Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 12-2.
Example wall-mounted smoke alarm with
photoelectric strobe light station and loud solid-state
horn (~90 dB) by Gentex Corporation. Photo credit:
Samuel r. atcherson, PhD.
of smoke alarms for “people who are deaf
or hard-of-hearing” that meet Underwrit-
ers Laboratories standard 1971 (UL 1971).
Code UL 1971 (Signaling Devices for the
Hearing Impaired) is one that is specific
to individuals with hearing loss whose
approved products are in accordance also
with NFPA 72. ACE Hardware Corpora-
tion, BRK Electronics, Gentex Corpora-
tion, Kidde Fire Safety, and Menards, Inc.,
are all companies specifically listed by the
NFPA at the writing of this topic. As there
may be products marketed that do not
meet performance and evaluation stan-
dards, it is strongly recommended that
consumers look for emergency products
from one of the companies listed, with
clear indication that the product is UL
1971 approved. More importantly, these
products should be marked “UL 1971
listed” indicating that they comply with
applicable safety requirements and are
listed in a published national directory.
For weather alerts, a National
Weather Radio (NWR) receiver system
can be acquired. There are two options:
(1) adapter for deaf and hard of hearing
to be used with a standard NWA receiver
or (2) NWA receiver package designed
specifically for individuals with hearing
loss (e.g., Midland Weather Alert Radio
transmitter with Silent Call Communica-
tions receivers). This alerting device can
provide some of the same audible, light,
