Fire Alarms

October 11, 2016

Some residents were disturbed on Monday 10^th October by a spoken message over the emergency broadcast system. It was only a routine test but the volume was so low the message could barely be heard. We have tested the system and re-set the controls. In the corridors, where the speakers are, the volume is 90 decibels, the maximum legally allowed. Inside apartments, because of good soundproofing construction, the level for speech drops to as little as 40 dB, which is pretty well ambient noise level. However, in an actual emergency, no spoken announcement is made but both the alert tone and the evacuation tone will be heard inside at about 48 -50 dB, perfectly audible and adequate.

There is more to be said in Paragraph 7.4 of the Apartment Manual, available in the Information page of our web site.