Word: alarming
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...fire alarm panels on the back wall of the "University central control" are linked to more than 300 buildings, from the Divinity School in Cambridge to the Business School and the Medical School in Boston...
When a fire alarm goes off somewhere in the University--as one usually does at least once a day--the panel in the control center displays where the problem is. The person on duty in the control center then calls the appropriate fire department, notifies the Harvard University Police Department and dispatches a Facilities Maintenance Department fire mechanic to the scene, all in a matter of 30 to 45 seconds...
Harvard and Cambridge officials say this ensures a quicker response than simply waiting for someone near the fire to hear an alarm and call the fire department...
Hawkes and Carbone said the new system, based on the University's fiber optic network, will have more readily available information about disabled students who live in a building where there is a fire. A new system would also be capable of "automatic retransmission," sending the alarm through the control center straight to a fire department...
Hawkes acknowledged, however, that a faulty smoke detector in L-entry was left deactivated until about 3:30 p.m. The detector was faulty and was not reactivated in order to avoid another false alarm, he said...