These online courses are developed to educate engineers, architects, systems installers, facility directors and other security professionals on the latest technology and most effective strategies to better protect life and property.

To reiterate the most critical information in each course, a multiple-choice quiz follows each presentation, allowing users to gauge their retention.

New course topics include:

• SpectrAlert® Advance Notification Devices

Charles G. Darsch, director of corporate relations for System Sensor, was awarded this year’s Triton Award for extensive contributions to the security industry.

“It’s an honor to work with a professional who is as respected and recognized as Charlie Darsch,” says David George, director, corporate communications, System Sensor. “He is the dean, so to speak, of the security industry. His wealth of knowledge has touched all of the organizations he has served during his productive career.”

The Triton Award, established by the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) and the Security Industry Association (SIA), honors a professional whose lifetime achievements have significantly contributed to the advancement of the security industry. This prestigious award is typically presented to professionals from a systems installation company. Yet, System Sensor’s Darsch was unanimously selected for his dedication to all aspects of the industry.

Ralph Wayne Sevinor, a 2004 Triton Award recipient and president of Wayne Alarm Systems in Boston, says, “Charlie has been the consistent stabilizing force that has helped the electronics, security and detection industries move forward and prosper. From the beginning, Charlie has always worked to keep the lines of communication open. Charlie is known as the go-to person where the impossible becomes possible. His efforts will benefit us all for years.”

50 Years of Experience

Darsch entered the security industry in the 1950s after losing a friend to an intruder. Putting his degree in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell to good use, he founded an alarm installing company, Minuteman Security. By 1972, Minuteman Security and Darsch were gaining recognition, and Aerospace Research, a Boston-based company that was developing highly sophisticated intrusion detection sensors, took notice.

Darsch sold his alarm company to Aerospace and became its Northeast Sales Manager.“It was a highly intriguing venture into the new world of electronics,” Darsch says.“As that company grew, purchased other companies, was acquired (by Aritech Corp. and later, Sentrol) and then spun off as a public company, I grew with it.” By 1989, he was promoted to vice president.

In 2001, Darsch joined System Sensor as the director of corporate relations. At System Sensor, as well as Honeywell Analytics, Darsch mentors the sales team, opening doors through his vast array of fire and security contacts.

Industry Statesman

Darsch currently sits as a nonvoting vice president and SIA representative to the NBFAA board of directors. He is also an ex-officio for the Alarm Industry Research Educational Foundation (AIREF), which is charged to receive, invest and reinvest money exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes. Formerly, Darsch sat as a board member of CSAA, was the president and convention chairman of SIA and was an executive committee member of NBFAA.

Other organizational positions Darsch has held include:

• Board member of the NBFAA’s CP-01, which helped develop the first control panel standard for false alarm reduction.

• Industry liaison to the AIREF.

• Lifetime member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

• Member of the American Society for Industrial Security, which was founded to better understand the constant changes in the security industry.

• Member of the National Fire Protection Association, which provides and advocates consensus codes and standards, research, training and education.

Darsch’s industry-wide impact also earned him the distinction of being the first supplier to receive the NBFAA Weinstock Man of the Year Award in 1985, as well as being the 1998 SIA recipient of the George R. Lippert Memorial Award for industry leadership. And, along with the Triton Award, Darsch will be awarded the MSCA Award (Mass Systems Contractors Association) in May 2007, a rarity to win both awards in the same year.

Q. How much responsibility does the architect assume for life-safety matters?

King: The architect leads the design, and the engineer follows up with the details. The engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of making sure there is adequate egress lighting and signage and that they are powered correctly. The location of these elements is up to the architect.

Q. Who is responsible for code compliance?

King: It depends on the components. For example, lighting has to be compliant with the National Electrical Code®. Therefore, the engineer would be in charge. In terms of suppression, you would have a licensed professional designing the sprinkler system. Both of these items are outside the scope of the architect’s work, but overall compliance with the building code is the architect’s job.

Q. Are clients more concerned with initial cost or operation/maintenance cost?

Wells: That varies. Clients with low operating budgets are typically willing to pay more upfront for lower operational costs, whereas others are less concerned with the long-term operating costs and are more concerned with the initial cost. We try to determine which approach is most desirable for the individual client. The duration of the lease, the life cycle of the equipment specified for the space, and the initial capital spending available are a few factors that need to be analyzed to determine the appropriate specifics for the design.

Q. Will owners who plan to keep the building spend more money initially for greater savings in operation and maintenance?

King: That’s true. And then there are some who plan some obsolescence into their development and they add more time for that cost over the life of the space. It really is not that significant to them.

Q. What if you could cut 40 percent current draw from the fire notification device circuit?

King: In terms of the overall building, it really is not a significant amount. But at the end of the day, savings add up. You need to take a holistic approach. Even if it is more expensive, sometimes the expense is minimal in terms of what the building could achieve in the long run with energy savings.

Q. Do larger retailers tend to build their own facilities or take over space?

King: It’s a mix. It can vary from location. You might have the same retailer in different locations go into a strip mall or stay in their own box. It’s really location, location, location.

Q. Do the larger retailers usually rent or own their facilities?

King: Both. It just depends on the location and the availability of property. If there is not much land available, they’ll go into an existing facility or have it built to suit their needs.

Q. What do you recommend when a client is looking to take over existing space?

Wells: The space should be appropriate for the proposed use in terms of construction classification and square footage. The function and proposed floor plan should be reviewed to ensure that the suppression system and fire alarm system are adequate and to determine whether redesign of the items will be necessary. The building codes have several requirements: providing lit exits, lights on battery packs that provide a path to the nearest exit and minimum travel distance to the nearest exit. The design should provide a clearly evident means of egress. Clear identification of egress paths is vital because patrons may be unfamiliar with the space. Some factors for egress design consideration include size, clarity, lighting and signage.

King: There are a lot of factors that could be involved based on the differing uses. Think of an Internet café, which would have a wide, open space, versus a craft store that could have a lot more shelves, material and flammable elements. You may need to have a suppression system engineered, depending on how the store is laid out. Or, you may need additional smoke detectors to trigger the alarms. You definitely need a design professional to evaluate the space.

Q. At what point should building space be evaluated? What are the code implications?

King: The time to review and evaluate a facility is when you are doing alterations to an existing facility. In Ohio, you do not have to bring the whole building up to current standards, depending on the scope of the work you’re doing. It really is an interpretation by the building official. Design professionals with experience have a feel for what will be permissible and what will not be.

Q. What do you do to prevent false alarms? How do false alarms affect your clients and your business?

Wells: The detection and notification systems should be maintained. Facility operations should budget funds for adequate testing and maintenance of these systems. Designers should locate these items appropriately and ensure installation is tamper proof. It is important that the designers provide systems that operations can maintain. Businesses are exposed to shrinkage due to false alarms.

“The 9th edition of UL864 is bordering more on revolutionary than evolutionary because of the time lapse since the publication of the UL 8th edition. During this interim, three cycles of the National Fire Alarm Code NFPA 72 were completed — in 1999, 2002 and 2007*,” says Isaac Papier, vice president, industry relations, Honeywell Life Safety.“It has brought about a tremendous amount of re-design in the industry. The changes have strengthened requirements for compatibility between smoke detectors, annunciation devices and the control panels, as well as status display and signal processing time.”

The UL864 9th edition includes a major change in alarm signal processing time that is driven by newer editions of the National Fire Alarm Code. The 90-second signal processing time for annunciation of an alarm from the time an initiating device is tripped has been reduced to 10 seconds. This change is a reflection of the capability of new technology that is incorporated in the new generation of alarm equipment.

System Sensor found that legislative bodies and major municipalities across the United States were passing laws that required the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in new and retrofitted buildings. In fact, during the past decade, 11 states, mostly clustered in the northern region, and large cities like New York, Chicago, Charlotte and St. Louis, passed resolutions to better protect their constituencies from the danger carbon monoxide poses. Several other states have pending legislation.

Just as regulation played a key role in the growth of system-connected smoke detectors, we believe regulation will be a key factor in the growth of system-connected CO detectors. These ordinances will aid in the adoption of CO detectors in the market.

What System Sensor found, however, was a market void. As a result, the company developed the only UL 2075 compliant system-connected carbon monoxide detector available on the market. The CO1224 carbon monoxide detector meets Underwriter Laboratories’ standard by incorporating a code-required trouble relay into the device. This allows the CO1224 to communicate with the system, for instance, by sending a sensor end-of-life signal to the control panel. No other carbon monoxide detector has this code-required capability. Additionally, the CO1224 incorporates SEMS-type terminal Philips-head screws to provide a quicker and more positive wiring connection while facilitating code-required wiring supervision.

We will continue to look for new products, because providing products that protect the lives of our customers is more than an ideal. It is our way of life.

Richard Roberts

Product Manager
Security Business Unit

The life-safety benefit of directional-sound technology is recognized by the National Fire Protection Association in language that addresses exit-locating systems in the 2007 edition of NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code®.

System Sensor’s ExitPoint™ sounders, which fall under the category of exit-marking audible notification appliances, emit nonverbal cues to lead people to an exit in the event of a fire.

The 2007 NFPA 72 substantiates the inclusion of these directional-sound devices in Chapter 6, Protected Premises Fire Alarm Systems, Section 6.16.8.1 Exit-Marking Audible Notification systems, which states: Where required, exit-marking audible notification appliances shall be activated by the building fire-alarm system.

Other areas of the 2007 NFPA 72, including chapters 7 and 10, address the standards to define exit-marking audible notification appliances, as well as code-complying maintenance practices.

Figure A: Interaural time and intensity differences of sound

Figure B: Examples of frequency-dependent attenuation for sources in front, above, and behind the listener.

Figure C: Comparison of frequency content of a traditional fire-alarm sounder to a directional sounder