FORESTVILLE, CONN. - February
20, 2007 - Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies today announced that Colorado's
Parker Fire District (PFD) has deployed Schlage wireless access control to provide
increased, more convenient security at four of its fire stations. Previously,
the doors were accessed via standard mechanical keys.
"Hardwiring would have been too lengthy and difficult," reports Robert
Krause, PFD director of technology. "We had inaccessible locations, issues
with using surface mount conduit, grouted doors, difficult-to-reach head-ends
and other problems that were easily overcome by using wireless access. As a
result, wireless was less expensive and got our system up faster."
Schlage wireless on-line locking systems are one of the fastest growing implementations
in access control. These solutions seamlessly integrate into the access control
panel, eliminating wire between the lock and the access control panel and providing
a complete solution at each opening.
"Our firefighters work in 24-hour shifts," Krause explains. "Coming
or going, they carry all of their bunker gear, so their hands are full when
coming into the station. They would have to put all their gear down and fumble
around with their mechanical keys. We wanted them to be able to simply access
the door through a proximity card kept in their wallets or with a proximity
keyfob on their key chains. We also wanted to be able to rent out our community
rooms but the problem of lost keys became costly and time-consuming. Using proximity
cards solves that situation also. However, because of how our buildings were
created, going electronic didn't look easy."
For instance, at several of the PFD buildings, the "Day Room" is on
one side of the apparatus bays while the dormitory is on the other. To hardwire,
PFD would have had to pull wire over the apparatus bays, through three different
attics, to get from one side to another. The bays are 2-story and attic access
is very difficult.
With wireless access control, it took only a week and a half to install the
system into the four fire stations. Today, the PFD is enjoying the benefits.
"The firefighters love the proximity access, especially the keyfobs,"
Krause notes. "We can also easily schedule access for our community rooms.
For those with a yearly need, we can provide a card that can be used as long
as they plan to use the room. We also have cards that need to be returned the
next day. Most importantly, all cards can be deactivated should the card be
lost or not returned whereas, before, we would have to rekey the mechanical
locks and re-issue new keys to all of the groups that used the Community Rooms.
"We saved several thousand dollars in costs per station by using wireless,
something our taxpayers ought to appreciate," Krause continues. "Versus
our previous system, our wireless locks notify us of their status. They have
a polling feature in which information pops up on the management screen, telling
us if a battery is low, a door is propped open or if there are other situations
we need to resolve."