Because every second counts in an emergency situation, firefighters need fast, easy access to the equipment they need when a call comes in. To create an open and easily accessible space, the fire department wanted to eliminate all keyed-only doors.
East Whiteland Township, located 20 miles west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is a family-oriented community with a growing population and increasing industrial presence. Established in 1953 to provide fire, rescue, and EMS services to the township, the East Whiteland Volunteer Fire Association has evolved to meet the needs of this expanding suburb.
Brief
Because every second counts in an emergency situation, firefighters need fast, easy access to the equipment they need when a call comes in. To create an open and easily accessible space, the fire department wanted to eliminate all keyed-only doors.
Solutions Provided
- Vanderbilt’s bright blue system was chosen as a replacement for all keyed-only doors. With the simple installation of a junction box and card reader at each door, users can easily customize access requirements depending on location.
- While most systems have at least six wires that need to be connected to the panel, bright blue only requires two for a much cleaner installation.
- An event scheduling feature on the doors between the office and apparatus bay was configured to trigger the facility lockdown function when a 911 call comes in. This prevents unauthorized access to the offices when firefighters are called out to an emergency.
- The bright blue access management solution is so easy to use that volunteer firefighters can easily manage the system themselves. User-friendly configuration makes the process so easy that the facility manager was able to add three new doors to the system on his own, which also reduced installation costs.