Patent ID: 8255896

Claim:
A fire detection system comprising: at least one existing fire detection unit; at least one replacement fire detection unit; control circuitry associated with the at least one existing fire detection unit; control circuitry associated with the at least one replacement fire detection unit; a graphical user interface associated with the at least one replacement fire detection unit; a graphical user interface associated with the at least one replacement fire detection unit; and communication media connecting the at least one existing fire detection unit and the at least one replacement fire detection unit, wherein, upon being connected to the communication media, the at least one replacement fire detection unit determines compatibility with the at least one existing fire detection unit, wherein the graphical user interface displays a representation of the compatibility, and wherein the graphical user interface receives user input instructing an update of the at least one existing fire detection unit or an update of the at least one replacement fire detection unit, and wherein, responsive to the user input, the control circuitry associated with the replacement unit and the control circuitry associated with the existing unit update the at least one replacement fire detection unit with software from the at least one existing fire detection unit or update the at least one existing fire detection unit with software from the at least one replacement fire detection unit.