Silent Knight offers MNS, CO detection training

NORTHFORD, Conn.—Silent Knight by Honeywell recently announced that its nationwide series of fire alarm training courses has been expanded to cover IntelliKnight's mass notification and carbon monoxide detection capabilities.

“This is new for us and it's very exciting,” Shawn Burke, training supervisor for Silent Knight, based here, told Security Systems News. Burke said the expanded training in the company's one-day fire drill course and its two-day tech ed course has been added as end users increasingly demand mass notification systems and CO detectors.

The mass notification training covers the new IntelliKnight 5820XL-EVS mass notification system. Participants can earn certificates of completion and continuing education units from both new courses.

Recent school-shooting tragedies and other emergencies like tornadoes are among the reasons demand for MNS is up, Burke said. “I think everyone is just looking for something to help out in these situations,” he said. Even though a mass notification system can be expensive, he said, “we're seeing a number of school districts that are really on board with that and we see a lot of other ones that are taking a look at how they're going to fund this.”

As for CO detection, he said, “we're seeing state after state coming out with the requirements and � everyone is asking about the new opportunity.”

Those taking the classes include installers, electricians and even maintenance personnel working for end users such as large school districts or corporate campuses, because such staff often are in charge of the panel once it has been installed, according to Burke.

Classes are typically offered about five times a month at various locations around the country. “We have a one-day free class to introduce them to both products and then we have a more technical class that covers the wiring and programming that we have a nominal fee for,” Burke explained.

For those not able to attend in person, Silent Knight anticipates having an online training course on the IntelliKnight 5820XL-EVS available on its website at some point this month, Burke said. It also plans to have available by the end of this month short training videos on such topics as using the microphone to record messages for emergency notification, he said. “We hope to get some of them on YouTube, as well,” he said.

For more information, go to www.silentknight.com.