $30,000.00
to replace it she found a local contractor who was suppose to be insured and registered with Pa. and USDA supposedly checked him out and while his initial work was good he changed from a wood and shingle roof to a metal roof which was fine if it was put in properly but it never was and now going on the 2nd winter Ceora is dealing with federal and state agency's who are worthless toothless tigers who will not take the bull by the horn and get this smack off of a contractor to fix the roof properly by putting down proper wood underlayment and using proper screws to secure and seal the metal.
I have been trying to help her out because she has water pouring into the trailer due to ice buildup since theirs not proper insulation and roof underlayment . She becomes a virtual captive in her trailer due to all the ice.,as the roof sweats and drops water by the bucket load onto here ceilings etc. no senior citizen should be going thru this. especially one who has gone thru stage IV cancer .

First off I find out this contractors does not appear on the registered list for Pa. his name shows up no where. then USDA says they can not help other than to scare him they have no enforcement powers attorney generals office is useless and local building inspector says he did not sign off on that part of the work. needless to say the 3rd party inspector is going to loose his license to inspect after this as Ceora has prepared a formal complaint against him and is going to go after his insurance carrier. Local newspaper called and looked into a possible story on this clown contractor but it has gone no further and once again Ceora will be in a wet leaking trailer and freezing cold because all the air leaks. Once again Pennsylvania at its finest.
When you really do need help Pa. government is toothless. and thousands of Senior Citizens are getting ripped off year round by bad contractors who just laugh at what little state and criminal rules there are.

Bad install comes back to haunt 30+ years laters

2011-11-18T18:54:00.009-05:00

I had one of my customers who owns a swimming pool sales store call me this summer to tell me the lights where blinking in the store occasionally and at one time they thought they heard a buzzing sound like bees ?
I immediately drove up to the store worried there was some thing more to this story and there was after checking inside and not finding any problems I went outside to check the main service and found a hole burnt thru the trough box for the electrical service. I immediately called Lawrence county 911 and told them the situation I had and the got hold of Penn Power for me and sent a Fire unit to stand by till the service could be safely shut down Lawrence county 911 is an excellent service compared to my home county of Allegheny where I could fill this blog full with horror story's. A Penn Power Trouble Shooter was on scene in 30 minutes and shut down the service which also shut down a vacant buildings power next to us and we opened the trough and found that the split bolt knuckle had been rubbing up against the Auxiliary Gutter as it is some times called and that the proper splicing layers of rubber , plastic and friction tape had not been installed and that excess pressure was being put on the lid. We re-taped and layered all the connections then shifted the wires around and had power back on in an hour. taking the pressure off the wires. This is not the first time I have had Penn Power there previously a fender washer used to secure the main panel to the wall came loose and past the screw holding it and it made contact with the main power lug. How ever installed this service at was once a used car lot and who ever inspected it from Mid Atlantic inspections never did there job and as a result my customer has now had several major and expensive service calls due to people not doing there jobs. Thank god has not had a fire as a result of there negligence. Plus remember this is Pennsylvania a state with no Electricians license any one can be an electrician outside the major city's that require you to be registered and that's no guarantee your going to get any better work. It is definitely buyer beware in Pa. when it comes to hiring a contractor.

The fire experts in Pittsburgh never due this correctly

2011-11-16T13:59:00.002-05:00

Small plug in type transformers

Is Un acceptable in

Commercial Fire Systems without protection?

And other bad AC Power Practices

Many of the modern Combination Commercial Fire and Burglary Systems available on the market today I.e. Napco, Radionics /Bosch , DSC, Morse/Optex etc. come with a small plug in transformer which is designed for use only when the panel is being used for Burglary Only.

To use that same transformer to power the panel when it is being used for Commercial

Fire service it has to be No # 1 sized correctly for the load expected to be drawn thru it. And no # 2 it has to be UL commercial Listed and No # 3 it has to be physically protected from damage and the wire from it to the panel as well.

To meet the physical Protection requirements of a commercial system using a plug in transformer there is a special steel enclosure kit, which is to be purchased separately

Which is vented and totally covers the transformer and outlet , as you can see in the picture a proper transformer set up with one open on left and one closed on right

I was actually shocked to see this out of 98% of all combos I see done wrong this panel was done correctly

A piece of electrical conduit is then attached from the transformer enclosure to the combo panel there by protecting the power to the panel. Rarely have I ever seen this protective kit used were it was required. Ademco got around this problem by supplying the proper

Sized transformer and enclosure. With there panels. Which I still see being put in wrong.

It comes back directly on the backs of those AHJ’s who refuse to take seriously the Fire alarm Inspections they are doing. And refuse to get there training upgraded.

The AC power supply to a life safety system is one of the pieces to a total fire System

Additionally the circuit supplying the outlet the transformer is plugged into is to be dedicated just for that outlet and the breaker is to be marked with a red marking to prevent it being accidently shut off and the breaker panel is to be clearly marked which breaker supply’s the Fire panel this also goes for direct wired Fire panels.

Plus in the Fire panel it is to be noted which breaker is supplying it.

This brings up another dangerous situation I have been finding, involving the AC power coming into new fire panels which are replacing older AC only bell and pull station panels. Typically the installer pulls the old panel out puts the new panel in place and gets his AC power from the old switch or breaker supplying the old AC system which is

Acceptable, but they then hook up a 14# gauge wire to the 30 amp fuse or breaker which is an overload situation and fire or accident waiting to happen ,when they should have changed the fuse to 15 amps. In the old days they took the AC power supplying Fire Panels and pulled it directly from the services main lugs this is still legal today but all NEC rules have to be followed , which they are not most of the time.

We keep coming back to the same question who is training who.

The Fire Alarm experts in Pittsburgh prove there no communicators

2011-11-15T18:59:00.007-05:00

Yes once again the so called" Fire Alarm experts In Pittsburgh "
show there technical brilliance to get around a problem of a older Silent Knight 5207 Fire Panel not communicating over Digital phone lines.

I found this out when a customer of mine who demolishes buildings called me the other day to make sure all the power and other energy was off in a restaurant which was to be torn down so it was safe for his workers to cut out piping etc.
While I was there he said there was a Fire panel in the back could I use it for parts I said sure I have plenty of SK panels out there always good to have a extra board as they no longer make the 5207 as it has been replaced with the 5208 .
Well I get ready to start removing it and look to take the 2 required phone lines off the panel except there not there Ok whats going in instead I find the fire panel has been wired into a Honeywell Vista 15 P Burglar Alarm panel which is not listed to be used as a Commercial fire communicator. Note the resistors across the relay terminals on the 5207 in the picture. So I am scratching my head why did they do this as I called the local Fire Marshal to let him know what was going on if the Fire experts did it here they have done it other places in town.
Well as I am waiting for him to arrive I notice they had Comcast Xfinity digital phone service
which was then switched to Verizon FIOS digital phone service and then I had my answer you see because the so called technicians the experts hire tell people they can not use FIOS on a fire alarm because it will not transmit which is total bull shit I never have a problem with it. We had the same Bull shit problem with them at my wife's church for over a month they could not get the panel to communicate correctly on a phone line with DSL service on it and all it took was a $20 special filter to correct it. Some thing the experts told me they did not know existed. Of course they still program panels to dial rotary dial which most phone lines no longer understand and keeps panels from communicating as well but the people who program for the experts never pay attention and just program in rotary and then wonder why a panel will not dial consistently
So this is why they wired the fire alarm to the burglar alarm because the Vista 15P has Contact ID which will work on FIOS so this is how they got around it when all they had to do is program the panel to either SIA or SK4/2 not BFSK 4/2 there usually programmed to and it normally goes over FIOS no problem when it is wired in correctly something the experts just can not seem to get working.
Once again these G-uys prove there worth.The other way they could have handled this was put a 5128 communicator board in the panel which does contact Id and problem would be solved. But since the experts will not properly train there people on Phone communications you instead get this mess and nothing but excuses. Once the Fire Marshal arrived I showed him the problem and needless to say he will be making phone calls and watching for this in the future any time he has a system installed by the Fire Alarm experts.

Now in theory you hook a fire alarm to a burg panel out put yes as long as it is done with permission of AHJ but this is not seen with newer installs it is with old local only fire alarms which did not have dialer built in before modern rules came into effect, and system is voluntary not mandated but this was not the case.This was a mandated reporting system so it must follow NFPA guidelines.

But hey as long as you go around telling everyone your the " fire alarm experts in Pittsburgh" and have a great line of bull shit to back it up everyone believes you that is till they realize they have been burned.

Former customer gambled on friends wiring house and lost

2011-11-15T07:15:00.007-05:00

My former customer bet on Las Vegas Electricians and Lost.

One of my former customers who left me when I was diagnosed with colon cancer daughter was building a Custom Home in Washington County and asked if I could Install all the low voltage wiring Burglar, fire, phone cable TV internet etc.

He also asked if I could add a couple receptacles etc. and do the Finnish off work on the rest of the electrical power wiring her friends from Las Vegas ,who are electricians did for her while they were here visiting family. They were up for making some extra money and since my customer has a wholesale account with a local supplier she would be able to save about $4500.00 over the cost of using the builders electrician.Sure I said no problem if these were licensed electricians from Las Vegas the work should be the same except for couple grounding issues we do different here from there. I also told her if her friends needed questions answered as to specific codes for Allegheny Power territory for her friends to call me and I could answer them.

My customer’s friends came in and the 2 of them spent 3 days getting the house wired up and ready for inspection. They never called me as they apparently got their answers from the builder. I got on site to do the extras and get ready to do the low voltage work when just a simple inspection of the wiring I did before I started reveled major electrical code violations. The wiring workmanship to begin with was extremely poor the way they ran the wiring was extremely sloppy then when it came to centering wiring on 2x4 beams it was improperly done plus many other violations would have to be corrected. Before the Electrical inspector was called it took me nearly 2 days to make all the corrections delaying the general contractor. When my friend got hold of these so-called electricians who supposedly wire million dollar homes and casinos to scream at them . They assured me the work they did there was totally acceptable in Las Vegas. They did not see why I red tagged their work. I called the Las Vegas licensing dep’t to find out these 2 jokers have had there permits pulled several times for bad work. They were not surprised by what happened in Pa.

It came out even with the work I did to correct the situation that my customer still came out ahead money wise but had I not caught the problems would the inspector allow it to have pass most probably because the inspector in this area is known for easy inspections.Which is a dam shame.

I have seen several homes in this sub division that never should have been allowed passed and occupied. Homes which over time are guaranteed to have major electrical incidents and could lead to fires. By whichever sucker gets stuck with the home after they have been sold.

Once again this points out why the UCC codes just starting to be enforced will help prevent this nonsense.

There are too many contractors and township and 3^rd Party Inspectors in this state that will install work any way they care to and pass any thing they care to.

The results are staggering when you see the amount of fire deaths and insurance payouts in this state compared to others. Which is why we pay such high insurance rates compared to other areas.

I have had a Fire Chief who reads my articles tell me he does not favor all the inspection stuff, rules etc. It just adds to the cost and is unnecessary. It should be a buyer beware situation. Which is fine but even educated consumers get burned when the person they hire to do the inspection does not do it right.

This is particularly true with high tech items that only the techs installing truly understand. I for one know for a fact in today’s world Buyer Beware is not enough when it comes to hiring some one.

You need to be worried for your childs safety if they attend a Private Pa. School

2011-11-13T08:07:00.014-05:00

If you have a child who is in attendance at a Private , Charter or Special or Emotional Needs
School in Pennsylvania you need to do some investigation as to the safety of the school .
As you can see in these pictures in a school in Washington County there are major building code violations which would close a commercial building yet this is an old school being operated for private students which has just once again passed inspection. Notice the blocked exit path way with fold up table and chairs the plastic Styrofoam above the ceiling to block air drafts because the ceiling is being used for environmental air the combustible wood above a ceiling being used as an air scoop and of course all the wrong non plenum wire above the ceilings and of course a Big Integration company here in Pittsburgh who contributes bucks to this program had his guys come in and pull all the correct wiring I had in for a camera system and replace it with the wrong wire when they upgraded it and they wonder why there no longer used on main campus besides the fact they charge big bucks for worthless and hazardously done work. There the goof balls who ran the extension cord wire inside the wall to power a fire alarm booster .Then again why would I expect differently the big Pittsburgh integration company was started by a former Pittsburgh fire alarm expert employee. Then there's a 1920's fire system which was not even operating and only couple of battery smokes protecting the students for fire protection,till I put a very basic fire system in to protect them.
Yes look at all the stuff and debris and materials stored everywhere in back rooms away from prying eyes and before this was a private school it was serving as an Day Care / head start center.

But remember this is Pennsylvania where we allow local fire dept's. do the annual inspections dept's. who in most cases do not have the required training of an experienced code enforcement officer.
Who would have caught all these penetrations thru fire walls and combustible materials. When the old boiler stopped working and was replaced by gas fired units above the ceilings.
a heating system from what I can tell was never inspected or approved by state or any other code agency.
but hey this is Pennsylvania do what you feel like no one will ever inspect or hold you accountable for your actions until its too late and you have lost your child and then its duck and cover your ass.

SO WHATS GOING ON AT YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL ?

WHATS GOING ON AT YOUR CHILD S DAY CARE ?

YOUR LOVED ONES PERSONNEL CARE HOME ?

YOUR LOVED Ones GROUP HOME ?

YOU BETTER FIND OUT BECAUSE THE STATE IS NOT INSPECTING FOR LIFE SAFETY ISSUES IN THESE PLACES AND YOUR LOVED ONES LIVES ARE IN JEOPARDY!!!!

Ignorant Lazy roofers put mall workers at risk

2011-11-11T17:23:00.003-05:00

What you see on the left is a set of deck nails which are used to secure the metal sheeting used on a flat roof to the roof beams .

But where I found these busted off ones is disturbing I was working in a mall in beaver county pa.
Installing a camera system and these came falling out of the suspended ceiling and it is a good thing I had my safety glasses on as I could have seriously had my eyes injured because of the negligence of the roofing contractor who worked on the roof and did not clean the ceiling and remove all the screws after what most likely was a re roofing job.
every tile I opened I found screws and I removed them as i found them or after the fell on the floor. Mall maintenance people where there while i was and observed the same problem while replacing water stained tile and where suppose to come and vacuum them all off the ceiling at some point .
this incident with these screws should never have happened if the roofer used good and proper techniques but as you can see the just did not care to.
I am sure the mall will not be using them any more either.

Guest Blogger on Home Fire Safety

2011-11-11T12:12:00.003-05:00

Today's guest Blogger from across the big pond is Mr. John Garland

Fire Safety Tips for Home

It is imperative to be well informed of proper protection concerning home fires. There are hundreds of thousands of cases of house fires reported every single year with many of them resulting in severe injury or death. Being aware of the preventative measures and standard procedures of dealing with home fires can be essential for the safety of your personal effects, home and family.

Smoke Alarms are an excellent tool for fire safety but they can easily be forgotten. Be sure to check the batteries regularly and to test the alarms in your home at least once a month to ensure they are up to code and working properly. Another affective fire safety measure is to self inspect your home occasionally. Test electrical outlets and wiring to ensure minimizing an electrical fire. Open windows and doors to make certain that they can open with ease in the event of a fire escape situation.

It is extremely helpful to keep fire extinguishers throughout your home. The kitchen, garage and bedroom are common places to store a fire extinguisher. In the event that a fire does break out, you may actually have time to use the fire extinguisher to minimize damage and save your home. Always be sure to contact your local Fire Department if a fire happens, even if it was a small one that you put out yourself. The Fire Investigator will be able to inspect your home and offer insight and advice to help prevent future fires, as well as possibly offering the reason for the fire itself if unknown.

Make sure that you and your family are always educated and prepared to deal with a fire if it should happen. Open up lines of communication about fire safety and make a plan of escape in the event that a fire starts. It would even be beneficial to do fire training and to physically practice the planned escape route until it becomes muscle memory. Once the training is embedded into you and your family's thought process then the reaction time will be much better if a fire does break out.

Keep bedroom doors closed at night to keep the fire from spreading too fast. If a fire does happen in the middle of the night, make sure that everyone is awake and aware of what is going on and then execute the escape plan. Remember that heat rises and so does smoke, so stay low to the ground as you make your escape. The smoke can sometimes do more damage to people than the fire itself, so try your best to avoid breathing in the smoke as much as possible.

Home fire safety is a real issue and should be taken very seriously. It is easy to become complacent when it comes to fires because they do not occur often, but it is vital to be proactive in your fight for fire safety! Staying cognizant and aware while being properly educated can go a long way to prevent fires and save lives.

For more information on fire safety, visit fireprotectiononline.co.uk, supplier of fire extinguishers and the popular fireproof box.

Quick Wire Quick fire instead of quick connect fittings going away there increasing

2011-11-11T09:01:00.004-05:00

At left is a typical example of resistance heating caused by wiring inserted into a quick connect device on a Duplex receptacle which allows 14 or 12 gauge wire to be pushed into the back of the receptacle instead of having to be wound around a screw.
In this case in a 15 year old house the wire was not properly installed and as a result you can see the resistance heating which caused the lights to go out and luckily a fire was not a result.
back in the 90's UL and other agency's looked at the problem of these quick wire terminals and instead of redesigning them or banning them made manufacturers design them so only 14 gauge wire could be inserted but this did not solve the problem I see and get just as many calls for problem receptacles.
What they should have done is banned them out right there are side pressure plate receptacles that work just as well but as usual UL and NFPA and every one else bent over and let the home builders continue this poor practice of hurry up and get the plugs wired.
The problem is only getting worse as more products are coming on the market which supposedly do not have the same problems the quick wire receptacles do. I say bull shit it all comes down to who wires it and if its a lazy electrician no matter how well the quick wire is made he will not follow instructions and do it properly.
and as a result we will keep seeing problems with these quick wire connectors.
But for you the consumer you have no choice as long as we keep putting profit over people.
and Home owners keep trying to cut costs by speeding up jobs the quick wire connector will be around.

Another Excellent Job ? By the suposed Fire alarm experts In Pittsburgh

2011-11-06T22:16:00.001-05:00

Yes this article to the left I wrote few years back about how the G-uys totally and completely messed up the inside of a church my wife and I belong to.
Is hard to believe yet this mess passed inspection In Pittsburgh at the time when the state was going thru new state wide code changes .
Can you spot all the NFPA Fire NEC Electrical Code violations in them.
Well this is what passes for a fire system in my area. dam shame all that money for this mess.

You have to be a Sick Individual to screw with some one going thru Colon Cancer

2011-11-06T21:25:00.004-05:00

last year I posted about people going around claiming I was dead from Colon Cancer . Well it seems the rumors will not go away.
I walked in a business the other day I have not been to in over 2 years and the employees nearly had a cardiac . They heard I had died .
Wow how that hits you when you hear it. But I can believe people when they really thought it happened.I recently had to renew my drivers license and woman doing the photos asked for another ID since I had changed physical features so much from my last license which was taken in 07 When I was going thru Chemo.

Well it has been 4 years since I was diagnosed and still I keep running into things sick Individuals tried and did do to me including making not so kind posts on different internet forums and groups.
The latest group I found my name being used is for Fire Investigators and I had to ask the administrator to remove all of the posts.
Yes friends I trusted to run my business and where here in my home using my computer instead where screwing me the whole time trying to steal my Alarm accounts and spreading rumors. I only have couple hundred accounts but there good high quality commercial and industrial accounts which could kick off significant recurring revenue that's why they want them. But getting them and keeping them is a whole different story.
Then I run into other interesting things on the internet too when I find people using my company name and saying they worked for me as investigators,technicians etc.
funny I'm a sole proprietor.
I do occasionally have people help me but I have not had an employee since 1989 other than a few sub contractors who have worked with me over the years from time to time and they get 99 forms .
Yea I find out all kinds of stuff all the time how people are screwing me and taking work away from me because they resent the fact despite all that has happened to me I still manage to get out few days a week and work in the field I love. Then there are those racist sick individuals who believe I am Jewish by how my last name is spelled . Sorry My grandfather and grandmother came from Ukraine/ Austria where not Jewish and there buried at the Ukraine catholic cemetery. The name misspell which we believe correctly should be Markowich was changed when my grandfather came thru Ellis island shortly before WWI as a young man. In fact I know Jewish individuals who have the - wich on end of there names we always laugh about our grandfathers getting in the wrong line on Ellis Island.

I get phone calls all the time from people who tell me rumors being spread about me etc.
because there are those who are jealous and envious of the fact I have appeared or was mentioned in several alarm and electrical trade magazines and I am such a little nothing company. Hey its no big deal want to apear in a magazine get off your lazy fat ass and write an article or two and submit them and they will gladly use them if there any good. That's all it takes it is called effort and integrity or did the ones defaming me forget that.
Now really what can me and my little company due to an industry that there so afraid of me.
Is it because I try to do the right thing everyday and do a good days work and show pride in my work and try and promote good work ethic if that's what scares them then they really must be sick.

It does not takeTerrorist just an idiot to blow up a Shopping Mall

2011-11-04T19:22:00.008-04:00

I was working on a Sunday in a mall to install a camera system while a store was not busy to only walk into the back storage room to smell Propane Gas I get hold of the manager and tell him its propane . He thinks it is sewer gas. I say no it is propane it has a very distant acrid smell to it plus there was a propane tank in the store when I was there yesterday. Well you guessed it the tank from a forklift that was being used outside to load shelves etc into this new store was being stored in the back room so no one could mess with the fork lift was in fact leaking. Luckily it had not yet gotten to explosive levels and I was able to turn it off and take it outside all the while smelling propane all thru the back hall.

Luckily this time no one got hurt but it could have been catastrophic.
First off you are never to store any type of flammable liquid or gas in a mall period. with out very specific permits and rules and special storage facility the person who brought the tank into the storage room could have been charged with a felony criminal charge of Risking a Catastrophe. under Pa. law
2nd what ticked me off the most a mall cop shows up while i am carefully moving the tank outside and opening doors to get fresh air in the store wanting my truck moved . What for its Sunday I was in a loading zone I was legally parked. Well this was enough I had the good little Nazi Ass hole Mall cop call his supervisor to the rear of the store hall and confronted him and his good little Nazi with the fact there all worried about how my truck was parked but never noticed the Propane smell from the tank that was leaking since Saturday or the fact the storerooms hall was blocked etc etc. Well all of a sudden my truck was no longer an issue as a mall management person showed up and was furious with his mall cops he uses and the store manager.
Because yes in deed there could have been a catastrophe and why was a store allowed to store stuff in a hall way and block an exit door.
So as you can see there are plenty of idiots in this world in the retail arena just another reason I choose not to shop in malls and do not feel comfortable in most of them knowing the code violations which often are ignored and the long amount of time it takes to get to an outside exit at most of them upwards of 150 feet or more.When I have trouble walking as it is.

Enviromental Air Cielings a Bad ideal which is a Health and Life safety Issue

2011-11-04T08:50:00.006-04:00

About 40 years ago an Architect got the bright idea what if we use the entire ceiling above a suspended ceiling as a return air duct instead of having to install all that metal return air duct.
While it might have saved money initially in the long run it has turned into a public health and life safety disaster .
You can tell these type of ceilings by use of white and silver plastic open egg crate as its known ceiling tiles which allows the return air into the ceiling which is then drawn to a large duct in roof heating cooling unit.
While you save money on the duct metal it also completely changes the codes by which all other piping and electrical work must now be done.

Because of potential acrid smoke that can kill that can be caused by wiring and plastic plumbing pipes in an environmental air ceiling these items can not be used all wiring and pipe must be metal encased or other wise encased with in drywall or the use of very expensive plenum wire must be used and you guessed it after the inspector leaves any thing goes and cileings get filled with all types of wire which are not permitted creating a very dangerous life safety issue of deadly acrid smoke,should a fire break out.
When they built Pittsburgh Mills Mall in Fraser twp Pa. a few years back they used the wrong piping in the ceilings and as a result all the stores in one area just had ceiling grid up till all the correct metal piping was installed. What a night mare for the contractor who misread the plans

Then you have the health issues the ceiling tiles end up with a thick coating of dust on them and when you go to lift them out after a few years its dust everywhere and people end up getting sick from all the dust. What a health mess for any one with asthma.
In short the initial cost savings end up costing way more than any initial savings. especially when you figure in all the increased costs of plenum wire and pipe. actually there is no savings yet they keep insisting on putting in these ceilings knowing all along codes will not be followed and lives will be put at risk but the code making bodies can care less. Which is owful nice of them.

The Fire Alarm Experts In Pittsburgh Strike yet again

2011-11-04T07:51:00.003-04:00

I was recently hired to take over two senior citizen apartments Fire alarms after the owners became disgusted with the high prices and poor service from a big mid regional alarm company here in Pittsburgh which goes around calling it self the " Fire Alarm experts in Pittsburgh " Well as we will see once again there any thing but.

Upon opening the Silent Knight 5208 fire Panel an excellent panel by the way. I notice first off it is wired wrong with Romex instead of Armored cable or conduit but the biggest problem where is the ground wire?
One of the single most important items to insure this panel operates properly .
no ground its wrapped back around the connector. not providing the surge and electric shock protection and other functions needed by the panel. When I get into the programming no wonder it was always taking forever for fire dept to get the call only one account phone number entered and panel set to rotary dial and many other features screwed up as well. Then looking at the system why was a smoke detector not put in the storage area corridor if ever there is a place a fire will break out its in the storage corridor in an apartment building.and this also serves as an exit route.
Yes another totally screwed up install by the G-uys but remember there the Fire Alarm experts
When the Fire Marshal came down to check what was done he told me he was glad to get rid of them from these buildings and he could not believe all the stuff i found wrong I needed to correct to get the panel running correctly ,yet there was a stack of yearly papers saying everything was tested and working properly.

This is the kind of service you get when a major cable company hires Least Common denominator employees

2011-10-29T09:19:00.005-04:00

I have a customer who designs builds and installs HVAC systems and has a large sheet metal shop in a former Verizon service facility.
When they first moved in they went with Verizon phone service but the lines in the area are poorly maintained so they decided to switch to Comcast who provide digital telephone service over there cable network. What a mistake I drew a print for the tech doing the conversion how to pull off the 25 pair amphenol connector and hook the new lines to the 66 block making a nice clean install I also left my cell number. Did the installer follow my instructions . No he did not he pulled all the wires off the 66 block tied them to his interface unit and then half the lines did not work alarm was showing line trouble and loud speakers used to ring shop phones so foreman can here the ring over the machines did not work and made a total mess then he leaves saying everything is working.
Obviously my customer upset calls Comcast who sends out a second installer who looks at everything says he does not do commercial work and walks out they send 2 more techs things are still not right I get called go down and connect wires correctly and everything is working but theres still problem with the interface they send another tech who brings a new interface box which corrects the noise and works if power is out. Needless to say my customer paid me and will be taking it out of there Comcast bill and it cost Comcast how many hours of wasted wages to send a bunch of idiots out and show how great there service is they tout everyday on TV commercials Yea right. But this is what you get today for service. The least common denominator and incompetence and nothing but apologies what a hell of a way to run a company.

What goes on in Exit -Delivery Hall ways in malls May get you trapped during an Emergency

2011-10-29T08:31:00.007-04:00

Your shopping in your favorite mall when all of a sudden the fire alarms come on you start towards the entrance to find smoke so you start looking for an alternate exit you see a sign and double doors which lead to long corridor when you open it . Unfortunately for you a Book store has just gotten a big order in and has not removed it from the hall way completely and the hall way is blocked and very narrow will you and the others make it the 150 feet to safety and outside?
Well this exact scenario plays out every day in every mall every where. These long narrow hall ways are used for the delivery of packages which are to be immediately brought into the back of the store and put away unfortunately It does not happen this way and you often find hall ways jammed because over-sized pallets of materials have come in.
Even in this hall way there is a sign posted no storing of materials any time but as you can see this manager choose to ignore the sign and hold an employee meeting instead of clearing the hall way.
These Hall ways are an essential emergency path to get out of malls be it a fire, air plane crashing into the mall a terrorist attack etc you name it these hall ways could be the difference between living or dying . While the malls take it serious and fine store managers who do not keep them clear as you can see some do not get the message and this manager was in deed put on notice. So what is going on behind the hallways in the mall you shop in.

Fire-Lite Pull Station Recall notice

2011-10-26T18:14:00.002-04:00

This is one of the very rare times System sensor has had a recall and I am glad to see they are taking care of it immediately. Unlike other irresponsible manufacturers of life safety equipment.

http://image.exct.net/lib/feef1078766c0d/d/1/SSD%20Pullstation%20Bulletin.pdf

Product Notice
If you have any questions concerning System Sensor products or their applications,
please contact Technical Services at 1-800-SENSOR2 (736-7672), extension 2.
3825 Ohio Avenue • St. Charles, IL 60174 • Phone: 800-736-7672 • Fax: 630-377-6583 • www.systemsensor.com
Issued: 10/3/2011
Summary of issue: Dual-action pull station activation handle
Level of urgency: Medium
Model numbers: All dual-action type pull stations
Manufactured date range: July 2007 to January 2010 [date codes 7071 to 0011]
System Sensor has been made aware of the potential for an issue with certain pull stations that were
manufactured at our St. Charles, Illinois facility between July 2007 and January 2010. The affected
models are of the “dual-action” type. These are clearly identified by the marking on the activation
handle which reads “Push In - Pull Down” as shown in the drawing below. Single action pull stations,
marked “Pull Down” only, are not affected.
The activation handle on these models made use of a molded-in tab that creates the need to push the
handle in before pressing downward. Some customers have reported to us that the tab can become
bent in such a fashion as to inhibit movement of the handle and inhibit activation. After review and
investigation, it appears that the bent tab is the result of improper installation/operation and should be
apparent during normal testing and inspection per NFPA. The incident rate is extremely low and does
not appear to be tied to any specific material lot or environmental condition. A design change was
made to the handle component in January of 2010 that eliminated this issue.
As a part of your annual inspections and system commissioning, inspection and testing of each pull
station must be conducted in the manner in which it was designed to operate and as described in the
installation manual: push in and pull down on the handle. As stated in Table 14.4.2.2, section 14 (e), of
the 2010 edition of NFPA 72®: “Manual fire alarm boxes shall be operated per the manufacturer’s
published instructions.” This manner is consistent with operation by a typical building occupant. The
pull station must not be tested in a fashion outside of the operational design. Opening the door of the
pull station and manually activating the alarm switch does not meet the intent of NFPA described
above. If the pull station is not tested in the proper manner, a bent tab could be overlooked.
If the pull station actuates normally and a visual inspection of the tab shows it to be straight, then the
pull station does not have this issue. System Sensor will, free of charge, replace under normal warranty
terms any pull station exhibiting the condition described and manufactured with a date code range of
7071 through 0011.
General location of the four digit
date code (???? on this example).
Location varies slightly model to
model
standard bent

4 Volts DC exit lights causing confusion and putting lives at risk

2011-10-25T19:41:00.004-04:00

The standard batteries used in most exit lights and emergency lights
are either 6 0r 12 volts with some 24 volt systems out there where 2 -12 volt batteries are tied in series to produce 24 volts.

But what some manufactures of emergency and exit lighting have put on the market in the past are 4 volt DC systems and the average handy man etc changing batteries in these units can easily make the mistake of putting a 6 volt battery in the unit which will work and show it tests OK but couple weeks later the battery is dead.Due to the wrong charging circuit.
The big problem these 4 volt systems are not well marked look at the battery on the left no voltage marking compared to the battery on right .So the battery changing person opens the unit up sees the smaller battery and sees there is room to put the bigger battery in thinking he is doing a good thing giving longer run life during a power outage when all he has done is created a unit which will not work. Of course trying to see what voltage the unit is in the first place is a task because of how small the printing is on the labels . Then again maybe this was deliberately done to keep handymen from servicing them so you had to buy the overpriced 4 volt batteries. Once again a very bad decision by UL to allow these units on the market knowing the confusion it would cause. Why are these units not better marked ? well there suppose to be for professional installation only . Yea right you could open up any supply catalog and find them and describe professional for me when you see all the hacks working in the field for company's and calling them selves professional techs when they have no such training.

A look at the First Ademco Burglar Alarm panel which started the Industry

2011-10-24T22:48:00.008-04:00

I came across this little piece of history of a Burglar Alarm 20+ years ago it was one of the the first panels produced by Maurice Coleman who founded ADEMCO or Alarm Device Manufacturing Company in the 1950's from his hardware store in NY. He bought his original parts to hand make these panels from Sterling electric Supply.
Known later as the model 110 it was powered by a 3 volt cylindrical dry cell the kind you found in science labs and a 6 volt lantern battery. the panel had a closed circuit which when the panel was ready to be armed would read between 5-10 milliamps on the meter which the 3 volt battery energized and you would then turn the key to arm the panel upon the loop being De- Energized the relay to the 6 volt battery would close ringing a bell till disarmed or the battery was depleted. Prior to this time alarms where very expensive and where mostly for banks and jewelry stores Mr. Coleman brought a product to market for the common merchant who needed protection though still not as affordable as today this was the panel which started it all Mr. Coleman sold ADEMCO to Pittway Corporation which stood for Pittsburgh Railways(trolleys) in 70's and it is currently held by the Honeywell Corporation which has had a long time partnership with Ademco for several decades. I think Mr. Coleman would be very surprised how things have changed but also very proud how the product line has evolved to today's modern digital systems.
This panel still operates to this day any time I fire it up as it is mostly all mechanical and some early 1000 series panels are still out there on barns etc still working every day thou they are 40 or more years old.

If your still using one of these Moose Panels know that it has a serious security flaw which could allow it to be defeated

2011-10-24T21:13:00.004-04:00

The MPI 25 and 50 Burglar/ fire panel by the former Moose Products Inc.
In the 80's they where known as the work horse of the security industry many thousands where installed they where so good I installed well over 100 of them and have since replaced every one of them because there is a secret flaw in these panels I discovered one night when trying to figure out why a MPI 50 panel I installed at a Super Market in Bethel Park Pa. kept disarming by it self.
It ends up we traced it to the on board auxilary power supply when we discovered a wire going to a motion sensor was abraded and when we bumped the wire the panel disarmed when the panel was armed a short across the aux power terminals would cause the panel to automatically disarm. We saw this same problem with the 725C panels which came out after the 25-50 series as well the 725 only stayed on the market for a year when the z1100 came out another excellent panel Needless to say I notified Moose which at that point had been bought and resold several times and they where of the opinion that the panels where old enough that they should be replaced with a newer product as they where no longer making the 25 or 50 how ever they never ever told the installers and dealers about the problem which a few years earlier ended up with me being sued because a system failed which at time we could not explain how it had happened. Needless to say I was not very happy with Moose's explanation and after that and never again bought there product especially in the light of the fact it had been bought and resold how many times in 10 years time and is now out of business when GE bought the line. But despite the fact this flaw exists there are still hundreds of these panels still being used in homes and business who do not want to upgrade there systems and who could end up paying the price for it.
If you still have one of these panels and are using it you have been warned.

If you have one of these Edwards EST panels in Place you may want to concider replacing it.

2011-10-24T20:30:00.009-04:00

The Edwards also known as EST 2500 series panels where marketed to the Electrical Contractor market and ended up in the D.I.Y. market as a result. in the 80's to 90's so installs go from excellent to extremely poorly designed. An economical panel it could be ordered as a complete system with smokes, heats, bells ,horns and pull stations. The brand has been sold and resold several times GE had it at one time and now it is owned by United Technologies.
While they initially served the purpose the design was not user friendly and frequently results in panels not being restored properly and constant trouble lights due to the fact it must be powered up and restored in a proper order do not follow it and nothing but headaches. Not a good situation for a life safety system. I am not the only tech who does not like these panels you can find plenty of complaints about them. Another major problem I have had with them is there stopping work all together and never giving any kind of trouble indication there not working
which I have seen a couple of times.
But the bigger problem is when they age as you can see in the middle photo the calcium like corrosion deposits around the terminals which then causes the panels to go off all by them selves.I have replaced more than 20 of these panels with the exact problem.
This panel was in a personnel care home a place it never should have been used. Knowing the history of problems these panels cause.
When I find one of these panels I always recommend pulling it out of service and replacing it before problems develop as there now in many cases getting well over the15- 20 year service life. But there are thousands of them out there.
Some panels just seem to have trouble written all over them and this is one of them. When a manufacturer no longer makes a certain panel and no longer supports it. Then its time to buy a new panel as the one you have is now obsolete.

Heat detectors a source of False fire alarms when not maintained

2011-10-24T19:35:00.006-04:00

Heat Detectors
They sit there on the cieling in Kitchens , Furnace/ boiler rooms
and in Attics and other places you need fire protection but a smoke would not work due to the environmental conditions.
they come in several different models including fixed temp such as 135 or 194 F models which activate when a room gets to that temp and also in Rate of rise models where when a room changes 15 degrees in temp increase in 5 minutes time as well as the fixed temp. Normally they can operate for many years with no problems ,but when placed in bathrooms and kitchens steam can cause the units to start rusting over time and if not replaced the rust can become so bad as to cause the units to false alarm as you can see in these pictures. and when this happens it can be a real challenge to figure out what is going on. When I get a system that starts to malfunction and not giving a visual indication what caused it I always open up all the detectors and start looking for possible water damage due to a water pipe or roof leak or from steam building up and rusting them. While weather proof heats are made for out door use they are several times the cost of normal heats and look really industrial and so you guessed it the wrong heat gets installed as you can see here where these where installed in a small shower room in a personnel care home. Another big NO and code violation with these heats some one put paint on them despite labels saying do not paint which can stop the element from operating properly as well These where put in 10 years ago and you can see how rusted up they are. For a guide on proper heat detector placement and use plus models available go to www.systemsensor.com

Retrofitting Large Apartment Complexes with Fire alarms check out this product

2011-10-16T15:04:00.003-04:00

When I think of all the Fire alarms I have installed in Apartment buildings in 80-90's I wish a product like this would have been available at the time.
It utilizes the buildings existing AC wiring to send signals to remote sounders in individual apartments so you do not need to bother tenants
other than to plug in and secure unit to wall. Great for use in apartments
where you have an elderly population who have a hard time hearing signals.
it works basically like the old fashioned X-10 systems where you send a radio signal thru the house wiring to turn on lights and appliances.
But this is much more rugged and reliable and is fully supervised to meet fire codes. Next big fire job you get check it out. I will be.

National Account Alarm System Servicing Companys mostly nothing more than confused idiots.

2011-10-14T16:47:00.007-04:00

I have spent a considerable amount of time effort and money in my Education and specialty tools to be a top level troubleshooter and installer of Fire, Burglar , Card Access and Camera systems Etc.
So at least twice a week I get called by out of state National Accounts alarm servicing outfits who need some one local to handle one of the dollar or other retail stores security needs. I turn 99% of them down .Unfortunately most of these company's are run by a bunch of ill informed idiots.
or I have already gotten the word from other dealers there lousy company's to deal with.

Take Wednesday I get a call from a outfit that needs some stores Fire and Burglar alarms taken over downloaded and completely tested. for new tenants taking over this bankrupt stores spaces . OK no big deal 1 store in Butler Mall and 1 in beaver Mall about a 100 + mile trip so I get to the Butler mall to find no one on site and get security to unlock the space I walk around and no security system and fire alarm is handled by mall a wasted trip. then off to beaver I find a ADT panel hanging on wall and nothing else. So once again a wasted day yes I get paid for the trip but it does not cover what I would have made normally for the day.

How many times this has happened go there to find No store or alarm was never shipped or wrong stuff was shipped or alarm is already installed etc etc etc.
I drove over to E.Liverpool Ohio to wire in a newly installed outside door at a game/CD store it was never put in. Yet it was an emergency They needed it that day.

Then it takes for ever to get paid they always loose paper work etc etc.

Then the newest one it was not done properly? WTF another ploy at a Large electrical distributor where we had system tested and signed off by state fire marshal. So Fire Marshal is wrong?

yes nothing but excuses it seems bigger these companies get the stupider and more incompetent they become. All these company s want to do is hire the lowest common denominator employee they can find pay them $7.00 an hour no benefits give them a fancy name and uniform and fill there brains with how great they are when they are worthless.

Which is why I have been turning down more and more work from them and once again another company on the shit list. But remember you the consumer pays for all this incompetence every time you walk in a store and buy something. between theft, and Incompetence prices could be 50% lower in most stores .

Lock Out Tag Out Play this game wrong and you DIE!

2011-10-11T18:01:00.005-04:00

Lock Out Tag out its not a game its an OSHA Law it protects employees from accidental electrocution and other injury's .

Introduced a dozen years ago LOTO as it is some times known is a rule which requires the shutting off and verifying that electrical and other energy's like Steam air and hydraulics are properly shut off so a maintenance project can be safely completed . It is required to be followed by each and every employee covered by OSHA rules which is just about everyone.

As you can see from the picture a padlock has been attached to a shackle device which allows more than one individual to lock out the item .This way power can not be turned back on till every one has there hands etc clear and out of the area before restoring power. There is also a tag affixed with an employees name and why this lock has been deployed.
fail to properly make sure the power is off which includes making sure the stabs in the switch are clearly pulled out etc. can result in instant death with 480 volts 3 Phase - delta which vaporises screwdrivers and pliers with no problem.
Following Lock out Tag out requires several steps you can find out more information on this subject at www.osha.gov
If you are responsible in any way with any source of energy above you are required to know and utilize lock out tag out this even includes the use of power tools so you could very well be in violation of Lock out Tag out and not even know it which can bring fines of $23,000.00 per incident.

A new concept in Fire Protection Smoke Detectors which shut off power

2011-10-10T22:35:00.004-04:00

I have been doing Electrical work for over 30+ years and have seen more than my share of Tragic Electrical fires and injury's .
Well an inventor has come out with a new product a Smoke Detectors that shuts off the power to an electrical circuit .http://www.firebreak1.com/ Which shuts off and trips out a GFCI breaker.
While this concept is not new We have been using smoke detectors tied to shunt trip breakers to turn power off to critical computer server rooms and elevator shafts using shunt trip breakers for some time now this uses a GFCI breaker.
One of the big problems when fighting fires is always the utility like gas and electric being on and feeding the fire this prevents it and helps stop a fire from spreading Check it out.
and see what you think he may be on to something.

Fire Dampers an item often abused because its hiding above the ceiling tiles

2011-10-10T18:55:00.006-04:00

We have a Big Mid regional Alarm dealer whose home base is here in Pittsburgh and There technicians go around telling every one " There the Fire Alarm experts of Pittsburgh"

Well Mr Experts explain this picture where you installed a fire Alarm system in an old City of Pittsburgh School now in private hands .

What you see in the picture is a Automatic Fire Damper in what is known as a Plenum Ceiling where the entire area above the ceiling is used as a air return duct
instead of running a separate metal one. Which designers claim save significant money but brings with it many many code issues which must be followed and where not done here.

First off the damper works by heat activation the small link you see when subjected to the heat of a fire melts away and the damper closes stopping the fire from getting thru the Fire Wall.
Well most times it does but often times installers run wires thru the damper preventing it from closing .
So what did Our quote Experts do they drilled a hole below the duct and feed the wire thru and violated Fire and Electrical codes. First off the wire being used is the wrong type its just normal red fire wire not plenum rated which is required by the National Electrical Code . 2nd they did not use a proper sealing off method sending the wire thru the fire wall to prevent fire spread they either need to use a special intralumensant putty or a self sealing pass thru tube as you can see they did neither . But remember now these are the fire alarm experts of Pittsburgh.

Do us all a favor G-uys and learn how to do fire alarms correctly and to code and stop tooting your horn. I see plenty of this type of slope all the time from you and it needs to stop.
Should we talk next about the horrific job you did at a Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh Next.
I think so.

Why you should not store Garbage Containers and other items under Stairwells and Fire Escapes

2011-10-10T18:23:00.007-04:00

What you see here in an alley way of a Group home is a major Fire Code violation which can get a home shut down. But with the way things go on in Pa. forget any one ever enforcing it with out some one like me putting some steam on them and having to embarrass them here on this blog.

The storage of items under Fire Escapes is PROHIBITED PERIOD.
Not only is this dumpster a fire hazard should it catch fire not allowing people on the 3rd floor to escape it is also blocking the stairwell from 2nd floor.

But no one ever thinks about this its just put the dumpster some where and it could get people killed. In fact this exact scenario has killed many tenants of apartment buildings in years past. When sick individual thought it was funny to catch a dumpster on fire or it started from what was thrown into it by spontaneous combustion.

It is also illegal to store items under stairwells inside buildings as well in most cases and where it is allowed the area must be sprinklered, with a water based fire protection system.

Knowing this how many property's I can go onto just around Pittsburgh and find this exact problem. Its a shame why do people not use there brains before doing something like this? But it is the same old story it will not happen to me. This line of thinking gets people killed everyday.
and it proves itself every winter time in Pittsburgh area when you have a dozen or more fires every week during winter time do to people who do not think or just care less about there fellow man.

WTF !! In Pa. Group Homes, Personel Care Homes and Day Care Centers are not inspected for LIFE SAFETY ISSUES By State inspectors Who Does?

2011-10-06T16:06:00.012-04:00

Coming to a national newspaper some day soon
22 killed 17 injured in Pa.Personnel Care Home Fire, 7 Toddlers severely injured in Pa. Day care Explosion and collapse. It could happen right now as you read this article.
How could this Happen ? it is very simple.
I found out the answer today while working at a Personnel Care Home when two state inspectors where there today. They walked around checked couple things and then sat down and all day went over paperwork and records. They never checked on Life safety or fire issues.
When I Identified myself and asked why they had not done a fire or life safety inspection I was told.We are no longer responsible for it. it is the local Community fire Marshal / Official or Fire Dept who now does the annual inspections for us and signs off on it.
OK Well is there a certification or check list etc. that is to be followed no that's up to the local people to do it. Its out of our hands that goes for Group homes and day cares as well.
So I called one of local fire marshals I know and mention it to him and yes he says last few years he has been getting requests to do this only problem in his large community there are 117 licensed locations which means he can not get to each one and has to have local volunteer fire depts do it. which most depts do not even know its now there responsibility let alone have a clue as to what code to follow let alone all the liability they are taking on if they do a bad inspection.
While some depts have people very capable of doing most do not and when it comes to areas with volunteers many have to work during the day so they get all the old retired guys to go around and do it less they lose a days work.
Nothing wrong with that if they know what there doing but how many really do it all depends. Especially when it comes to knowing what is or what is not correct and proper fire door exiting hardware etc . etc. or if the fire alarm is even working properly because all too often they are relying on the word of the local fire alarm tech that the inspection was done properly and that it is actually being monitored and it is a well known fact just how badly fire alarms are installed and maintained For that matter if a fire dept does not keep track of what is going on in there community whats to keep a licensed facility from just filling out the paper work and use a fire company's name and say it was done by them . You better believe it is being done.
So what we have is one big mess and the door open to a major catastrophe at any point in time . It gets even better Pa. passed the state wide Uniform Building Code several years ago which is suppose to follow the ICC IBC and IFC Codes The International Building Code and International Fire Code. how ever they never passed the IFC fire code now what . Well there answer is use it as a guideline where it is referenced in IBC code. Great so we have nothing to fall back on or really enforce other than NFPA codes.and some areas there are no codes to reference to.
So annual inspections are now all based on paper work which has been signed off by a local firefighter who may or may not be properly trained following a code he is not sure to follow and taking the word of sprinkler and fire alarm technicians that everything is fine with the life safety systems which none of the techs need licensing or certification to boot. But as long as its all signed everything is fine with the state.
No wonder insurance carriers are so gun shy to set up shop in Pa. and why our premiums are so high in this state.
Every night I go to bed wondering what will the news be like because I know that a major catastrophe is coming soon in this state and elderly or at risk youth or the young will be dead from it and no one gives a good damn about it. and Pa. will continue to deserve its Hooterville ,wild west reputation .
Pray with me the headlines above will never be fact in Pa. or any state.

Energy saving kit improperly installed in Exit sign almost causes a Fire

2011-09-30T17:35:00.010-04:00

Once again we have a case of a Company which is suppose to be in the Life Safety Business putting a customer life at risk.This time it happened at my Dentist in Monroeville Pa. who co owns a building with an accountant. The Monroeville Code Enforcement officer was by recently to check the building and found several exit signs not working properly so Doc asked if I could fix them for him sure I said they make these new energy efficient LED Light kits about $25.00 each you can retrofit your signs with to save money instead of the 2- 40 watt bulbs they use now.
Well it ends up I open up the signs and what do I find in them but that the big Pittsburgh based
Fire Extinguisher and emergency lighting company he has used in the past had in fact installed retrofit kits which at time cost $135.00 each had been improperly installed and had burned out and almost caught on fire because the idiot installer left one of the 40 watt incandescent bulbs
in one of the sockets which made contact with the back of the kit and burned the LED Kit out and damaged the exit signs. The structure it self could have caught fire had the breaker not tripped out when the heat caused the insulation to burn off the wires and make contact with the grounded metal case. Had the case not been properly grounded or had it been made of all plastic like most new ones or had the breaker failed to trip the structure it self could have caught fire.

Well I installed the new kits( top left) and got the signs working again ( Top Right ) for Doc. Who is extremely upset with the way he was treated by the Fire Extinguisher company. Unfortunately this is a matter of fact around Pittsburgh and most of the country these so called Life Safety , Fire and Security company's hire the lowest common denominator they can find that they can pay a buck or two above minimum to go out and do mundane work and they can care less if the work is even done right they just keep billing big amounts for work half done and can care less. this is why you must do your home work when hiring life safety company's to do your work or you could literally end up burned.
Shame on these company's who do this kind of work.
A very sad comment on the Life Safety Community.

A Purse Snatching caught on High Resolution Equiptmet why choosing and designing a proper Surveillance System is so critical

2011-09-29T21:45:00.009-04:00

In the above images you are viewing an actual Purse Snatching incident caught on the surveillance camera system I installed at Stanton Industrial Electric Supply In Wilkinsburg Pa.
last year after a minor vandalism incident.
As you can see from the wide angle 2.8 mm lens on the Nuvico 600 lines of resolution Camera which was recorded on a 8 channel Nuvico Apex Lite DVR the images are clean and sharp and even thou the incident has taken place 50 feet from the camera because a high resolution system was used Wilkinsburg and Allegheny County detectives will be able to enhance these images for extremely clear facial ids of the young men involved. Unfortunately the internet compression does not allow you to see just how sharp these images are
from this and 2 other cameras watching the lot. If this was one of those typical cheap camera systems you can buy at Costco or Sam's Club for your home or business forget it there would not be enough pixilation to be able to blow up the digital picture and ID a suspect, think of the difference between a 4 meg digital camera vs a 12 meg and you would be out of luck. It is essential when installing cameras to use professional equipment to get professional results. this includes having the DVR and cameras on a back up power UPS unit and
getting cameras with plenty of infrared LED's for night operation. The Nuvico cameras have 30 LED per camera cheap systems have 6-12 LED
Proper placement is also critical as you can see the wide angle camera is being used for a general overview of the lot while 2 additional cameras at the dock catch close up action . with these 3 cameras plus the camera watching the front walk any criminal activity is totally covered.
1 camera alone is not enough and you only get part of the incident. As you can see a professional system is worth every penny for your business or home if you can afford it and high quality kits are available on line for the DIY types which can also give good results if properly installed.

Update There have been arrests in this case and further suspects in several cases in area identified due to this video and others

Why spend big bucks for technology to be installed then not use it?

2011-09-28T09:39:00.002-04:00

Often when installing and servicing High technology system I often shake my head as to what the hell where they thinking when they wasted the money to put a high tech system in and then not use it.
I see this with camera systems all the time they will go out and have the most sophisticated DVR/NVR recorder they can buy and ultra high resolution cameras and then it sits there because no one knows how to operate it. But that's Ok because often it is tax payer money being wasted in
Non Profit or government buildings.

They will never consider an economy based system which is easy to use and is 1/3 rd the cost because they have to have some big name outfit with all the prestige and charisma pull the wool over there eyes with all there so called technical skills only to put it in wrong and it never work correctly I see it all the times all this wizz bang technology sitting there and not being used.
They spent $80,000.00 for a camera system at a school for at risk children which i put the original system in for $5000.00 but that was not good enough even though it worked just fine they still went a head wasted the tax payers money for a system no one new how to use.
Saw this happen at County probation and health dept offices as well. they put in security systems that falsed all the time they stopped using it because it became a pain and you the tax payer pad for it. What a shame and what a waste.

Latest Burglary Stats.

2011-09-23T10:02:00.001-04:00

Click to Enlarge Image

Burglary Statistics Illustration - Graphic & Marketing by Yellow Robin

Guest Blogger Nisha Sharma

2011-09-21T18:40:00.001-04:00

I get many requests to guest on my blog and here is another budding blogger enjoy

The Very Basics of First Aid

First aid is an important component of a safe home. In an emergency, crucial minutes can pass before the ambulance arrives. For everyday bumps, bruises, and scrapes, knowing first aid means avoiding a trip to the doctor's office, or knowing when that trip is necessary.

The first step in effective first aid is having a first aid kit. For medications, your first aid kit should have both aspirin (in case of adult heart attacks) and a non-aspirin painkiller (never give aspirin to children!), cough syrup, allergy medications, and decongestant tablets. There should also be cloth bandages and bandage clips, sterile gauze pads, adhesive bandages (like Band-Aids), antibiotic ointment, and antiseptic wipes, to deal with cuts and scrapes. Tweezers and scissors can help with splinters, while an instant cold pack can be used to deal with a twisted ankle or bump on the head.

Be aware of dangers in or near your home. For example, be on the lookout for stinging or biting insects. This is especially true if you have a child with a bee sting allergy. Many incidents with insect allergies can be prevented simply by being aware of the presence of insects before they become belligerent. Also watch out for hot metal outdoors. Metal construction is often used in playground equipment and benches. In directly sunlight, these surfaces can get hot enough to burn.

If burns do occur, either in the home or outside it, they should be treated by running warm or cool (not cold) water over the affected area. A first degree burn results in redness and minor blistering, and can be treated at home. Do not apply ice to a burn, and never put any kind of oily or greasy substance on a burn. Instead, wrap the clean and dry burn in sterile gauze. If the burn is severe enough to cause clothing to stick to the skin, do not attempt to pull it away. Burns of this level of severity, usually second or third degree burns, result in major blistering and even charring of the skin. These burns require immediate medical attention.

Another part of first aid is knowing when to call for help. Teach all children living in the home about dialling 911 or the local emergency number. Have them memorize their home address, phone number, and parents' names. Practice dialling 9-1-1 on a pretend phone, and have your child talk to you as if you were the emergency operator, so they become comfortable with the situation. Explain to your child when it is appropriate to call this number, and when it is not appropriate. Make sure your child knows that if they are unsure if they should call, go ahead and call.

My name is Nisha Sharma, I am the Editor for FireSafetyStore.co.uk. I am a mother of one who loves to write especially about parenting advice, baby products and family advice. It’s always good to hear the point of view from someone with experience. If you would like to find out more information about fire safety products, such as fire blankets, fire extinguishers, or for safety items around the home feel free to visit my site.

Isolation Transformers Small transformers which help prevent big problems

2011-09-18T19:25:00.005-04:00

There are many types of transformers in use with AC power to raise or lower the voltages but one of the more interesting ones is an Isolation Transformer which is used in circuits to reduce noise and isolate power loads and provide safety from line shocks. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolation_transformer for construction details.
I use Isolation transformers all the time at the WAVL to help keep noise from getting into audio equipment especially when you have equipment tied to each other that are hooked into 2 different phases of the power which can produce an undesired circulating current and blow out equipment.
Keeping in mind what Isolation transformers can do with noise they also can help in other situations as well. I have Mini Storage facility in Richland Pa. which has 44 separate color-day/night cameras watching over the property and remote viewed over the internet .There are even cameras in the entry and exit keypads which take video of who is using the keypads and records there storage unit number on the video which is helpful should one of many commercial clients who store items here temporarily need to know which one of there employees accessed there unit during the day. all cameras can see in the dark as they have Infrared emiters and special low lux lens. and we used special Baluns which allows Cat 5 cable to be used instead of coax which offers additional surge and noise protection as the wire is twisted. It also cut down by 3/4 the amount of space traditional coax would have taken in the conduits.
With the property being so large we had to get power from 2 different sources because of the long lengths which caused voltage drops which presents a problem.Ideally you always want cameras all on the same phase of power so you do not get noise and ground loops etc which can effect cameras. But that was not possible here 2 different meters feed the property. So the solution install an isolation transformer unit ( right in picture) which you can see in the above enclosure which was being tested to make sure it worked before we buttoned all the wiring up. and made it permanent. By using the isolation transformer we had a clean 120 volts AC we could transform down to 24Volts (left in picture) with out the worry of a ground loop or circulating currents between the two different power sources. We also installed Ditek CCTV surge protection on each cameras input to the recorders and on each recorders AC outlet plus installed battery backed up UPS units to supply clean power to the recorders. in case of power failure We also made sure all the grounding was unified to prevent step voltage as well. In all the extra precautions cost around $900.00 but it is protecting $45,000.00 in cameras and recording equipment where lightning is always a possibility with all metal storage buildings sitting on a flat plain high on a hill.
So far the setup has worked and troubles are minimized compared to problems previous owner had before we added all the extra cameras and protection as they where always blowing out cameras from storm damage.

Dan's Deli Burglary from 80's Solved

2011-09-17T19:00:00.009-04:00

I had a customer back in the 80's who had a Deli in the city of Pittsburgh which sat on the line with a suburb/Boro of Pittsburgh you walked across the road and where in another town . Dan opened it about 1980 and I did his refrigeration work . Dan sold the deli around 82 after seeing the hand writing on the wall and got a State Job after all the steel mills went down around 81-82 and sold it to Hank a layed off Steel Worker who used his pension fund to buy and run the Deli unfortunately thou He had to end up closing it around 83 and couple other people tried to make a go including couple different Pizza shops but no go the place has sat vacant now since mid 90' s
While Hank was trying to run it He asked me to put in a simple burglar alarm to protect the store since there where so many burglary's going on in the area. Which I did but no matter the thieves still some how got in and defeated the system. All along the theory was it was an inside job and some employee helped pull it off. But despite the police dept best effort no one was charged. How ever it has now come to light just how the burglary was committed and who did it.
While sitting in a class at fire school few years back I was shown a tool known as a K -tool
( See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-tool for additional info)
which is used to pull lock cylinders to get to the opening mechanism so minimal damage is done to a business if entry is needed to be made .The lock cylinder then can be reinserted and no one the wiser to it if carefully removed it leaves very small tell tale marks. During the class the fact we where being shown this in first place brought up the usual ? should we even be shown this, and the instructor went on to say how he has a lot of personnel liability insurance coverage especially after one of the depts firefighters he showed how to do this where responsible for a series of burglary's the same town across from the deli. At the time it did not click in but couple months ago I ran into Dan who owned the Old Deli and he starts on me about charging Hank an extremely high amount for the alarm and how he lost money because Hank went Bankrupt and never finished paying him and I just laughed I said you got to be kidding what the hell are you talking about. Not only did I not charge him a lot when he closed I sold the parts for him and got most of his money back on it. Dan just huffed and walked away looking like a fool.
Which got me back to that whole time when I put the system in and we never figured out who did it.
Well it ends up it was the very Volunteer fire dept. whose Boro's line is across from the deli who where involved and it was kept very hush hush about what happened and never shared it with the city detectives back in 80's. When over 20 businesses in the area had been burglarized and no one knew how entry was made and only money was stolen with no damage to the business.
So now after almost 30 years we know what happened. The few times I ever had systems beat it was almost always with inside info or an employee was involved and we proved it. Because systems properly installed are very hard to defeat without extensive knowledge. But Dan's Deli case always bothered me. But now we have answered what happened and this is one of the first things I look for is the tell tale marks the K- tool leaves on lock cylinders when there pulled and reinserted. Marks almost 30 years ago Police detectives could not explain when the lock was examined by them.
All these years have passed but at least now I have answer's and the statute of limitations has well run on these fool fireman a couple of who I knew and went to school with pulled off.
some who have passed away from making bad choices in there lives.

This Group home is on fire You need to escape .Can you figure out how to unlock this door?

2011-09-08T22:58:00.011-04:00

Your life is on the line a fire has broken out in this group home and you must get out NOW ! you go to open the door but it will not budge there's been a magnetic lock installed on the door but where is the release button where is the motion sensor to release it why has it not opened when the Fire Alarm activated. Good question because you will be dead in 60 seconds from now the building is filling with thick deadly smoke.
Well its all a scenario but exactly what could have happened at one of my Institutional clients because they chose the lowest bidder and one who is not qualified to do this type of work .
So not only did they overspend our tax payers money who helped pay for the job they hired a computer firm of 911 nerds who has no business installing these locks.
In the state of Pa. as in many states there are some very specific rules and regulations when it comes to installing electrically activated locks especially when it comes to magnetic locks.
on group homes these locks are not even permitted under DPW Department of Welfare Act 43 Rules. But of course the State inspector with his head up his ass has been on campus several times now and has never caught these improperly installed magnetic locks. Which also brings up the question why are we bothering to pay for inspectors with there heads up there asses in the first place.

So what are the rules regarding Mag Locks as there commonly known.

Rule 1# the locks must immediately drop power and door unlock when a Fire Alarm activates

Rule 2# A clearly visible manual button must be installed to override power to the lock as you can see in picture you can barely make out the button is for releasing this door.

rule 3# there must be a motion sensor above a door to sense when you approach the door and automatically unlock it.

If a Motion sensor is not used than a special UL listed door releasing bar which has switches built into it must be used to release the door.

Additionally there can only be one mag lock in a pathway you are exiting from .

The codes require no more than one means of special knowledge to egress a building be used
in an exiting pathway.

But of course as usual how many property's I walk on and find the locks not meeting the codes at all. In fact on this property they installed the controls for some of these doors in an Elevator control room which again is a major code violation and nothing has been said or done and most of the locks do not even work properly so $50,000.00 they spent for a totally illegal and worthless locking system. A system I warned them had to meet very specific codes etc, and they just ignored my input and spent the tax payers money and have nothing to show for it and have once again managed to fire the local fire marshal temper up who ordered them to turn the system off.
Once again they can not understand why they are being picked on. maybe its time these administrators step down and people with common sense be allowed to run the place but then again this will never happen and they wonder why the state is not sending at risk youths to them
for treatment.
Yes your tax payer money is once again wasted and these students are at risk in the community and at just as much danger being institutionalized. When is Pa. going to wake up and smell the coffee as they say.

Illegal Recording of Conversations and no one seems concerned

2011-09-05T18:28:00.010-04:00

It is Illegal to record any ones voice in Pennsylvania unless they give consent to do so. Pa. has one of the strongest anti wiretapping laws in the country .It is a criminal offense that goes to the felony level not a civil matter.
With this in mind you would think a professional big name Integration company based here in Pittsburgh would not have done it and advised against it. But this is not the case.
I was recently removing some video equipment from one of my Institutional customers schools I have several Different Institutional customers who service a wide spectrum from at risk to hearing impaired to Bi Polar Students I service when I came across this exact situation. You can see when they installed this expensive Honeywell based system they had speakers hooked into the DVR and audio hookup wires rigged to the back notice all the small round green cords. lying behind the unit. plus the SLR/XLR ports up front to hook microphones into it. So they can speak into certain rooms
The School along with the Integrators thought it would be OK to record audio because it was to protect the special needs students. Wrong they never should have done it and they should have checked with authorities before they did it.
But since there a school and there special it seems they can do no wrong or so they think.
Sorry but the law is the law . The only way they could have legally done it is thru the permission of the courts and that would be only if they could provide very substantial need for it and the application they where using for would not meet that definition.
This is a very serious matter school officials could very well have faced jail time over this and there just blowing it off like its nothing A school district a couple years back got into very serious trouble and had to sign consent decrees etc after they where caught recording voices on school bus cameras, because they used cheap camcorders in the buses instead of the correct cameras .
Most security business who install cameras in Pa. will not even talk about recording when customers bring it up and advise customers to consult there attorneys about it Period because of all the trouble it can bring. And the best part you the Tax Payer helped pay for this activity.

Thank you Ditek for making excellent Surge protection devices

2011-08-26T18:51:00.007-04:00

Well they had some fun the other morning early down at Holy Family Institute an Emsworth Pa. based facility that works with At Risk Youth and Families.
It seems the heavens sent a message in the way of a Lightning Strike. Which hit the St. Marys Group Home which was vacant at the time. The fire alarm system was damaged and will need replaced and a surge was sent thru the wiring which connects all the buildings fire and safety systems but this time instead of having to replace several fire systems we needed to only replace 1 fire panel and some multiplex modules, thanks to the good folks at Ditek Corporation www.ditekcorp.com
based in Largo Florida and an area which knows all about lightning as it is the world capital for it.
After the last major lightning strike about 7 years ago destroyed over $10,000.00 in equipment
I convinced the administration to install Ditek's products all around the campus on the fire/ safety communications wires which cost about $700.00 and I also installed main panel surge protection from Square D on the group homes breaker panels. the result is under $2000.00 in damage and no fires which is a real possibility when dealing with direct lightning strikes. Many homes have caught fire due to this in the area. While no surge protector can stop all damage when theirs a direct strike as you can see it did greatly limit it. So good job Ditek Corporation and keep up the good work. I have replaced the surge protectors and within 2 hours the whole campus was back up online . When choosing and installing surge protectors be sure to make sure you follow all instructions and make sure you have good solid grounding or they will not work properly also choose the protector based on what you are protecting so it will quickly clamp and remove the surge. there are surge suppressors available for all types of low and high voltage equipment. And Holy Family is one of my many Institutional customers who understands the value of protecting there property and children in there care.

Why early alarm systems where easy to defeat due to laziness

2011-08-16T19:19:00.007-04:00

You see here remnants of an early Ademco
combination Burglar and Fire alarm System which was installed around 1972 at an old J&L Steel Service Center in Pa. now having been re-purposed several times over. By the then W.J. Burns International Detective agency's alarm division
It consisted of door switches foil tape to detect glass breakage and several Smoke Detectors .

Burns eventually got out of the alarm business in Pittsburgh in late 70's and sold there accounts to Holmes Protection Services here in Pittsburgh . The Holmes division here in Pittsburgh was run by two relatives so poorly and had lost so many accounts that it was sold to Westec which became Vector Security. Holmes eventually was folded into ADT and Burns was sold to Pinkerton all of which is now under Securitus .

The above key station was made by Ademco the white light when lighted indicated all circuits where closed and system could be armed the red light indicated the system was armed this key station was intended to only be used indoors as it had no tamper switch to secure a burglar from removing it from the wall and shorting the key switch terminals and there by shutting off the alarm.
But as usual you can see this one sitting on an outside wall and no tamper switch behind it. burglar simply removes it and shorts it and $1,000,000.00 in equipment sits inside ready to be stolen.
Now you would think an alarm company would be concerned about this.
and use the correct outdoor rated and tampered station.
No never going to happen you see there are too many alarm company's that hire the least common denominator they can find pay them as little as possible to install and service it and specify cheapest way to put system in so they can make the most off of you it happens today it happened back then as well . I always used tampered switch plates out side but apparently most did not. Many many systems where defeated this exact way in 70's and 80's till delay circuits allowed the keys and keypads to be installed inside eliminating the threat.
Back then to Burglar alarm bells in Tampered enclosures where used and many of them also never had there tamper circuits hooked up as well just climb up open cabinet and cut wires or knock it off the wall with a brick. cut phone lines your in.

Well your sitting there why did they not put a simple plate in to protect the customer and prevent a lawsuit to the alarm company? Well you see there in the paper work you sign when you purchase an alarm system is what is known as a Exculpatory Clause or hold harmless as its known. Even if a company does a horrible job like you see here and everything in the plant gets stolen you can not sue the alarm company because you signed away your right to sue and since alarm company knows it can not be sued why should they give a good damn what they do for you. Sorry but that is the truth too many alarm company's are only interested in thinning your wallet not protecting your property they prove it every day with the free alarms and inflated monitoring fees. They scream at there workers for even considering spending one nickel more of material than what at bare minimum is needed .
Thats why when considering a system choose very wisely.

Its time Horn/Strobe Boosters have built in Trouble sounders

2011-08-16T18:03:00.004-04:00

Its bad enough when you have to service a Fire System you are not familiar with but to then have a Bell 1 or 2 trouble on the loop which supply s power to the Bell Horns and Strobes this can be a real night mare.
It all started when the American with Disabilities Act required Fire alarms to include clear flashing Strobe Lights . Fire Alarms could no longer support pushing out power to horns and bells plus now strobe lights so independant supervised Power Boosters where developed to solve the problem. They do the job well when properly installed but one big problem is after they are in for several years the back up batteries need replaced . When this condition occurs a trouble signal is generated to the main fire panel and if the booster is right beside it no problem pop in new batteries and away you go but what if it is located else where and not clearly visiable like installed above a cieling now what do you do? Thats right get out the ladders and flashlights and start looking and spend sometimes 4 or more hours looking for it because the people who installed the booster violated NFPA72 by not marking in the main panel where the booster is located.Given the fact not all booster boxes are red they can be any color can lead to an even more exhaustive search.
Now why could manufacturers not put a simple little .50 cent piezeo sounder in the panel you can silence with a push button like the 2 line fire dialer s currently have ?
Stupidity as usual never ever take into account some one needs to service this unit let alone the least common denominator installers company's use who could care less if they even install fire systems properly and you can see this can be a real problem.

False Alarm leads to False Arrest

2011-08-14T11:13:00.009-04:00

For one unfortunate individual having a prior criminal conviction and living in a Personal Care Home in a northern suburb of Pittsburgh Pa..had some bad consequences when a fire alarm system started falsing and instead of the fire dept silencing the alarm and immediately calling me to come and check it and find the problem instead they reset it and ended up coming back several more times till fire dept chief got mad and had this resident arrested for causing a false alarm by pulling and activating the manual pull station on the system and since the care home is full of individuals who suffer from Bi polar and other psychotic conditions getting some one they do not like out of the home was easy by lying to the fire chief as to who set the alarm off.
Unfortunately though it never happened a station was never pulled.As you can clearly see all the dust around the hex key you must remove.

The Problem started in the early morning when the first fire alarm went off the fire dept should have silenced the system and then had home owner call me to reset and fix it the problem being with conventional analog systems unless a pull station has been activated you need to see which detector is in alarm by looking for a locked in red LED light or an activated pull station which is clearly different looking than when it is in its normal state.
well they did not do this they reset system and I receive no phone call several more false alarms again I get no phone call. Hello who is in charge of the situation? after the 3rd alarm the old panel is now going bonkers and it looks like a pull station was pulled. Wrong only way a pull station in this situation would have been pulled is the panel would not reset all pull stations lock into position and need to be manually reset with a key or opened with an Allen wrench and reset which in this case never happened. So no pull station was ever pulled,because the panel reset.
What did I find after going down and resetting system and have it go off 10 minutes later was a bad smoke detector in bedroom 14# occupied by a sweet old lady who sleeps all day
I changed the smoke detector and arranged the next day to update the panel with a new panel
as the old panel was slowly dying and needed replaced and with the new panel and features future problems will be avoided.

But we are still back to the original problem. Why did I never get a phone call till after so many false alarms especially when my phone number is in the front of the panel why did no one from fire dept call. Like I say the fire service is its own enemy and this case proves it. I have told this fire company repeatedly to call me if there is a problem it is written on the panel if there is a problem to silence alarm and call me . Why was this man arrested for pulling an alarm he could not have pulled? Again who is in charge ?a simple phone call would have stopped all of went on that night and day but no one calls till after 10 false alarms. and the fact my number is clearly written on panel.

Always with older conventional fire alarms silence them then call servicing company so a tech can be dispatched and problem found. The rest of the system will keep protecting till the tech gets there as other zones stay active,
do not keep resetting it.
I do this in many community's and I never have problems there . Yes this dept is volunteer if your wondering and maybe different people responded at different times but why was I not called? Other dept. call me and the hassle is avoided.
Why was common sense not used in this situation?
Instead an innocent man sits in county jail for weekend as I try to get hold of those responsible for the arrest and have him released.

Will common sense ever prevail in the Fire Service apparently not in this dept .
which continues to be its own worse enemy and blame the problem on the fire system instead of using common sense and picking up a phone.

Of course this is not the whole story the dirty little secret here in Pa. is most Personnel care homes are used to house the mentally Ill who otherwise would have been at institutions like
Dixmont, Woodville and Mayview and Western Center which where torn down and these homes replace and while the vast majority of homes in Allegheny county are excellent places for them to stay in a safe and functional environment outside Allegheny county like in Washington county the homes are total hell holes how they are kept. Like I said Pa's dirty little secret

Who has the Knox box Key?

2011-08-11T21:02:00.003-04:00

This is what is known as a Knox box a very sturdy built box used by fire Dept's so they can get the keys they need to get into a structure and find out what is causing the fire alarm to go off with out having to break down the door to the business.or wait for an authorized key holder to respond.
The boxes are often times tied to an alarm system as well to warn when they are opened.
The keys to open these boxes are carried on certain fire vehicles and some times access to the keys is only possible on the vehicle when a dispatcher sends a radio tone to release it from a special lock box. each community's boxes uses a key made for that community only.
The system works very well. Well that is except for where I live in Penn Hills Pa. seems one of the firefighters who was suppose to return the keyring to the Knox box failed to do so and took it home with him/her I found this out when testing the fire system at a shopping plaza when the Fire Marshal came to do the test and opened the box only to find the keys gone. Since no one would admit to taking the keys my customer spent $600.00 to re-key the plaza. So while it is a very good idea it has its flaws . I would like to see it made so it could not be locked back up unless the keys are reinserted this would stop the problem of this happening .

Keeping Machinery Cool and Safe

2011-08-09T21:59:00.005-04:00

With the high temps of summer comes the constant problem of
keeping industrial equipment operating safely to prevent break downs and possible injury to plant personnel.
Most motors and electrical and electronic equipment is meant to be operated at less than 100 degrees so when temps start climbing into the high 90's motors and control boards are being pushed to there maximum safe operating capacity as the temperatures with in equipment cabinets can get well over 200
degrees F.
The most common way to deal with the heat is to install vents and fans to pull air thru the cabinets but when the plant air is near 100 degrees all your doing is moving hot air.
So what can be done when temps start causing problems.

solution 1 # buy equipment which can handle the higher temps but this can be as much as 3-4 times normal costs

Solution 2# install ac its to cool plant again expensive and not always practical

Solution 3# Install compressed air powered cabinet coolers also known as venturri systems cool compressed air is pushed into the cabinet thru a small plastic tube and hot air is pushed out thru the top of the cabinet. thru a muffler looking device. This air exchange works better than fans because the air coming from the compressor is much cooler allowing the cabinets to run 50 or more degrees cooler than ambient air. I recently installed a system made by Ex-air for a oil servicing company which recycles oil for large scale customers and the cost of aprox $600.00 a cabinet has more than paid off in preventing break downs and energy savings as the equipment operates more efficiently.
have a tough cooling problem look into these systems.