Fire alarm technology doesn’t move very fast, and there are very good reasons for this. Because fire is about saving lives, codes and standards dictate what is allowable, and it takes time to make sure each new development is absolutely safe. But at the same time, in the rest of the world there have been massive advancements in the last decade or so in computing, remote services, cloud, smartphones and all of the buzzwords the technology and security industry continues to come up with. Is there a place where these two converge? Although not on the cutting edge with trends such as the Internet of Things and big data (see cover story, page 53), fire panels and notification appliances are two places where the digital age and other advances are starting to take hold.
“I have been in this industry since 1981,” says Michael Lohr, director of marketing for integrator Red Hawk Fire and Security, Boca Raton, Fla. “One of the trends I am starting to see now that I didn’t before is more interest in preventive maintenance as opposed to just ‘test and inspect.’ End users are starting to see the value of having a system working at peak performance and not waiting until problems occur.