Ramapo College Gets High Marks For Fire Protection

Mar 1, 2003 12:00 PM

Ramapo College of New Jersey is committed to offering an environment dedicated to the growth, well-being and safety of each of its 5,000 students and 149 faculty members.

With that in mind, the Mahwah, N.J., college sought an advanced campus-wide fire and life safety monitoring system to protect its newly constructed buildings along with its one million square feet of academic and dormitory space. Ramapo needed a system capable of networking existing systems from various manufacturers, and the ability to accommodate ongoing expansion.

William Alagna, Ramapo's director of facilities, chose the UniNet 2000 monitoring network from Notifier, Northford, Conn., a part of Honeywell's Fire Solutions Group.

UniNet 2000 is a Lonworks-based network that integrates fire, security, access control and CCTV in single user interface — in this case, a Windows-based color graphics workstation located at Ramapo's main security office. The UniNet 2000's ability to integrate different systems enabled the college to keep existing equipment in place.

The UniNet 2000 networks over existing fiber-optic infrastructures and through conventional wiring. “On a college campus with a large number of dormitories, academic buildings and ancillary facilities, a major expense is the installation of new conduit and wiring,” says Robert Farm, vice president of Armor Group Integrated Systems, the distributor responsible for the project. “The UniNet system allows the use of existing unused fiber optics of various topographies as a signal path.”

Fiber optics excel at carrying data over the long distances often required at a large campus and are free from issues such as ground faults and noise pickup that can affect conventional wiring adversely.

At remote locations where neither fiber nor direct wiring was available, the system interfaces with a UL-listed Digital Alarm Communicator Receiver (DACR) with an RS232 connection. The ability to receive alarm, trouble and supervisory signals from listed Digital Alarm Communicator Transmitters via the public telephone system allowed expansion of the network where conventional direct signal paths were not feasible or cost-effective.

Various Network Input/Output Modules provide an interface between existing local control panels and the network. The modules are used in several configurations from simple, dry contact monitoring to intelligent data conversion.

Within the new dormitories, individual smoke detectors, heat detectors and signaling devices are located in each bedroom suite. Common areas are likewise covered with the addition of manual pull stations, sprinkler supervisory devices and ADA-compliant horn strobe devices in accordance with NFPA standards.

All detectors are linked to intelligent control panels within each building, and each control panel is connected to the UniNet network.

The instant a detector senses smoke or heat, building evacuation signals are activated and security is alerted. The security signal indicates the exact location of the detector via text messages, graphic floor plans and digital pictures.

“We want students to have confidence in fire alarms and to take them seriously,” Farm says. “Having the ability to identify a detector in a specific room deters individuals from vandalizing or tampering with them.”

“The system can accommodate security functions,” says Robert O'Brien, Ramapo's director of security. “The system is already providing for local security monitoring and may be expanded to accommodate card access and CCTV functions.”

For The Record

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