if your still using CFL bulbs time to get rid of them

 I was sitting eating breakfast this week when i started smelling something electronic burning.

looked for it nothing was apparent so I got out my Thermal imaging camera and I noticed a hotter than usual spot on an old light fixture my grandfather made. 

 Sure enough there was an old style CFL Compact fluorescent light which was burning up which had been operating faithfully for several years.

To make matters worse this is one I got in a Energy saving kit from DLC Duqusne Light Company my power provider.After discussing this problem on a Fire Investigators site seems many of these old bulbs are now malfunctioning and burning up and its time to get rid of all of them as components are breaking down due to age.

Take the time and examine all your homes lights  and dispose of properly any CFL bulb you find even when they have no wear marks on them. 

 You may be saving a life. 

LED Retrofit Kits can save you big money on older exit Signs which use conventional bulbs

I was recently called by an insurance agency to make sure all their emergency lights and exit signs where working, after they where cited by local Fire Prevention Officer during a fire inspection.

They still had 10 of the older Exit Signs which use two 15 watt conventional bulbs so that means there was 300 watts of power being wasted 24/7  .

 

Well there where 2 options available to help save energy. 

1- You could replace all 10 signs with new energy saving Exit Signs  but this means painting and patching as newer signs are not same size. Not a Good Option

2- Install LED retrofit kit from Morris 

The kit comes with 2 LED retrofit lights that draw 1.4 watt 

and a set of adapters to allow use in multiple manufactures

exit signs 

 The LED replacement bulbs are much brighter and give off a better illuminate the sign and are long lasting no more annual bulb replacement 

So its a Win Win  saves Energy and money in long term 

G&E Relax LED Light Bulb Packaging is misleading and could lead to a Fire

 So wife bought a package of  G&E Relax LED Bulbs after some bulbs in our house needed replaced .

When you look at the packaging it looks like you can use them in any fixture in your home 

But not so quick in small writing on the side panel it warns do not use in totally enclosed fixtures which the light above our kitchen sink was .

So we could not use this bulb .

See that's the problem with LED bulbs you have to very carefully read the packages to make sure they work where you are going to use them.

Unlike a regular incandescent bulb you can use Base Up Base down Base side ways  totally enclosed  LED  bulbs have specific uses just like earlier compact fluorescent

Many fires result  because of improper bulb use.

That's why it is important to read the labels but the wring bulb in wrong fixture they overheat and can explode . 

So just another example of saving energy and creating un needed danger in the home.

Improper use of Drywall Screws to mount Pull Stations leads to constant fire Alarm malfunctions

 Customer of mine recently bought a rundown apartment building to renovate it and first thing he did was have me go over the existing Fire Alarm System as Local Fire Dept said it was constant source of problems. 

Well after examining and updating it no wonder it never worked right.

First off 4 wire smoke detectors where not properly supervised to make sure they had power I replaced the all with 2 wire detectors as well as a new Potter 6006 Panel

also found Recalled Edwards Heat Detectors in use I replaced   as well as old 12 volt horns with modern 24 volt horn strobes

But then I started getting all kinds of ground faults 

 Which I tracked down to improperly installed Pull Stations which where not wired properly for supervision supervising wires where jumped together instead of individually hooked up which would warn of a wire break.  and to make matters worse  when they mounted them to the wire-mold boxes which where already tight with wiring they used Drywall Screws instead of the factory provided screws which where longer and had pointed tips that went right thru wiring jackets piercing them and making contact with copper conductors causing the ground faults.

I replaced all the old Metal Edwards Pull Stations with lower in back Plastic Fire Lite BG 12 pull stations and ground faults where eliminated.

I also installed a CO Detector due to age of Boiler system and state codes which mandate them as the building has had a history of CO incidents.

 

All these problems and never noted on an  annual inspection  this community requires .

by a company that calls themselves " the Fire Alarm Experts in Pittsburgh "

 

A secret hidden apartment with 5 ft ceilings and dangers it posed to tennant and authoirties.

 A Reals Estate Customer of mine recently bought a Run down Apartment Building in a higher end neighborhood in Pittsburgh's South Hills. with the purpose of bringing it up to code and providing safe decent housing. 

While walking thru and examining what all would need done to bring it up to modern standards which includes new Fire System , Electrical and Heating  a most unusual situation developed when a set of steps

which was believed to lead up from a Boiler / Laundry and Storage Room lead not to the rear entrance of one of the 9 apartments . But to a Secret Apartment no one knew about. not even local authorities

I had to bend down to even enter it as ceilings where only 5 ft high and at 6 ft plus was an interesting experience.

It was a full apartment with Living  Kitchen and Bedroom with tiny stall for toilet and separate sink and shower stall it even had cable TV 

Found out a elderly widow lived there for very cheap rent  but at what personnel danger to her. 

because there was only one way out and of there was a fire in kitchen she would have been trapped .not only that if building was on fire she would have to make her way out of that combination boiler room. 

The other big danger we found the apartment was filling with natural gas after pilot lights went out on the stove 

Needless to say this are will never again be used as a domicile and instead be used for maintenance storage. 

But as one fire official i showed these pictures to said this is the type of situation which leads to nightmares when there are fires or explosions not knowing some one is in that apartment .

You have to wonder how many more of these type of secret apartments are around the region.

Back in 80s. there was a big blow up in papers when it was discovered there was a Secret Pent House Apartment in an Office building owned by Al Monzo  on Mosside Blvd 

Officials in Monroeville where also caught off guard when they discoved a unpermitted addition to the rear of the Demarco durzo Building on mosside as well. 

. This has always been a problem after inspectors sign off on a building and owners decide to do their own thing and it is never noted in the As Built Plans Fire Officials use when tackling problems in a building on fire.

Thank You Honeywell / Silent Knight for Screwing over all the small Fire and Burglar Alarm Dealers and their Customers .

 Yes Honeywell / Silent Knight have once again bent over small alarm dealers and fucked them hard .

The Silent Knight Conventional panels which are very popular  have been discontinued  

 

the work horse SK 5208    and SK 2 and 4  Silent Knight  now has no conventional panels to offer.

the SK2 and 4 where same thing as Fire Lite MS 2 and 4 so that's an easy replacement but not the 5208 

In fact to try and replace the panel is now 2 to 3 times the cost trying to use other manufacturers panels if you have more than 8 zones and use all the relays 

Because the recommended replacement the inferior Fire lite MS10ud only does 10 zones  and does not have all the replays needed

The SK 5208 was a direct replacement for the SK5207 

and there are many of the 5207 still in the  field will need replaced in next 10 years and Honeywell/ SK knows it and this is nothing more than a slap to small conventional panel users who have these panels in small business ,churches and apartment buildings . Who will now have to pay many thousands of dollars to either try and find another conventional panel or upgrade entire system to addressable6800 line which has been a disaster with constant failures and updates

Honeywell which recently became Resideo  also bent over and fucked dealers by eliminating the entire Lynx wireless panel line.

The very economical L-300 lynx Plus and  L-5210 and 7000 all gone 

now you have to go with the more expensive Pro Line .

 The L-3000 was a favorite for construction trailers and Kiosks  well forget it all gone. I hear a lot of bad stuff about the new  pro series

I have switched over to Potter and Mircom for Fire Systems like many other Honeywell Dealers and gone over to Napco for burglar systems/

I have had it with Honeywell and Resideo  and will be using alot  less of their products .

Honeywell has become a bad name in the alarm world.

Rebuilding Stratford Village Apartments nothing but lies,deciet, losers and coruption and you the taxpayer payed for it all.

It was the summer of 1985 when I was working at the Investment Building as a maintenance man  for a management company  run by a JP when I was asked to go to work for the building managers  brother in laws construction company who was awarded the $4 million dollar contract to rebuild the run down  Stafford Village Apartments into the new upscale apartments under a new name  a 16 building apartment complex in Monroeville Pa.
I was hired as the electrical foreman and had a crew of 6 working under me which included my younger brother who helped during the summer with his friend to make college money. It was great having my brother  John and Spike that summer but we lost them in the fall to school as the project went on.
So me Ken , Danny and Tom did the bulk of the work after that.
We where involved in several different projects on site first was installing all new light fixtures and receptacles etc in all apartments and  halls and outside the buildings we also did some repair and upgrades to electrical services and hooked up  new appliances.
We also upgraded all the fire systems from old AC only powered type to modern battery backed up systems and we installed a 2 entry intercom system and boxes at each building .
It took almost 2 years to finish the project which I left  in disgust after re injuring my back when I got knocked off a ladder after getting shocked off a light fixture which was supposed to be off but was not after foreman of project told me he turned it off.

The project started off smooth enough but soon started into a nightmare where I would find my customer who recommended me for the project and her partners ripped off by JP  which no one wanted to believe he was capable of doing it but that's why they call them confidence men
JP was at it again in late 90' I was working for a realty company who also managed property owned by a Dr. Friend I warned  the realty company about JP. and they got ripped off and Dr. Friend as well who became extremely upset realty company never passed on what I had told them. JP would eventually find him self in  criminal trouble with authorities in Florida involving Mortgage scams  and br charged with crimes .

Before the project started JP bought himself a brand new Rolls Royce and new in-ground swimming pool  and Dan Aston Monroeville fire Official had to sign off The buildings had no major hazards which was not true .and Dan got a brand new SS Chevy he was riding around in.  which everyone questioned what was going on. Dan lost the car  in an explosion when he pissed off some builders dont know if anyone was ever charged

 
Well the construction company owned by JP wife's Brother  took over an apartment for the construction office and we started on the lower buildings as tenants moved out and where forced to put working  light bulbs in every light  fixture  as a way to humiliate and degrade them one of many ways  they used  as many where tenants where section 8 I was told and they no longer wanted  in the complex and they left. As tenants left we went in replaced all the light fixtures and outlets replaced hall way lights etc. and new kitchens where installed and  at a very large expense as they where not measured correctly and took a lot of work to correct. which eat up a lot of the budget I was able to save by an idea I came up to save money on the fire alarms .
First I figured out how to reuse all the fire alarm wiring which was a big savings and we saved a fortune not having to put in a master outside annunciation panel for the fire alarms in the complex  which would have meant trenching from every building to it. Instead working with the fire Official Dan Aston  I was able to convince him to allow ADT to install a McCullough loop in the complex tieing in the buildings together via existing phone lines .  However ADT was an EPIC Fail when it came time to do the work and it took them nearly 2 years to get it working then they made a mistake which blew all the fire panels up after job was finished. ADT also got into trouble with Bell Telephone for tapping into phone lines they where not authorized to use. I walked into Dan Astons  the Fire Marshals  office to have him yelling at me about it when I told him I had nothing to do with it and it was done with out my knowledge and well after I had any further dealings with the place .
But all in all the fire side went well.Except Dan wanted us to run the MC cable we ran thru fire walls in a half inch EMT pipe sleeve .But he said not to use fire caulking after we switched all the penetrations  in effect this would allow heat from a fire to quickly go from one room to another. 

This is just one of many badly thought out decisions by Dan Aston which eventually cost him his Job 

He was a brilliant Fire Scientist but when it came to practical application in the field he was out of his element .

The top 4 buildings in the complex where all electric. They had these  Carrier Electric Forced air 

heaters which would keep overheating. I told Dan they needed a Sail Switch to not allow elements on unless fan was sensed running and they needed the Overheat element rewired properly thru a relay to break contacts on the elements. He ignored me and Jim Bean the heating contractors suggestions and instead insisted they be contained around with dry wall which was against manufacturers instructions and one night there was a horrific fire in one of the buildings and Dan was found at fault after the investigators found letters from me and Jim warning not to do the drywall enclosures as well .

The  electrical part of the job  ended up a night mare .
They wanted light fixtures installed in the halls which where thin and narrow and where never designed to be installed in ceiling tiles so we had to build braces to hold them in place. But they decided against rivets and just left the lights to be held in place by the loose ceiling grid strips a bad move . Then they where suppose to replace every  outlet and switch including new plate covers. which they did at first  till one day I walked into  M.O.'s the foreman's apartment and found him washing old switch plate covers he wanted us to use instead because the project was running out of money.

The Electrical Engineer  on the plans wanted us to put bigger than was required breakers on the back up  generators and got overruled by the Electrical Inspector 

Just one of many conflicts we had with the engineer who the Electrical Inspector got into many disputes with.

I was glad to get out of their and ken stayed on and lived at the complex and continued to clean up problems as he found them till it was sold  to an investment group and after I clued in JP and his crooked dealings had ripped off all his investors in the project they where furious. 

Many who worked on the project have passed on  including JP.  the last time I saw him was at Home depot in Monroeville apparently after his divorce I had heard and he was looking for a part for a sink. I said to him I see your con game finally caught up to you and he just laughed. 

what a POS  he screwed 2 of my good customers who invested with him/.

BDA Bidirectional Amplifiers The New Fire Code Scam and expense some times being required when it is not even needed

 Once again the Fire Service is proving to be its own worst enemy .

In the latest addition of NFPA and ICC codes they call for the use of BDA Bidirectional Amplifiers 

instead of installing Fireman's Phones in high Rise structures to allow Firefighters to be able to use their 2 way radios they carry anywhere in the structure. vs the old Fireman's Telephone systems  where handsets where kept in a building lobby and carried up and plugged into a special outlet on each floor so firefighters could communicate with command center .

BDA are not new they have been around since the 90s to enhance cell phone service in buildings where their construction  prevents cell signals from penetrating them. Typically around $500.00 to cover 2500 Sq ft of building with Cell Signals and can go into the thousands depending how much coverage you need .

While Emergency Services  Radio BDA  just the base equipment can be $25,000 -$50,000.00  and that does not include installation  average Fire BDA is $40,000.00 to $install.

That's a lot to ask for an owner of a new building who is already paying an extra 20%  to cover ADA regulations. and now you asking to add 20 to 40 % more in costs

 

https://bccommunications.ca/blogs/resources/bi-directional-amplifiers

 

How a BDA works generally a yagi  antenna is placed on the roof  and sends a signal down to an amplifier which then feeds it out thru the building thru a series of coax cables and  small omni directional antennas  placed in ceilings generally in hallways. 

Yes they are a good ideal but they are very expensive and needless to say their are company's out there taking advantage of the situation.

I just recently Took a class and in the class 2 of the radios being used where not calibrated correctly and giving the wrong RSSI info which is used to determine if a BDA is needed .

I also had a building where they said they needed a BDA when they did not .

Plus now you also have another system needs yearly inspection and more back up batteries that need changed and every 5 years you have to pay for a resurvey of property to make sure nearby construction is not interfering with the BDA .

Now many of these BDA are not even needed the BDA can be utilized by the responding units .the radio on the fire truck can be set up similar to a BDA so every where they go Firefighters will have communication to outside trucks and command. 

These units have been around since 70s 

But as usual instead of looking at a better system and way to do this NFPA decided to screw  all the building owners with the cost burden.