The Space Shuttle Endeavour and other invaluable artifacts from the California Science Center are protected by a state-of-the-art fire alarm network.
By Alejandro Martínez*
Honeywell Notifier (NYSE: HON) is protecting through its fire alarm system the priceless treasures housed inside the California Science Center in Los Angeles has expanded to cover the "Samuel Oschin" Exhibition Pavilion of the Endeavour shuttle, temporary home of this recently deactivated shuttle.
"The space shuttle is a U.S. National Treasure and it's crucial to protect it from fire," said Tony Budrovich, executive vice president of operations for the California Science Center Foundation. "We already had a Notifier NFS2-3030 fire panel in the main building of the California Science Center, which is located very close to the temporary pavilion, and it was logical to connect the sensors, strobe lights and other equipment in the pavilion to the main building system."
The temporary pavilion is built with metal plates and is large enough to accommodate the shuttle, leaving even a free space of between 3 and 6 meters on the sides of the wings. Various shuttle-related displays have also been installed in the pavilion, including a shuttle engine.
To manipulate an update of this magnitude, new fire rooms and electrical rooms were added to the Science Center. The fire alarm system that protects these new rooms and pavilion was designed by a Los Angeles-based engineering firm, Arup, and was installed by Cosco Fire Protection of Brea, California.
"Access to the new pavilion will be through the existing building, so it was logical to extend the existing Notifier system into the new pavilion," said Arup fire specialist Oswaldo "Ozzie" Mercado. "This will maintain a level of uniformity across all buildings [a single system]."
California Science Center fire protection is controlled by the NFS2-3030, Notifier's largest fire alarm control panel, capable of supporting up to 3,180 smoke detectors and other addressable initiation devices. With one of the largest capabilities on the market, with integrated modularity for flexible system designs, the NFS2-3030 panel is ideal for expansion projects of this magnitude.
Since the pavilion has metal plate walls, the electricians did all the wiring in electrical pipes. Along the electrical pipe bronze cable was laid to join the Notifier systems of the main facility of the Science Center and the temporary pavilion.
To save on material and labor costs, and to help the Science Center's security improve event monitoring and response conditions, the extended system parts were added to the existing system's graphical announcer, located at the entrance to the main building.
"The graphic announcer had to be modified to include the new building," said Clint Jass, executive sales engineer at Cosco Fire Protection. In doing so, Jass explained, "we were able to save space and add electrical pipes there."
The graphic announcer provides a visual distribution of the events. Detailed messages about the event are sent from the Notifier system to the graphic announcer, as well as to an LCD announcer located in the security room.
"It allows them to have 24-hour security," Jass said. "The security room will indicate if something happens in the Pavilion."
Another integral part of the Science Center's original fire alarm is the Digital Voice Command (DVC), which controls the system's voice audio evacuation announcements. Linking and programming the new pavilion strobe speakers to the DVC allows authorized personnel to broadcast announcements in the entirety of both facilities or to a specific area. This "zonal" approach allows different messages to be issued at the same time in different areas, and messages may vary according to specific circumstances. In addition, a microphone included in the DVC panel can be used to address occupants in real time.
Construction details of the permanent home of the space shuttle Endeavour, to be called samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, have not yet been announced. However, the scalable architecture and large capacity of the NFS2-3030 make it suitable for several future scenarios.
About Notifier
Notifier, part of Honeywell (NYSE: HON) Fire Systems Group, is the largest manufacturer of fire alarm logic systems with more than 400 authorized distributors worldwide and regional support operations on all continents. Notifier's plethora of fire alarm, life safety, and mass notification system options include autonomous, networked, and integrated solutions, plus graphical interface monitoring systems for facility managers or first responders. Visit www. Notifier .com for more detailed information.
About Honeywell
Honeywell International (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 leader in diversified manufacturing and technology, serving customers around the world with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, houses and industries; vehicle products; turbochargers and specialized materials. Based in Morris Township, New Jersey, Honeywell shares are traded on the New York, London and Chicago stock exchanges. For more news and information about Honeywell, visit www.honeywellnow.com.
*If you want more information about this article contact Alejandro Martínez through the email [email protected] or phone +1 203-484-6396
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