Quick Thinking, Fire Alarm Saves Lives In Local Blaze

In news from local ABC News affiliate WMTW, an Augusta-area fire could have resulted in tragedy if not for the quick thinking of an apartment building tenant and an the building’s installed fire alarm system.

An early-morning fire at an apartment building in the Maine State capital left 30 residents homeless, but could have resulted in deaths had a building resident now acted as quickly as they did.

The story notes that the resident heard a local smoke alarm from an apartment and, likely smelling smoke, activated the building’s hardwired fire alarm system to notify all residents of the need to quickly evacuate. It was that quick thinking and the ability of the central system to notify everyone in the building that averted disaster.

“Officials say a tenant heard a smoke alarm go off and then activated the building’s alarm system.,” the story says. “If that didn’t happen, officials say, the fire could have claimed lives.”

Fire officials noted that their job was much easier due to the early detection and notification and subsequent evacuation.

“We had to help nine people out off of balconies and windows and had that early activation not been heeded, then we would have had as many as 20 people that we would have had to help from the upper floors,” said the official.

Thankfully, this building had an alert tenant with quick thinking and a properly maintained fire alarm system in place to notify residents.

Contact our highly-trained, Nicet-Level-III-certified fire alarm integration specialist, Melissa Peters and let her help you keep your people safer with a professionally designed, installed, serviced and maintained fire alarm system for your building. 

What is Norris all about?

Norris, Inc.—a Saco, Maine-based life-safety and security systems integrator with satellite offices in Bangor, Maine; Lee, New Hampshire; and Burlington, Vermont—was founded nearly 40 years ago by two brothers, Brad and Harty Norris.

On February 28, 2020 Norris Inc was acquired by Minuteman Security Technologies Inc.  Minuteman Security Technologies Inc. (Minuteman), headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts and founded in 1998, is a leading provider of enterprise security technology solutions. Minuteman security systems are used by a wide range of organizations throughout the United States. Customers include law enforcement, energy companies, mass transit, large retail chains, academic institutions, public safety agencies, and community hospitals with regional offices from Maine to Illinois.