Feature Fire Safety
A service for life safety T
A new fire protection system based on Hochiki’s Enhanced Systems Protocol is enhancing safety at Europe’s biggest service station on the M25 at Cobham
he new service station was opened late last year by the Extra Motorway Service Area (MSA) Group, following a lengthy process that involved various issues and some local objections to the size and scale of the proposed development.
For the 190,000 or so motorists that use the biggest ring road in the world every day, the new £75m Extra MSA fills a 63 mile gap between service areas on this section of the motorway, providing motorists with a welcome opportunity to refresh and relax. Located roughly midway between Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport, it is home to a number of household names including McDonald’s, Starbucks, M&S Simply Food, WH Smith, KFC, Quicksilver and El Mexicana. In addition, there is a 75 bedroom Days Inn budget hotel, while Regus hosts a separate lounge facility and business centre, offering a full range of services and meeting rooms. Andrew Long, chief executive of Extra MSA Group, commented, “We have worked hard to build a rapport with local groups who originally objected to the development. They feared it would be detrimental to their locality but now they have seen the results, many have complimented us on our work here.”
Fuelling Britain’s motorists While the new service station offers the opportunity for motorists to stretch their legs, the primary reason for people visiting the service station is the need for fuel. The petrol station that Extra MSA Group has developed on the Cobham site is now Europe’s biggest, boasting 36 forecourt pumps and six dedicated high speed heavy goods vehicle (HGV) pumps - totalling 141 nozzles. It can serve around 3,500 vehicles a day. Worthing-based Electrical Services & Projects (ESP) won the contract to supply the electrical services to the Cobham Extra MSA. ESP has previ- ous experience of working in petrol service stations, and the company has an understanding of the specific requirements of these types of pro- jects. ESP was therefore in a good position to provide a comprehensive service for this location.
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Left: the new service station on the M25 at Cobham now has Europe’s biggest petrol station
Multiple devices
ESP’s director, Colin Garwood, commented, “We needed a fire detec- tion system that could ensure com- plete safety for the those visiting and working at the service station, while minimising the possibility of unwanted alarms. Having previously worked with Southern Fire Alarms we brought them in to design, supply and commission a system that could fulfil these objectives, while we han- dled its installation.”
Following a comprehensive site
survey, a BS 5389 compliant category L1 addressable fire detection system was recommended. An L1 system is designed for the protection of life and deploys automatic detectors through- out all areas of the building - including roof spaces and voids - with the aim of providing the earliest possible warning. Commenting on the rationale behind the selection of the system, David Fell, systems sales consultant of Southern Fire Alarms, said, “We have worked with Hochiki Europe for many years and the quality of their products is second to none. Also, because of the way their systems are designed, we knew we could make significant time and cost savings on the project.”
The chosen system is based around Hochiki’s Enhanced Systems Protocol which is a total communica- tions solution for intelligent fire
A wide variety of devices were installed including ALG-EN optical smoke sensors that feature Hochiki Europe’s High Performance Chamber Technology, which minimises the differences in sensitivity experienced in flaming and smouldering fires. In addition, HCPE-E call points, YBN- BSB base sounder beacons, ACB-E multi-heat sensors and CHQ-MRC mains relay controllers were used. Remarking on the speed at which the system was configured, Fell added, “Once the base is installed, fitting the devices is a fast and efficient process - usually taking about 30 seconds. This is considerably quicker than most other products on the market.” The building contains a large void due to its barrel vault roof design and this had to be covered by the fire detec- tion system. The devices that are sited in this space were pre-programmed in advance so that ESP could complete a second fix before the suspended ceiling was put in place. This proved to be a highly useful feature that helped avoid some complex logistical issues and meant that the devices’ performance could not be affected by work being car- ried out nearby.
Just as importantly, it also helped to reduce the number of site visits. During the construction process the area was made highly secure - all vehicles had to be liveried and only approved personnel were allowed on-site. Therefore, gaining access could often be a time consuming process, so being able to limit the amount of times this had to be done proved highly beneficial.
The installation and commissioning process was smooth, which meant that the project was finished on schedule. Since it opened Southern Fire Alarms has not been called back to the Extra MSA. Fell concluded, “This was a fan- tastic project to work on and we are delighted to have been able to carry it out using the industry’s leading life safety solutions.”
Hochiki Europe
www.hochikieurope.com T: 01634 266 566
detection and fully integrated sys- tems. It has a multi-purpose structure that provides the flexibility and expansion to accommodate simple addressable systems, as well as inte- grated building management and complex life safety systems.
Enter 204 SEPTEMBER 2013 Electrical Engineering
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