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.
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