KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Still more on fire alarm and Surfside FL building collapse
December 14, 2021
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Still more on fire alarm and Surfside FL building collapse from December 4, 2021  
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Ken
            Re: in Surfside building collapse:
            Don’t know if it was established if any fire alarms actually activated or not but I would imagine if sections of the building started to come down and disintegrate then probably supervisory circuits within the fire alarm were severed and caused a trouble condition to possibly be reported to the central station. Generally with trouble conditions they don’t activate NAC circuits to alert occupants of a specific condition.
The other possibility would be that fire sprinkler lines were severed and in that respect water would flow and typically cause Fire alarm annunciation to activate.
I don’t know the full history or what information was reported to the central station and I guess in that respect it would probably be a place to start. Does anyone know exactly what conditions were reported to the central station?
Even if the fire alarm had activated who’s to say if NAC circuits weren’t so severely impacted and damaged that they couldn’t do what they were designed to do given the fluid conditions in this tragic circumstance.
Our hearts and prayers go out to the families left behind and the people lost in this unfortunate and terrible situation. 
Danny P.
Security 1
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Ken
            I was not aware a fire alarm system was supposed to activate when the building collapsed ----I'm pretty sure the central station may have received a trouble signal which would have been a phone call to the management of the building ---by the way what is a distress signal from the fire alarm control panel?
Hank Luks, f.a.s.t. 
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Ken
            He should specify what the distress signal was for?  Ground fault, troubles, or fire alarm signal.
Anon
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Response
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            As previously mentioned, it's doubtful the fire alarm has any role in this terrible tragedy.   Hopefully Jeff Zwirn will let us know what he figures out.
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more comments
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Ken
          This was a horrible tragedy but I personally think that any mention of a fire alarm failure in this situation is a terrible precedent. Was there a fire? I have not heard that there was. It is a fire alarm system, not a building collapse warning system. A fire alarm distress signal sounds to me as a trouble signal, such as a low battery or some type of smoke detector trouble, maybe from dust and debris. To rely in any way, shape or form on a fire alarm system to convey a building failure such as what happened on that night in my opinion is ridiculous.
Megan Lohmiller
Philadelphia Detection Systems Inc.
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Ken
          Yes, there are stress detectors available. In hindsight, it would have been just the devices needed. 
Zeke
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Ken
          He should add ambulance chaser to the letters after his name
anon
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Response
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           So there are "stress" detectors and that undoubtedly will be found to have been useful here, not the fire alarm.  Expect new code requirements for stress detectors, if they aren't already in place.
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Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com