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| Praesideo is a digital public address and emergency sound system from Bosch |
FireText has developed an SMS, e-mail, and Twitter mobile phone communication interface for the Praesideo digital public address and emergency sound system from Bosch. This integration of systems from FireText and Bosch is an innovative solution for automated monitoring of stadium-wide, enterprise-wide, or campus-wide emergencies, and communication of these alerts to subscribers via social media and mobile devices.
“Bosch is excited that FireText has now seamlessly integrated their mobile messaging solution with the Praesideo mass notification system,” said Mark Andersen, Product Marketing Manager for Bosch Public Address Systems. “The NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code recently extended its scope beyond the realm of fire alarm to incorporate other life-safety systems and functions. In addition to simply indicating the existence of an emergency situation, these new codes require instructions via voice communications, and mobile messaging is increasingly the preferred method for communicating to large diverse populations. When used together, FireText and Praesideo can enhance the safety and effectiveness of virtually any mass notification application.”
As a digital public address and emergency system, Praesideo processes and communicates both the audio signals and control data entirely in the digital domain, making the system superior to other currently available public address and emergency systems.
The new software offers the capability to build customized recipient groups, so that individuals are able to receive targeted emergency messages on their mobile devices according to their interest, such as amber alerts, security breaches, fire alarms, and bomb threats. The immediacy of these communications can significantly increase the response time of employees, staff, students, and visitors.
The system includes a notifications feature to allow different alert messages to be sent out based on the detected emergency. For example, if a fire alarm is triggered in a certain area of a building, the outgoing alert message may direct occupants to use different escape routes based on their location or group subscription. SMS, e-mail, and Twitter notifications use text, hash tags, and image and video URLs to effectively inform and direct people in emergency situations. Grouping can also be used in non-campus-wide emergency events, such as a broken elevator or water pipe, so that those notifications are only sent to maintenance staff.
“It made sense for us to build mass communication software for Bosch’s outstanding emergency system,” said Raoul Bhatt, director of FireText. “Mobile phones are a powerful communications tool, and using them to broadcast emergency notifications makes an ideal partnership between Bosch emergency hardware and FireText mobile software. Praesideo has been successfully installed throughout Europe, where there are much higher standards for mass notification systems. We are confident that this success will continue for installations at major organizations and educational institutions in Canada and the United States as the new UL standards are implemented.”
