The Alpharetta City Council recently approved a $272,872 contract with Purvis Systems to replace and upgrade the city’s fire station alerting system.
By replacing the current alerting hardware in all 6 fire stations with a state-of-the-art, specifically engineered system for fire station response notification, the city anticipates reduced response times, human error and firefighter PTSD attributed to auditory startle response.
The new system is an IP-based alerting solution designed to automate the notification process. Using a combination of visual and auditory alerts, information is received in a consistent voice and order of information that reduces initial confusion and inherently reduces enroute times.
The city’s current alerting system has been in place since its original construction. In the case of Fire Station 83 and 84, it is more than 30 years old. This existing system utilizes a system of amplifiers, PA speakers, and electromechanical relays to active lights and buzzers. The current speakers are significantly reduced in audio quality due to age and technology.
Milton Fire Station switched to the Purvis system in October 2020 and report a tremendous reduction in alarm processing time, dispatching and a significant decrease in human errors.