Help Center

VeeSim stands for Virtual Emergency Evacuation Simulator.

VeeSim is an Emergency Warning and Intercom System (EWIS) simulator that has been programmed to simulate an emergency in your building that requires a full building evacuation. VeeSim not only replicates the EWIS control panel but also simulates fire warden interaction to provide a real life experience for training staff who may be required to act in the Chief Fire Warden role.

VeeSim is used to train staff in the use of an EWIS system. In most large buildings the installed EWIS cannot be used for live training, as any alarms sounding will disrupt tenants and normal building operations. VeeSim allows staff to perform a simulated building evacuation from the first alarm to the conclusion of the evacuation.

The simulation is based on the parameters describing your building that were entered from the VeeSim control screen.

VeeSim simulates fire alarms, alert and evacuation tones and messaging, WIP phone call management, P/A system use, fire warden reporting and PEEP counts.VeeSim, just like the EWIS system in your building, can be operated in automatic or manual modes to ensure staff can be trained in both modes. A physically plugged in Telephone and a P/A handset simulate real life communications devices.

Currently VeeSim can be configured with up to 25 levels and 3 WIP phones per level. VeeSim can be modified to simulate your building EWIS system by changing cascade times, cascade sequence, number of PEEPs expected per level, number of  levels where PEEPS are expected  and EWIS LED colors.

The only limiting factor with the simulator is the device you are running it on.The simulator can run on any touch screen Windows tablet or laptop; or any windows PC with a touch screen connected. It can also be run using a mouse click to simulate the touch screen, however this will not give as realistic an experience as the use of a touch screen allows.

On a 10 inch Windows tablet supporting 1920 x 1080 resolution, you can run up to 10 levels / zones with 3 WIP phones per level.On a 24 inch touch screen supporting 1920 x 1080 resolution, you can simulate 25 levels / zones with up to 3 WIP phones.

An EWIS (Emergency Warning and Intercommunication System – see below) is a system for fire alarm control and evacuation control in in large buildings. These buildings are typically multi story or large buildings such as hospitals, universities or shopping malls.

The EWIS allows the Chief Fire Warden to control building alarms throughout all the levels and zones, alerting those closest to the incident first, and evacuating the building as required in a coordinated manner.  The EWIS has a Warden Intercom Point (WIP) Phone (see below red phone) for communication to all the levels and zones in the building and a Public Address (P/A) System (see below black handset) that the Chief Fire Warden can use to broadcast announcements to the levels as required.

The system is always in AUTOMATIC MODE and is activated by when Fire Control System senses smoke or fire.  In automatic mode it will automatically evacuate the building starting with the levels where the alarm has been triggered and evacuating the building two levels above and one level below every two to three minutes. The system can be changed to MANUAL MODE to allow the Chief Fire Warden to manually sound the ALERT and EVACUATION tones and control the building evacuation.

The Fire Control System is the system that monitors all the smoke detectors and Break Glass Alarms (BGA) in the building and allows the Chief Fire Warden or technical maintenance staff to monitor the system, isolate specific parts of the system and update and maintain the system. Once a fire alarm has been detected the FCS is usually configured to notify the local fire brigade automatically to ensure they arrive as soon as possible.

The Fire Control Room (FCR) is a room usually located on the ground level or basement of a building.  The FCR houses the Fire Control Systems (FCS) and Emergency Warning and Intercom System (EWIS). The FCR is used as the emergency management location for evacuating the building as the FCS and EWIS allow the Chief Fire Warden to monitor all the fire control systems and the building evacuation from one location.

The EWIS Public Address (PA) handset is the handset that looks like a CB radio handset.  It is a Push To Talk (PTT) Handset that allows the Chief Fire Warden to make Public Address announcements to specific levels or all the levels in the building.

The EWIS Warden Intercom Point (WIP)  Phone is the red telephone sitting inside the EWIS cabinet.  Each level of the building has a WIP phone.  Some buildings have multiple WIP phones per level. The EWIS telephone allows the Chief Fire Warden to communicate with the fire wardens on each level.

The EWIS system has been preprogrammed with a time frame for evacuating the building when in AUTO mode.  This time frame is the length of  time the system will pause between sounding the ALERT and EVACUATION tones and stepping through the levels. This PAUSE time is called the CASCADE time.

When the system automatically evacuates the building it will automatically ALERT then EVACUATE according to the preset cascade sequence such as two levels above and one level below the level that triggered the alarm. For example, if a 20 level building with a cascade time of 120 seconds had an alarm on level 10, the system would automatically evacuate level 10 and ALERT levels 9, 11 and 12 for 120 seconds. After 120 seconds the system would then sound the EVACUATE tone and evacuate levels 9, 11 and 12, while sounding the ALERT tone for 120 seconds on levels 8, 13 and 14. After another 120 seconds the system would sound the EVACUATE tone on levels 8, 13 and 14 and the ALERT tone on levels 7, 15 and 16.

In this example the cascade sequence is “2 UP and 1 DOWN” and the cascade time is 120 seconds. When running VeeSim you should set the cascade time the same as your own building.  Use the CASCADE Timer and Sequence Settings on the VeeSim control screen to set the cascade.

The word PEEPs stands for Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan.  People with limited mobility, that is, in wheel chairs or on crutches for example,  are referred to as PEEPs.  That is, people with a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, the plan each person has to help them stay safe in an emergency. In a real emergency situation, the number of PEEPS per level is passed on to the fire brigade when they arrive on site so they can be evacuated by the fire brigade.

Yes.  The home page of www.veesim.com has the trial product available.  Click on the icon and download VeeSim.

The first step is to introduce staff to the existing EWIS system.  Show staff the system and how VeeSim operates in the same way.

Each building has a specific evacuation procedure based on the design and use of the building. Familiarize your staff with the buildings specific evacuation instructions.

Configure VeeSim with 50% of the zones your license supports and 1 WIP active. Set the cascade time, cascade sequence, maximum PEEPS to none, Display PEEPS to YES and the Percentage fields to NONE.

Use the Display EWIS Panel to familiarize the trainee with the EWIS system and train them on how the panel works. Once the trainee understands all the EWIS panel functions and the specific building procedure, return to the setup screen and select Run Simulation and assist the trainee to perform the evacuation.

Once a the trainee demonstrates a full understanding of the EWIS panel and can successfully complete the simulation raise the Number of PEEPS per WIP and the percentage sliders to create a more complex and interactive environment for the trainee to experience.

Once competent with one WIP raise WIPS to two and three as appropriate for your building.

When competent on the maximum number of WIPs required for your building, raise zones to 75%, and once competent at this level raise again to 100% of your maximum license zones.

Your measure of success should include the ability to
• Manage all calls from fire wardens
• Communicate in a succinct and clear manner to fire wardens
• Note all PEEP counts
• Document all information required by your evacuation procedures
• Perform all PA announcements required in a timely manner
• Successfully evacuate the building

VeeSim will be running on both these platforms by the end of 2018.

At present VeeSim is only available in English.  Plans are in progress to convert VeeSim to Spanish, French, Japanese and a Chinese dialect.  If demand is high for another language VeeSim will be converted.

The EWIS system is normally running in AUTO (Automatic) mode.  This ensures that in an emergency the building will automatically be evacuated. VeeSim also starts in AUTO and, once an alarm is triggered, will automatically evacuate the simulated building, according to the parameters set on the VeeSim control.

The EWIS system is usually set in AUTO mode as this allows the building to be evacuated automatically by the system if there are no staff present to manage the evacuation. When the Chief Fire Warden or other trained staff are present they may wish to take control of the building evacuation.  On a real EWIS system this is done by turning a key to the MANUAL MODE. On VeeSim this is done by clicking on or touching the MANUAL button on the VeeSim screen. MANUAL MODE allows you to ALERT and EVACUATE the levels in any sequence required.

When an alarm is triggered on a level or zone the relevant ALARM LED lights on the EWIS system and the Audible alarm sounds. PRESS the Silence button to mute the alarm. The Silence LED will come on.To unmute PRESS the Silence button again.

The ABANDON SIMULATION button is for stopping the current simulation.To STOP the current simulation: Switch the simulator to MANUAL MODE. PRESS ABANDON Simulation. NOTE:  If the ABANDON SIMULATION Button is pressed no simulation reporting is generated.

The Alarm indicator of an EWIS System is connected to the Fire Control System (FCS) in the building.  The FCS monitors all the smoke and Break Glass Alarms (BGA) in the building.  As soon as smoke or fire is detected the FCS sends a signal to the EWIS system to activate the indicator LED on the correct level and sound the alarm. The VeeSim will simulate this behavior to start the simulation run.

To activate the ALERT button. Press the ALERT button for the level or zone required. In the sample below we see the ALERT button has been pressed for ZONE 4. This will sound the ALERT tone in ZONE 4.To deactivate, press the ZONE 4 ALERT button AGAIN. NOTE: Manual activation of ALERT and EVACUATION buttons requires the VeeSim Simulator and the EWIS to be in MANUAL mode.

The ALL ALERT button activates the ALERT button and tone for all levels. Once pressed the LED indicator for the ALERT ALL button will be lit.  The LED Indicator for all ALERT Buttons on all levels or zones will also be lit. NOTE: Manual activation of ALERT and EVACUATION buttons requires the VeeSim Simulator and the EWIS to be in MANUAL mode.

To activate the EVACUATE button, press the EVACAUTE button for the level or zone required. In the sample below we see the EVACUATE button has been pressed for ZONE 3. This will sound the EVACAUTE tone in ZONE 3. To deactivate, press the ZONE 3 EVACUATE button AGAIN. NOTE: Manual activation of ALERT and EVACUATION buttons requires the VeeSim Simulator and the EWIS to be in MANUAL mode.

The ALL EVACUATE button activates the evacuation button and tone for all levels. Once pressed the LED indicator for the EVACUATE ALL button will be lit.  The LED Indicator for all EVACUTE Buttons on all levels or zones will also be lit. To deactivate, press the EVACUATE ALL button AGAIN. NOTE: Manual activation of ALERT and EVACUATION buttons requires the VeeSim Simulator and the EWIS to be in MANUAL mode.

The P/A Speech button allows the chief fire warden to communicate using the P/A system to a specific level or zone.  To communicate with zone 3, press P/A Speech on that zone and the P/A Speech LED activates on the button. (see below).  You can then use the P/A handset to make an announcement to that level or zone.To deactivate PRESS the Zone 3 P/A Speech button again.

The ALL P/A SPEECH button allows you to activate the Public Address function on all levels or zones configured on the EWIS system.  Press the ALL P/A SPEECH and its LED and the LED on the P/A SPEECH buttons on all levels or zones activate. (see below).  This allows the Chief Fire Warden to use the P/A system to make an announcement to all levels or zones. Press the ALL P/A SPEECH button again to deactivate the function on all levels.

The ZONE MANNED button is an indicator light that is activated by pressing the button to activate the LED indicator.  Use the ZONE MANNED indicator to show that the level or zone is manned by a fire warden.To deactivate the LED press the ZONE Manned button again.

The ZONE CLEARED button is an indicator light that is activated by pressing the button to activate the LED indicator.  Use the ZONE CLEARED indicator to show that the level or zone has now been evacuated. Typically the zone or level will first be ZONE MANNED to indicate a fire warden is present to ZONE CLEARED when the fire warden calls on the WIP phone to report the area has been evacuated.To deactivate the LED press the ZONE CLEARED button again.

Select the level or zone and WIP phone you wish to call.  Press the corresponding WIP phone button. To call WIP Phone 2 in Zone 1 you would press the WIP-2 Button on the Zone 1 row.To hang up PRESS the WIP-2 button again.

When the Fire Warden from a zone calls, the WIP phone they are calling from flashes the LED on the relevant WIP button.  In the attached image, incoming calls are being received from Zone 2 WIP 1 and Zone 3 WIP 1. The color yellow has been selected for this simulation run, so yellow LED lights on the two active red WIP phone buttons will flash and the telephone ring tone can be heard.To answer the call PRESS the WIP BUTTON of the call you wish to answer. The LED will then remain ON (not flashing), while other calls that are waiting will continue to flash.Use the telephone handset to listen to the Fire Wardens report. To HANG UP, PRESS the same WIP BUTTON again. NOTE: Both WIP LED’s appear to be on, indicating 2 calls are in progress.  This is because flashing lights cannot be shown in the documentation.

Once the simulation has completed and all levels have reported in, then the simulation has finished.  Once complete the "End Simulation - Show PEEPs  Count" button will appear. If the AUTOMATIC PEEPs count on the control screen has been set to NO then the level / zone PEEPs count has not been displayed on the right side of the simulator during the simulation. Pressing the “END SIMULATION – SHOW PEEPs” button will display the PEEPs count on the screen.  This can then be compared with the manual PEEPs count the trainee was recording during the simulation. Pressing the “END SIMULATION – SHOW PEEPs” button is essential to complete the simulation. It will also change the ABANDON SIMULATION button to the SIMULATION COMPLETE (XX PEEPS) button.

Once the "End simulation - Show PEEPs" button has been pushed the simulator will show the number of PEEPs per floor that the fire wardens have reported. In the example below a 5 floor simulation with 3 active WIPs per level has been completed. Calls have not been answered on Levels 1 and 2 WIP 2. The Fire Wardens on these floors left the floor without reporting the number of PEEPs as the Chief Fire Warden did not answer the call in time.

On level 5 WIP 3 the Fire Warden reported that the floor was clear but did not report the number of PEEPS. This is indicated by the question mark.(Below). If the Fire Warden does not report the number of PEEPs the Chief Fire Warden needs to call the Fire Warden back immediately the to request the number of PEEPs.  If the Fire Warden IS NOT callled back in time they will leave teir level and evacuate the building.

The SIMULATION COMPLETE (XX PEEPS) button is pressed to terminate the simulation and exit back to the control screen. NOTE:  If the SIMULATION COMPLETE (XX PEEPS) Button is not pressed no report will be generated.

The VeeSim control screen is the first screen of the VeeSim simulator.The control screen allows you to configure VeeSim to more closely simulate your own EWIS system and building environment. All the controls are documented in this HELP Section.

The "Display EWIS Panel" allows trainers to introduce trainees to the EWIS panel and explain the design and function of all the EWIS buttons. All the buttons work by switching the LED for each button on and off but no Alert or Evacuation tones sound.

Start VeeSim and from the control screen change the simulator setting to the configuration you wish to DEMO. Click on the "Display EWIS Panel" button.  Then click the DEMO button on the Key Switch at the bottom center of the EWIS Panel. The 'Finished Training" button changes to "Abandon Simulation Demo" which can be clicked / selected at any time. A new button saying "No FW Questions, No Callbacks for ?" appears bottom right. The DEMO will run without further interaction. When finished, the "End Simulation - Show PEEPs  Count" button will appear. Clicking it will change the "Abandon Simulation Demo" to "Simulation Complete (XX PEEPs)"  and clicking this will generate a Report for the sim.

Select the simulator settings you wish to display and the press the "Display EWIS Panel".  The VeeSim EWIS will display the number of Zones / Levels and active WIPS you have selected.  This function allows the trainee to become familiar with the EWIS system simulator.  All the relevant buttons work but no tones will sound and no fire wards will answer WIP phone calls.

This feature allows you to set the label to either Level or Zone when the simulator is running.  Set the simulator to the same naming convention as your building

The Total Number of Levels or Zones field allows you to set the total number for the next simulation.  The maximum total number will depend on the license your have purchased. For example if you have purchased a 15 Level / Zone license this is the maximum you can display.  NOTE: the minimum setting is 3 Zones or Levels.

Set this field to be the same as the building you are simulating. The maximum setting is three.

Click on the CASCADE TIMER field and type in the number of seconds you wish to have as the cascade time.  If you are simulating a building with a two minute cascade time then enter 120 seconds in the field.

Set this field to be the same as the building you are simulating. A common building cascade equence is 2 Up and 1 Down,

Enter the maximum number of PEEPs you would expect to have per WIP phone in your building. Some buildings have levels where many of the staff require assistance to exit the building if the lifts are not in use. In a building that is a not a hospital or a care center this number may be a maximum of 2 – 3 per WIP. The number of completed PEEP forms will give you an idea of the number for your building. For training and testing we recommend that this number be set to a minimum of 3. The maximum setting is 5.

Use the slider to adjust the percentage required. Note: This variable is randomsied within VeeSim so selecting NONE may still generate some WIPS with PEEPS and selecting ALL may not have all WIPS reporting PEEPS.

Miscellaneous calls are calls to the Chief Fire Warden that are simply queries on the current status of the alert and evacuation tones. In real life the Chief Fire Wardens will receive calls asking questions in regards to a variety of topics.  These need to be managed as part fo the evacuation.  Use the slider to adjust the percentage required. Note: This variable is randomized within VeeSim so selecting NONE may still generate some WIPs with calls and selecting ALL may not have all WIPs making calls.

Once the Fire Warden has cleared the level during an evacuation they report to the Chief Fire Warden using the WIP phone. Some Fire Wardens in their haste to evacuate the building forget to report the number of PEEPs on the levels. This variable allows you to lower or raise the number of Fire Wardens who DO NOT report the PEEPs before they leave the level. Note: This variable is randomized within VeeSim so selecting NONE may still generate some WIPS with that do not report PEEPs  and selecting ALL may not have all WIPS not reporting PEEPs.

When this selection is YES, the automatic PEEPs count field will display the number of PEEPs reported from each WIP phone. This number is displayed once the fire warden for each WIP phone has reported in.  The number of PEEPs is shown on the right hand side of the VeeSim simulation screen on the same level as the WIP phone that has reported the number of PEEPs.

In the screen print below we can see that levels 2,3 and 4 have have zones that have reported in.  Once a Fire Warden reports the level os clear and the numner of PEEPs that PEEP count is displayed on the right hand side of the screen.

We can see in the example above the Zone 4 WIP 1 Fire Warden reported the floor was clear but did not advise the number of PEEPs.  As the number is unknown a Question Mark (?) will be displayed.  If the Chief Fire Warden rings the zone back in time he will be able to get an update on the number of PEEPS.

Using your mouse, CLICK on the level you require to raise and lower the volume of the simulator

The LED color selector allows you to pick any of the colors showing on the control screen to use when the simulator is running if the traditional red does not display bright enough on a computer screen.  Simply click on the color you wish to use and that color will be selected for the next simulation and until you change the color again, or until the simulator is reset.  To change colors simply click on the color you wish to select.

The VeeSim syste has been designed to allow the system to be set up so the EWIS alarm and ring tones are played back through the main system speakers;but the fire warden communications are played through any attached external speakers or handsets.  This setting allows you to choose to play EWIS alerts and ring tones through the main speaker.

This setting allows you to choose to play WIP phone communications through an attached handset.

This setting allows you to choose to record WIP phone microphone input from an attached telephone handset.

This setting allows you to choose to record P/A Handset microphone input from an attached telephone handset.