Emergency call station for acoustic alarm
When there's a fire, it has to happen fast. A fire is always a race against time. Smoke, heat and toxic gases spread within seconds and threaten life and limb, but also the infrastructure of a building.
A fire incident is always a race against time. Smoke, heat and toxic gases spread within seconds and threaten life and limb, but also the infrastructure of a building. In an emergency, speed and, above all, an orderly approach are the top priorities for the intervention forces on duty. The people in distress have the highest priority; they must be brought to safety as quickly as possible.
To ensure that those affected have enough time to get out of the building themselves, the alarm should be sounded as early as possible, in an orderly and systematic manner. Even before the rescue forces arrive, a certified voice alarm system (SAA) can be used to automatically evacuate the building so that an incident does not end in chaos and the building is already empty when the fire department arrives.
Emergency call station provides remedy
If there are still people in the danger zone, there is often no voice communication between the emergency services and the people in danger. This can be remedied by an emergency call station with a fire department microphone, which is located at the fire alarm panel or at the fire department access point.
Of course, it is possible to solve a building evacuation from the building operator purely organizational. In an emergency, however, it often becomes apparent that despite annual exercises, these organizations are no longer properly maintained over the years and fail. This may be due to missing or modified action plans, unclear responsibilities or unregulated deputy roles. In addition, it has been proven that evacuation by means of automated voice announcements is much more efficient and faster than if only sirens of the fire alarm systems are used.
Use voice alerting for other hazard events
Another advantage of a voice alarm system is that it can also be used for alerting other hazardous events. In today's world, where terror, amok, hostage situations and bomb threats are becoming more and more frequent, a voice alarm system is an integral part of a modern emergency concept and is indispensable.
In all the dangerous situations mentioned above, the fire department call station provides a decisive advantage, because it speaks directly into the building to the people concerned. In hectic situations, when things have to happen very quickly, it is crucial that the operation of the fire department call station is always uniform and immediately clear to the rescue forces, regardless of the equipment manufacturer.
Simple standardization for Switzerland
Since there is still no European standard for fire department call stations, the Association of Swiss Installers of Security Systems (SES) took up this issue and decided to establish a simple standardization for fire department call stations in Switzerland. The basic functions of each fire department call station are marked with quickly recognizable color codes, making it immediately clear which function the button has. To simplify matters, the identical colors are chosen for the wall-mounted manual pushbuttons used. To ensure that it does not matter which product the emergency services encounter, the color-coded markings are manufacturer-independent.
The following key labels will be published in the new SES "state of the art" paper as of 2020 (see Fig. 2):
- Blue button marking: Triggering amok alarm (from 2020, previously color orange).
- Green button marking: Triggering total clearing of the building (from 2020, previously red).
- Gray key marking: Triggering the all-clear message (from 2020, previously green).
- Yellow key marking: resetting the alarm mode to the normal state
With additional keys marked in white, it is also possible to play back non-standardized or zone-specific alarm texts. With this standardization of fire department intercoms throughout Switzerland, a more efficient and faster response of the emergency services is achieved.
Further information on building evacuations and voice alarm systems can be found in the document "STP Voice Alarm Systems (SAA) & Electro-acoustic Emergency Warning Systems (ENS), Planning, Installation and Operation". This can be ordered from the SES be obtained.
