Emergency Communication & Voice Evacuation
Northeast Fire Systems designs, installs, and services emergency communication and voice evacuation systems for commercial and institutional buildings. These systems deliver clear spoken instructions during a fire or other emergency, integrated with your fire alarm and built to NFPA 72.
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Intelligible Voice Communication
NFPA 72 sets the rules for emergency communication systems, including a requirement that announcements be intelligible, not just loud. NEFS designs to that standard, accounting for how sound behaves in your building, and tests the result so the message is clear in lobbies, stairwells, and parking garages alike.
- Voice evacuation (EVACS)
- Mass notification
- Speech-intelligibility design and testing
- Fire alarm integration
ECS Design
Every building carries sound differently. Hard surfaces echo, long corridors muddy speech, and mechanical noise competes with the message. We design the system around your building and zone it so a message can play in one area without alarming the rest.
Voice Evacuation (EVACS)
An emergency voice/alarm communication system replaces plain horns with recorded and live voice messages. During an alarm it plays evacuation instructions automatically, and trained staff can pick up a microphone to give live direction if the situation changes. Occupants get told where to go instead of guessing.
Mass Notification
The same speakers and wiring can carry more than fire messages. A mass notification system broadcasts alerts for severe weather, a security threat, or any event where you need to reach everyone at once, with fire notification keeping priority as code requires.
Speech Intelligibility
NFPA 72 judges a voice system by whether people can understand it, using an intelligibility measure rather than volume alone. We select and place speakers to hit that mark and verify it after installation, since an unintelligible announcement provides no useful warning.
Fire Alarm Integration
The communication system ties into your fire alarm so notification happens the moment an alarm triggers. We commission the combined system, document it, and coordinate the acceptance test with your authority having jurisdiction.
Frequently Asked Questions about Emergency Communication
It depends on the occupancy. Codes increasingly require voice evacuation in schools, high-rises, and assembly spaces. We can check what your building falls under.
Yes. Mass notification can broadcast weather, security, and other alerts through the same speakers, with fire notification keeping priority.
It is a code measure of whether occupants can understand an announcement, not just hear it. We design and test to meet the NFPA 72 requirement.
Our difference
What You Can Expect from NEFS
NEFS designs voice systems to meet the NFPA 72 intelligibility standard, then tests them to confirm it. We document the work and coordinate acceptance with your authority having jurisdiction.
Straight recommendations
We tell you what your building needs to meet code, and what it does not. We do not sell equipment you have no requirement for.
Manufacturer-trained technicians
Our technicians are manufacturer-trained on the systems we install and equipped to resolve most issues on the first visit.
One provider for the life of the system
From installation through annual testing, repair, and upgrades, NEFS stays your single point of contact for your emergency communication system.