School District Speeds Emergency Response with Non-Proprietary Fire Alarm Solution
Like in many communities across the country, the ISD 196 school facilities are aging, along with their fire alarm systems, installed more than 20 years ago.
When Independent School District (ISD) 196, located just outside Minneapolis, Minn., needed to replace its aging, problematic fire alarm systems across the 110-square-mile district, it had two main criteria to help keep its 28,000 students as safe as possible: a non-proprietary system capable of being installed, tested and maintained by any certified installer, and the ability to pinpoint the location of alarms to speed the response of first responders.
Like in many communities across the country, the ISD 196 school facilities (18 elementary schools, six middle schools and four high schools) are aging, along with their fire alarm systems, installed more than 20 years ago. The older systems were proprietary and used parts that are now obsolete. In addition to maintenance issues, the systems were in danger of not complying with the state’s stringent fire protection codes for schools.