AFA Protective Systems

The fire alarm system in World Trade Center Building 7 is placed on “test condition,” which causes any alarms to be ignored, every morning in the seven days preceding September 11. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 6/2004, pp. 94; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 67; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 11/2008, pp. 69] WTC 7 is a 47-story office building located 370 feet north of the North Tower. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 8/21/2008; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 11/2008, pp. 2] Its alarm system is placed on test condition “every morning at about the same time” in the seven days before September 11, according to a report by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Since it will be in test condition on September 11 for a period of eight hours, starting at 6:47 a.m. (see 6:47 a.m.-2:47 p.m. September 11, 2001), the system is presumably put on test condition at a similar time and also for eight hours in the seven days before then. At the end of the eight-hour period, the alarm system automatically returns to normal monitoring.
Alarms Are Ignored During Testing – Test condition is usually requested when maintenance or testing is being carried out on the alarm system. While the system is in this mode, any alarms that are received are considered to be the result of the maintenance or testing and are therefore ignored. Furthermore, while the system is in test condition, any alarm signals do not appear on the operator’s display. However, records of the alarm are still recorded in the system’s history file. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 9/2005, pp. 66; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 11/2008, pp. 68-69]
Alarm System Is Monitored Away from the WTC – The alarm system in WTC 7 records information at just one location within the building: the fire command station in the third-floor lobby. It is monitored at a location away from the WTC site by AFA Protective Systems, a New York-based company that designs, installs, and services fire alarm systems. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 6/2004, pp. 93; National Institute of Standards and Technology, 4/5/2005 ; US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 8/4/2017] AFA Protective Systems usually places the alarm system in WTC 7 on test condition in response to a request from the building manager. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 11/2008, pp. 69] It is unclear who the building manager is, although Mike Catalano, chief engineer for Salomon Smith Barney at WTC 7, will later say the building manager is a man called Ed Campbell. [International Union of Operating Engineers, 2003, pp. 27; 9/11 Commission, 1/16/2004 ] Records indicate that the alarm system in WTC 7 is often placed on test condition. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 11/2008, pp. 69]