The endstations may be equipped with systems which give pre-alarm warnings, such as low-level VESDA dry contact outputs or a locally-built incipient fire detection system. The pre-alarm condition is treated differently from the full building fire alarm, a s follows.
Authority: Response to a pre-alarm is entirely under the control and jurisdiction of the counting house/endstation staff, although MCC staff may receive automatic notification and may participate in the response.
Personnel: Staff who may respond to pre-alarms are to be designated by the endstation management.
Procedures: Procedures for pre-alarm response are to be specified by endstation management and may include the MCC and guard services as well as counting house/endstation staff.
Authority: If the building fire alarm is activated in any way, the MCC crew chief is in charge of the response to the alarm. There is a crew chief on duty 24/365; the on-duty crew chief always has a cellular phone, and is almost always stationed on-site.
Personnel: The staff who may investigate fire alarms in the endstation include:
Procedures: When an endstation fire alarm sounds:
A) Beam is being delivered to the endstation when the fire alarm sounds.
The shift leader contacts the crew chief and informs him/her of any intent to investigate the alarm. The first responders are one authorized member of the counting house staff, and one assistant, on a voluntary basis. If available, a third person will be dispatched to MCC to enhance communications with the crew chief, who is in charge. The authorized responders will take the emergency portable phone along on the investigation, to communicate with the crew chief. These two responders must not become separa ted during the course of the investigation.
MCC operations staff will be dispatched to join the investigation. They will bring an emergency portable phone along on the investigation, to communicate with the crew chief and counting house responders. When they arrive in the endstation, they will join the counting house responders in investigating the alarm.
When the fire fighters arrive, the investigators terminate their activities. They are available as information sources to the crew chief and the battalion chief. The JLAB emergency portable phones will be made available to the firefighters as needed.
B) Workers are in the endstation when the alarm sounds.
The workers evacuate the hall and proceed to the muster point, noting any smoke or fire as they exit.
If a shift leader is on duty, he/she informs the crew chief of the intention to investigate, and the response proceeds as in (A).
If the area safety warden or alternate is available, he/she informs the crew chief of the intent to investigate, and responds to the alarm with one other person, on a voluntary basis. MCC operations staff will be dispatched to join the investigation. The safety warden and the MCC operations staff will remain in contact with the crew chief via the portable emergency phones.
In rare cases both a counting house shift worker and a safety warden might respond; the crew chief may elect to limit the number of people who enter the hall.
C) No one is in the counting house or the hall when the alarm sounds.
In this case there is presumably no shift leader. The area safety warden and one other person may respond on a voluntary basis, after contacting the crew chief. MCC operations staff will be dispatched to join the investigation. The safety warden and the M CC operations staff will remain in contact with the crew chief via the portable emergency phones.
D) No one is in the MCC when the alarm sounds.
In this case the crew chief coordinates the response in conjunction with the roving guard and the guard stationed at post 2 ("guard shack").