  If at least one neutron star (NS) is magnetized in a binary NS merger, then
the orbital motion of the conducting companion during the final inspiral
induces a strong voltage and current along the magnetic field lines connecting
the NSs. If a modest fraction, eta, of the extracted electromagnetic power
extracted accelerates relativistic particles, the resulting gamma-ray emission
a compact volume will result in the formation of an electron-positron pair
fireball. Applying a steady-state pair wind model, we quantify the
detectability of the precursor fireball with gamma-ray satellites. For eta ~ 1
the gamma-ray detection horizon of D_max ~ 10(Bd/1e14 G)^{3/4} Mpc is much
closer than the Advanced LIGO/Virgo horizon of 200 Mpc, unless the NS surface
magnetic field strength is very large, Bd > 1e15 G. Given the quasi-isotropic
nature of the emission, mergers with weaker NS fields could contribute a nearby
population of short gamma-ray bursts. Power not dissipated close to the binary
is carried to infinity along the open field lines by a large scale Poynting
flux. Reconnection within this outflow, well outside of the pair photosphere,
provides a potential site for non-thermal emission, such as a coherent
millisecond radio burst.
