Because every second counts in an emergency situation, firefighters need fast, easy access to the equipment they need when a call comes in. “The main function of any access management system at a firehouse is to help get firefighters where they need to be as quickly as possible,” explained Chris Strauss, Deputy Fire Chief at the East Whiteland Fire Company and president at Great Valley Lockshop.

For Strauss, a security hardware specialist, the first step was to select the electronic hardware best suited to compliment the Bright Blue access management system. “My job is to ensure that the complete solution, from door hardware to access management software, performs optimally,” said Strauss. Schlage Aptique were installed on 24 of 26 doors with door prop alarms on all exterior doors, and those between the office and apparatus bay, which also use the lockdown function. PIN codes were added to two readers in case of accidental lockout. The two remaining doors leverage the Bright Blue system for the door prop alarm. Managed by a three-person team including Strauss, the fire chief and president, the Bright Blue system supports 150 users.

“With the simple installation of a junction box and card reader at each door, I can easily customise access requirements depending on location,” said Strauss, who also asserted that the installation was smooth and trouble-free. “I really liked the fact that I could connect to the panel from my laptop to do all the necessary programming and testing before we went live with the system.” Straus also conducted all the in-house training, which was very straightforward.

Bright blue is also simple to configure and use. Strauss set up the event scheduling feature on the doors between the office and apparatus bay to trigger the facility lockdown function when a 911 call comes in. “This way we can prevent unauthorised access to our offices when firefighters are called out to an emergency,” explained Strauss. “I can also very easily add doors or change access requirements by following simple prompts.”

The volunteer firefighters can also easily manage the system themselves. “Most volunteers do not have a technology background, so ease-of-use was imperative,” stated Strauss. User-friendly configuration wizards and helpful tips make 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. With a high turnover in volunteers, the East Whiteland Volunteer Fire Association relies on the advanced functionality of Bright Blue to quickly add and delete users as required.

System reliability was another key requirement at the firehouse, where fast access to the apparatus bay could mean the difference between life and death. “Not only do we have an override key stored in a lockbox for emergency situations, but we’ve also backed up the system so that if the network goes down in one of our remote locations, we can default to site code to ensure that a firefighter is never locked out.”

Bright Blue’s security functions also help protect the firehouse from outside threats. User, operator and administrator access levels control what each person is authorised to view and help prevent internal threats. “By being able to assign personnel access to different doors based on time schedules, security levels and roles, we can extend security right across our buildings for greater overall protection.”