In brief: Honeywell fire expansion, school safety surge, gun detection rollout

ATLANTA—Honeywell has announced an expansion of its fire and life safety portfolio, adding integrated smoke control capabilities to its NOTIFIER INSPIRE platform and introducing several updates to its Connected Life Safety Services (CLSS) ecosystem.  

The new offerings are designed to address ongoing challenges related to system complexity, compliance and coordination across fire and life safety infrastructure, the company said.  

According to Honeywell, the latest release incorporates fully integrated smoke control functionality, allowing building operators and integrators to manage fire and smoke response within a single system architecture rather than relying on separate or customized components.  

“With these innovations, we’re helping customers simplify complex designs, improve visibility across their systems and move beyond manual processes so they can better protect occupants, respond with greater confidence and operate more efficiently,” said Michael Troiano, president, global fire for Honeywell Building Automation.  

Honeywell also introduced updates within its CLSS platform aimed at improving situational awareness and coordination across the life safety lifecycle.  

• Related reading: Honeywell and Rhombus introduce AI-driven, cloud video and access solution 

CENTEGIX report: School panic button use rises 31% 

ATLANTA – The use of wearable panic buttons to protect students and school staff increased by 31% compared to last year, according to a new report from CENTEGIX. 

Of these alerts, 88% were for behavior such as physical altercations, students leaving campus without notice or permission, known as elopements, and other incidents where an educator might need additional support to address a situation, according to the 2026 School Safety Trends Report. An additional 10% were for medical emergencies such as seizures, cardiac arrests, or allergic reactions. 

CENTEGIX, a K-12 school safety and emergency response technology provider, drew on data collected in the 2025/2026 school year through the CENTEGIX Safety Platform, including more than 346,000 alerts from wearable panic buttons. In addition to overall data trends, the report includes case studies, examining how individual school districts are enhancing safety. 

"Nationally, K-12 districts are enhancing safety through comprehensive, proactive approaches," said Brent Cobb, CEO of CENTEGIX. "Keeping students and school staff safe is a daily responsibility. School safety includes layered approaches that consider both the everyday and the extreme. We're seeing districts use technology to improve daily workplace safety, with campus-wide coverage for a variety of situations." 

Other key 2026 report findings:  

Campus-Wide Coverage is Critical — The report found that 58% of incidents occurred outside the classroom in spaces like hallways (17%), exterior areas (10%) and cafeterias (3%) - highlighting the importance of precise location information in reducing response times. 

In Extreme Emergencies, Technology and Training Are Helping to Protect Schools — While only 1% of alerts were for extreme, campus-wide threats requiring school-wide lockdowns, technology and training are making a difference in these incidents.  

Data Is Strengthening Preparedness — Schools cannot improve what they cannot see. As districts strengthen emergency preparedness strategies, many are turning to safety data and real-time visibility to make more informed decisions across campuses. Data informs resource allocation, coordination with responders, and provides real-time insight. 

A Nationwide Push for Safer Schools is Raising Expectations — Legislation continues to shape school safety requirements. Expectations for faster emergency notification and coordinated response capabilities are rising through the expansion of Alyssa's Law legislation. School mapping legislation also continues to grow, driving greater emphasis on precise location data and situational awareness during emergencies. 

To learn more about 2026 School Safety Trends: Clarity in Crisis: Replacing Chaos with Coordinated Response, download the full report here. 

• Related reading: CENTEGIX announces acquisition of Pikmykid 

Kansas school district deploys ZeroEyes AI solutions 

PHILADELPHIA – ZeroEyes, creators of a multi-analytics weapons detection and threat intelligence platform, today announced that its artificial intelligence (AI) gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software has been deployed by Kansas’ Meade USD 226 to help protect the district’s approximately 350 students, 40 staffers and visitors across two schools from gun-related threats. The addition of ZeroEyes complements the district’s multilayered security plan, which also includes a SafeDefend system that alerts staff and first responders in the event of an incident, along with a comprehensive camera system, locked and secured entrances, and other access controls. "We're proud to support Meade USD 226’s mission to provide a safe, secure learning environment," said Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes. "The district's decision to implement ZeroEyes through the Kansas Safe and Secure Firearm Detection Grant demonstrates their dedication to prioritizing security and enabling their students to focus on their education." The district secured funding through the Kansas Safe and Secure Firearm Detection Grant Program, administered by the Office of the Kansas Attorney General, to purchase and implement ZeroEyes. “The addition of ZeroEyes to our security roster adds another layer of safety, enabling us to identify a potential threat before it even enters the building,” said Rex Bruce, superintendent at Meade USD 226. “The critical time provided with the technology helps us respond faster, strengthening our overall preparedness across the district.” 

Read about ZeroEyes’ other recent educational partnerships including:  

• New Mexico Junior College expands deployment of ZeroEyes 

• Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High Schools deploy ZeroEyes 

NFPA honors industry leaders at 2026 Stars at Night gala 

LAS VEGAS—The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recognized individuals and organizations for leadership and innovation in fire, electrical and life safety during its annual Stars at Night awards gala held June 21 as part of the NFPA Conference & Expo. The event highlighted a range of contributions across standards development, public education, research, community risk reduction and advocacy. NFPA presented Committee Service Awards to 10 individuals for sustained volunteer work on technical committees supporting codes and standards development. 

• NFPA’s highest honor, the Paul C. Lamb Award, was presented to President & CEO Jim Pauley for his four decades of leadership and contributions to the organization’s growth and global reach. 

• Richard Dunn received a Special Achievement Award for his role as chair of NFPA 1020, where he helped establish measurable professional standards for EMS officers and contributed to broader qualification initiatives. 

• The Fire Protection Research Foundation Medal was awarded to the team behind a report examining the environmental impact of lithium-ion battery energy storage system incidents, including potential risks associated with related fires. 

• The Harry C. Bigglestone Award for excellence in communicating fire protection research went to Rosaria Ono, Fulvio Vittorino, Walter Negrisolo and Eveline Favero for research analyzing survivor behavior during the Kiss nightclub fire. 

• The Allen (Texas) Fire Department received the Community Risk Reduction Elevation Award for its “DRIVE to Thrive” traffic safety initiative, a data-driven program aimed at reducing crash-related injuries and improving prevention strategies. 

• Elizabeth Willi of Palm Harbor Fire Rescue, Fla., was named Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year, recognized for more than two decades of work advancing public education programs. 

• Craig Thelen of Nebraska received the Electrical Inspector of the Year Award for his career contributions to electrical safety and the National Electrical Code. 

• Jared C. Nisch of the Lansing (Mich.) Fire Department was named Fire Marshal of the Year, recognized for leadership and community risk reduction efforts. 

• Rob Feeney received the James M. Shannon Advocacy Medal for his work promoting fire safety policy as a survivor of The Station nightclub fire. 

• The Standards Medal was awarded to Daniel Madrzykowski, PhD, for long-standing leadership and technical contributions to NFPA standards development. 

• The College of Electrical, Mechanical, and Industrial Engineers of Costa Rica received the Global Influencer Award for advancing adoption of NFPA codes and standards. 

SIA unveils program for 2026 AcceleRISE conference in San Diego 

SILVER SPRING, Md.—The Security Industry Association (SIA) has released the program for its 2026 AcceleRISE conference, scheduled for Aug. 3-5 at the Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego. Hosted by SIA’s RISE community, AcceleRISE is designed for young professionals and emerging leaders in the security industry, with a focus on leadership development, business skills and peer networking. Session topics include networking and first impressions, mentorship and career visibility, cybersecurity fundamentals, security operations and making the business case for security. Additional sessions will address leadership in high-stakes environments and navigating industry change. “This year at AcceleRISE, professionals new to the security industry and emerging leaders will gather to engage with content designed to support career growth and industry development,” SIA CEO Don Erickson said. The speaker lineup includes representatives from companies such as Amazon, ASSA ABLOY, HID, Meta, dormakaba and M.C. Dean. 

• Related reading: SIA names new leadership of RISE community for young professionals 

Hack The Box rolls out new tools to address cyber workforce gaps 

NEW YORK — Hack The Box (HTB) is expanding its cyber readiness platform to help organizations identify gaps, evaluate team performance and strengthen organizational resilience. By combining hands-on Security Operations Center (SOC) training, crisis simulations, artificial intelligence (AI)-augmented learning assistance and workforce intelligence capabilities in one platform, HTB enables organizations to develop and validate readiness across analysts, teams and security operations functions. Since the acquisition of Let's Defend, HTB has expanded its offensive, defensive and purple-team training capabilities to help organizations improve collaboration across security teams while strengthening incident response and crisis preparedness. “As the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, CISOs face pressure to ensure their teams are ready to respond to complex risks,” said Haris Pylarinos, founder and CEO of Hack The Box. “The nature of security work is changing quickly, and teams are being asked to do more than ever before. Security leaders need a clear view of the cyber capabilities their organization requires, how those requirements map to existing in-house skills, and where the most critical gaps remain. Our new capabilities enable CISOs to build a strategic cyber readiness plan across teams, roles and response functions, giving leaders greater confidence in their ability to prevent, detect and respond to attacks.” 

New capabilities include: 

• SOC Range – Enables organizations to build and assess analyst readiness through realistic SOC investigations, response workflows and security operations scenarios. Combined with HTB's Threat Range exercises, these capabilities create a progression from individual skill-building to team-based SOC readiness.  

• Crisis Control – Delivers crisis simulations that combine technical investigations with executive decision-making exercises, helping organizations identify gaps and validate response capabilities before a real-world incident. 

• HTB Coach – AI-augmented learning assistance for real-time guidance, explanations and knowledge reinforcement to accelerate cybersecurity skill development. 

• Enterprise Workforce Development and Curriculum Management – Provides organizations with greater flexibility to deliver structured or self-directed learning while tracking progress, skills development and readiness across teams. 

NAPCO, BuildingReports integrate StarLink Fire Max2 for enhanced inspection visibility 

AMITYVILLE, N.Y., and ATLANTA—NAPCO Security Technologies and BuildingReports have announced an enhanced integration between NAPCO’s StarLink Fire Max2 cellular commercial fire alarm communicators and the BuildingReports inspection platform, aimed at improving compliance documentation, reporting accuracy and system visibility. The integration enables a dedicated data path for BuildingReports separate from alarm signal transmission, allowing additional data exchange without affecting communications to the monitoring center. The companies said the update is designed to support fire alarm dealers - particularly those serving multi-site and national account customers with more detailed and reliable inspection information. “As a leader in fire and life-safety communications, NAPCO is pleased to partner with BuildingReports to deliver greater connectivity, efficiency and value to the marketplace,” said David Sperber, director of sales at NAPCO. “By combining the proven performance of StarLink cellular communicators with BuildingReports’ inspection and compliance platform, this collaboration helps fire alarm dealers streamline operations and better serve their customers." Among the new capabilities, BuildingReports’ barcode-based inspection process will be supplemented with electronic verification sourced directly from connected addressable devices. This added layer is intended to improve confidence that required inspections have been completed at the device level. The companies also plan to expand the integration with BuildingReports' PanelScan service, allowing StarLink communicator data, including fire alarm control panel activity, to be incorporated into inspection reports and the mobile app.  

Deep Sentinel names Jonathan Adams CRO to drive channel growth 

PLEASANTON, Calif.—Deep Sentinel has appointed security industry veteran Jonathan Adams as chief revenue officer, bringing more than two decades of experience across sales, operations, monitoring and product management. Adams most recently served as vice president of sales at Digital Monitoring Products (DMP), where he led North American sales efforts and contributed to double-digit revenue growth. His background also includes senior leadership roles at SimpliSafe and Rapid Response Monitoring, where he helped scale large monitoring operations. In his new role, Adams will focus on accelerating growth and strengthening relationships with dealers and integration partners, a key priority as Deep Sentinel continues to build out its go-to-market strategy. “Jonathan’s deep industry expertise, customer-first mindset and extensive experience leading both sales and operational organizations make him an ideal addition to our executive team,” said David Selinger, founder and CEO of Deep Sentinel. “As we continue to redefine security through AI-powered technology and live guard intervention, his leadership will help accelerate our growth and expand our relationships with dealers, partners and customers.” Adams brings experience across several core security categories, including intrusion, access control, video surveillance and monitoring services, as well as cloud-based platforms and recurring monthly revenue (RMR) business models. His cross-functional background - spanning both technical and operational leadership - positions him to bridge product strategy with channel execution, an increasingly important dynamic as vendors compete for dealer mindshare. “The company’s combination of AI-powered technology and real-time human intervention creates a truly differentiated approach to security,” Adams said. “I’m excited to work alongside our team, dealer partners and customers as we continue expanding our reach and helping prevent crime before it happens.”