When evaluating a video surveillance system, one of the most important decisions you’ll face is whether cloud-hosted or cloud-managed is the better fit. While both leverage the flexibility of the cloud, they’re built for different operational needs. The right choice depends on your site size, bandwidth, retention requirements, compliance considerations, existing infrastructure, and long-term growth […]
One Meridian Plaza 35 years later
In the late hours of Saturday, February 23, 1991, a fire ignited on the 22nd floor of One Meridian Plaza, a 38-story office building situated in downtown Philadelphia.
This massive blaze, escalated to a 12-alarm fire, ravaged 8 floors of the Center City office structure, spanning a harrowing 19-hour period. Tragically, three brave Philadelphia Firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty during this catastrophic event.
Are Obstructed Fire Sprinkler Heads Putting Your Building at Risk?
Fire sprinkler systems are built to respond quickly. In many cases, they control a fire before it has a chance to spread, limiting damage and protecting the people inside the building. For them to work the way they are intended, though, they need one simple thing that is easy to overlook in day-to-day operations: a […]
What Property Owners Often Miss During Fire Protection Inspections and Why It Matters
Fire protection inspections are a critical part of keeping buildings safe, compliant, and operational. Most property owners and facility managers take these inspections seriously and want to do the right thing. Still, after my time in inspections and service, I have noticed a pattern: the same issues tend to be overlooked again and again. These […]
Why “Building Security Systems” Are Becoming “Life Safety Control Centers”
For decades, commercial buildings treated security as a series of independent functions. There were cameras in one place; a fire alarm panel in another; access control in the lobby; intrusion detection on an isolated keypad; and maybe a gate controller somewhere outside. Each system worked, but none of them communicated. They protected pieces of the […]
5 Critical Risks to Your Fire Sprinkler System After a Cold Snap
Winter doesn’t just bring snow, ice and freezing temperatures; it brings a massive amount of pressure to your building’s fire sprinkler system. At Oliver Fire Protection & Security, we see a significant spike in emergency service calls the moment the temperature bottoms out. The danger usually hides in the unheated corners of a facility: warehouses, […]