Fire Alarm Audibility in Existing MURBs: What is Required and What is Just Smart Practice

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Fire alarms save lives. But in many older multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs), owners and managers are not sure if their systems meet today’s standards. The big question we hear all the time is:

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What is required by law and what is simply a smart safety upgrade?

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At Trace Consulting Group (TCG), we help clarify the difference and guide you through what to fix, what to upgrade, and how to get it all done.

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‍What the Code Says You MUST Do:

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If you own or manage a residential building in Ontario, you are legally required to meet the Ontario Fire Code (OFC) and CAN/ULC-S524 standards. These standards are enforced by the Fire Department (AHJ).

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Here are the basics:

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Loud Enough to Wake You Up

In the bedrooms, fire alarms must be at least 75 decibels at the pillow with the door closed. No excuses.
In hallways, common areas, and other rooms, the alarm has to be 10 to 15 dBA louder than the background noise (for example, HVAC or street noise) while still achieving the minimum sound levels identified in the OBC.

Verification Testing Required

New or upgraded systems must pass sound level testing (called "verification") before they are compliant.
This testing is also required after most significant repairs or renovations.If you do not meet these numbers, the Fire Department can issue orders, forcing you to fix the system and they will.

What is Recommended (But Not Always Enforced
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There are also plenty of best practices that are not enforced unless you are replacing the system, but they still make a big difference for safety:

Upgrading Old Buildings - Older systems might not meet the latest 75 dBA requirement in bedrooms. It is smart to upgrade, but unless you are doing major work, it may not be mandatory right away. Working in Heritage Buildings
Working in Heritage Buildings - In heritage buildings, you might not want to damage historic finishes. We recommend creative solutions like wireless sounders or concealed wiring.
Testing Regularly - Annual inspections check that the alarm works, but they do not always confirm that it is loud enough where it counts. We recommend doing a full audibility test every few years or after renovations.
Phasing the Work - Do not have the budget for a full system upgrade right away? No problem. TCG can help you develop a phased plan that spreads the cost over time.

How TCG Can Help

• Full audibility testing and reports
• ULC-compliant fire alarm system designs
• Tendering and contractor oversight
• Heritage-sensitive retrofit solutions
• Liaison with Fire Departments (AHJs)

Ready to Make Sure Your Building Is Safe?
‍Whether you are facing an AHJ order or just want peace of mind, we are here to help.
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Contact Trace Consulting Group today to schedule your fire alarm assessment.

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techcrunch

GeoSpace • Free Webflow HTML website template • 2021 • By JP

This startup wants to build VR headsets with 'human eye-resolution'

Originally from techcrunch.com

Earlier this month, Google virtual reality head Clay Bavor discussed the company’s efforts on a mind-boggling 20 megapixel screen that was currently under development. The screens would be a staggering 17x resolution improvement on displays in current generation VR systems like the Rift and Vive. They would also be totally unusable, because at the frame rates needed for VR, such displays would burn through 50-100 GBs of data per second.The key for working this out would be utilizing a technology called foveated rendering to track where a user’s eyes are looking and ensure that only the area at the center of their vision is being rendered at full resolution.While this will undoubtedly be a technology that enables the future of high-end VR, it’s still one that relies on expensive displays that aren’t even widely available yet.

A Finnish startup is positing that they’ve come up with a way to bring human-eye level resolution to VR headsets through a technique that will direct a pair of insanely high-resolution displays to the center of your vision. With current technology, the company claims this will enable perceived resolutions north of 70 megapixels.Varjo, which means “shadow” in Finnish, is looking to bring this technology to higher-end business customers by next year at a price of “less than $10,000” according to the company.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

Photo by Artem Podrez from Pexels

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels

Why show off this tech now? Largely because the company is currently raising cash stateside and was just awarded a few patents related to these technologies last week.I had the chance to demo a prototype of the company’s technology last week using a modified Oculus Rift headset with Varjo’s display systems embedded.I suppose the best testament to the company’s technology was that I spent most of the demo questioning whether my eye sight had actually been improved. After being dropped into an apartment scene, I was almost disturbed by my ability to read the spines of books on bookshelves several feet away.

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