Audio Evacuation System
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An Audio Evacuation System or Voice Evacuation System is a type of fire alarm notification system. In addition to sirens, horns, or alarm tones, an audio evacuation system plays a voice message with evacuation instructions. These messages can be customized for various types of installations, and multi-lingual capabilities are usually available.
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[edit] Rationale
Conventional fire alarms do little more than alert occupants of a building of the presence of an emergency with horns, sirens, and/or strobe lights, they do not give an evacuation route or instructions. The problem lies in public bulidings there are a large ammount of frequently changing occupants who are not nessacarily familiar with the locations of emergency exits or stairwells. These types of buildings are called "areas of assembly" and are defined as buildings with a capacity of 300 or more people. Areas of assembly include churches, movie theaters, auditoriums, department stores, resturants, malls, and museums. Audio evacuation systems provide pre-recorded vocal evacuation instructions. Additionally, an AES is usually intergrated with a fire telephone or paging system, that permits the fire department or building manager to give specific evacuation instructions pertinent to current conditions in real time.
[edit] Legislation
In the United States, audio evacuation is now required in many jurisdictions for new structures that are classified as an area of assembly, as well as in new high rise buildings and skyscrapers. Retrofitting older structures is not required, although new fire alarm instalations would be required to have audio capabilities. Similar trends are occuring in other countries as well.
[edit] Applications
[edit] Areas of Assembly
Buildings such as movie theaters and shopping centers that are designed to accomidate 300 or more people. A typical message might give the location of emergency exits and instructions to evacuate quickly and quietly.
[edit] High Rise Buildings
Structures greater than 75 feet (25 meters) tall. In this type of situation, a multi-zoned AES may be nessacary, giving different specific evacuation instructions for each part of a building. In extremely tall buildings where a quick and efficient evacuation may be more difficult, a typical message may say to remain in your appartment with the door and windows closed until the fire department assesses the situation and gives specific instructions through the paging system. Audio evacuation messages in high rise buildings always remind occupants not to use the elevators.
[edit] Industrial Facilities and Schools
Many audio evacuation systems permit multiple messages. In factories, industrial enviorments and schools, additional "non fire" evacuation messages can be programed for situations such as a hazardous material spill, gas leaks, security breaches, severe weather warnings, etc...
