In an emergency - when a staff member's life may depend on rapid response - every second counts. But in today's institutional facilities, you can't always count on people staying in one location.
Because clergy & caseworkers, teachers & technicians, food service & facilities personnel and security officers move freely through your corridors and yards, you need to know the exact location where help is needed quickly. That's why more and more leading institutions are turning to Flare as standard issue for all of their employees.
Personal Emergency Locating System
- The Flare displays location using your floor plan, department & area names, and room numbers;
- Locates to within 3.8 m (12.5 ft.);
- Distinguishes between indoor and outdoor spaces;
- Identifies floors in multilevel facilities;
- High reliability;
- Low cost of ownership;
- Supports more than 4,000 unique IDs;
- Covers stairwells and corridors;
- Uninterruptible signal;
- Modular system supports facility expansion and added staff;
- Rugged package;
- Internal antenna;
- Protective holster;
- No line-of-sight requirement.
Lifesaving Performances
The true measure of its performance, of course, is how Flare helps you protect your people. A proven performer, Flare delivered the emergency signal that summoned assistance for a corrections professional in trouble. A prison employee working alone in the cafeteria alerted officers when he experienced chest pains. Responding officers administered CPR and the man made a full recovery.
Maximum Security for All of Your Staff
The Flare Emergency Locating System uses a patented radio frequency (RF) technology that sets a new standard for reliability and locating accuracy. Indoors or outdoors, floor-to-floor, within any room or corridor, Flare accurately locates a staff member in trouble so help can be dispatched in a heartbeat. With Flare's lightweight signaling device on their belts, staff members have the freedom of movement their jobs require and the peace of mind they deserve. If someone needs assistance, an easy-to-find alarm button is at hand to transmit a distress signal. Sensors placed throughout your facility relay the signal's information to a computer in your central control room. In seconds, this computer displays a detailed site map, showing who needs assistance and where he or she is located.
There's Safety in Numbers
Indoors, Flare sets the standard for locating accuracy with a record-setting 3.8 m (12.5 ft.). Outdoors, the system provides coverage up to 90 m (300 ft.) beyond the building - using this same indoor sensor system. And Flare's outstanding reliability eliminates false alarms while ensuring that real emergencies will always be reported. Flare is designed for use in a concrete and metal environment, so building materials, smoke, heavy clothing, and human interference never interrupt its signal. And because it operates on a licensed frequency in the Public Safety band, it is protected from the interference of other radio signals - now and in the future.
Unparalleled reliability and automated diagnostics reduce Flare's need for costly maintenance. It's so trouble-free that you might forget it's there. But should trouble arise and you need help in a heartbeat, Flare's always on duty.
Flare Speaks Your Language
Flare communicates your way... using your floor plan, department and area names, and room numbers. If more than one alarm is sounded, all alarms appear on your facilities main site map. To see a detailed view of an area, just click on the alarm you want to display. The overview map remains on screen for your reference.
Personal Protection Device (PPD)
The Personal Protection Device (PPD) is a belt-worn radio frequency transmitter used by persons who might need to signal for assistance in an emergency situation. Pressing a button on the device causes an alarm. Lanyard (pull-pin) and man-down options can be added. The optional lanyard is pulled to remove a pin and generate an alarm. It can be attached to the belt so that removing the PPD from the holster will result in an alarm.
The man-down option generates an alarm when the PPD is tilted towards horizontal and kept in that position for several seconds. Both the angle of tilt and the duration in seconds are programmable for each PPD. An audible alert warns the user that the device is tilted prior to an alarm transmission. The man-down device can be disabled by maintenance staff, but not by the user. A leather holster provides protection for the PPD and secures it to the user's belt. The belt loop on the holster contains special fasteners that cannot be opened by tugging on the holster, but can be released easily by the wearer to remove the holster from the belt. With its rugged package, completely internal antenna, protective holster, and no wires or line-of-sight requirement (IR or Ultrasonic) sensor technologies, the PPD is part of the most reliable and most accurate emergency locating system available.
Flare sounds an alarm in your control room when a Personal Protection Device (PPD) is activated, then displays your facilities floor plan on screen to pinpoint where help is needed. Your security personnel have the alarm and location information they need to direct quick, accurate responses.
System Description
Sensors, Hubs, Interface Units and the Control Computer are the main elements of a FLARE system. The sensor receives alarm signals and measures signal levels.
The processed alarm signal is passed to the digital portion of the sensor where alarm ID and other data are extracted. A spread-spectrum modem transmits the refined alarm information over the sensor's AC power line or on a separate twisted pair, to a Hub, and then through an Interface Unit to the Control Computer where further data processing determines the PPD's exact location.
The sensor is mounted in a secure enclosure and powered from 115/230 Volts AC, with internal battery backup. A low voltage power configuration is also available. Sensors are located in areas that are not accessible to inmates, e.g. in pipe chases or above false ceilings. The Hub, Interface Unit and Control Computer are located in secure rooms.
RF Receiver
The receiver portion of the sensor is optimized for operation with the bodyworn wireless PPD. The sensor operates in the public safety band (450 to 470 MHz in the United States, and approximately 420 to 450 MHz in Canada). The receiver uses two orthogonal antennas mounted on the circuit board. Connectors are provided to enable the use of external antennas.
Digital Processing
The digital circuitry is controlled by a microprocessor. In addition to processing the alarm data, this section of the circuitry handles the timing and communications protocols that allow the alarm signals from many sensors to be sent rapidly to the control computer.
Diagnostics are also run by this microprocessor to verify sensor health and communications path integrity. Firmware upgrades can be passed to the sensor from the Control Computer.
Spread Spectrum Modem
The sensor communicates with a hub using its AC power line wiring as the communications path. An industry standard protocol named CEBus® is used. Copper twisted pair can also be used over distances up to 6.4 km (4 mi.).