Fire & Hazard Protection
Apollo first choice for London landmark 5
Merchant Square is a landmark office building arranged over 15 floors in Paddington’s prestigious waterside setting, with spectacular views over the West End and City. Designed by award-winning international architects Mossession & Partners, it has a dynamic façade and a stunning full height glass atrium. The unique shape of the atrium creates a flood of natural light throughout the building but this presented challenges when it came to fitting fire detection equipment, as Chris Onions, Project Manager at Leader Systems explains: “We were tasked to fit out the shell and core of the 15 floor building to give unparalleled fire detection across the whole site. There were a number of features in the building that meant a complete fire detection system – such as that offered by Apollo – was absolutely vital.” Chris continues, “The first challenge was the Atrium. As a full glass structure, with no access, it was impossible to fit any smoke or multi-sensor detectors at the top. However, because it was
100% glass, the only place a fire could start would be on the ground and so we chose to fit eight fire beam detectors.” The open protocol, reflective smoke beam detectors incorporate a motorised head able to align itself during commissioning to continually correct against building movement and ensure maximum protection at all times. “As with any environment like this, the high ceilings allowing for lorry movement meant traditional detectors wouldn’t give the level of protection required, so we used Apollo’s Flame Detector,” Chris said. Flame Detector is designed to protect enclosed indoor areas where open fires may occur and has a fast acting response to flames up to 25m away. Critically, it is able to discriminate between flames and other, non- threatening sources of radiation. Leader Systems finished the initial installation in 2010 and then revisited to install detectors for a major retailer’s head offices which occupied the first seven floors of the building. In total, Leader Systems installed more than 4,500 devices and expanded
on the fire alarm panels installed during the shell and core fit out. In any new build there are numerous demands on the devices and Leader Systems linked to Apollo’s XP95 interfaces with a number of other safety measures. For example, when an alarm is raised, smoke curtains descend in designated locations, lifts return to the ground/first floor and escalators stop. For further information, visit
www.apollo-fire.co.uk
Homelift Installer Integrates Aico Radiolink Smoke Alarms
interconnection technology to work with its domestic lift, VM Homelift, to meet The British Standard BS 5900:2012. BS 5900:2012 covers the behaviour
W
essex Lifts is installing Aico mains powered smoke alarms with RadioLINK wireless
of homelifts in the event of fire and requires the lift to be connected to a smoke alarm system. Wessex Lifts, which has been manufacturing, installing and maintaining home lifts for over 35 years, has specified Aico’s 160RC series mains powered alarm for its VM Homelift. The alarms are fitted on Aico’s RadioLINK bases for wireless alarm interconnection. These communicate with the lifts’ controls via Aico’s Ei413 RadioLINK Panel Interface Modules. The lift circuitry has been modified by Wessex Lifts, so if the smoke alarms are initiated the lift will disengage if already parked or immediately after the journey has been made if the lift is already in use, in line with BS 5900:2012. In addition, the lift’s direction can be changed to avoid the source of the fire. Wessex Lifts decided to use Aico 160 alarms exclusively because, according to Wayne Parker, Product Manager, “they are very good, reliable alarms with excellent technical literature and product support.” Wessex Lifts currently fits around 800 homelifts every year in both social and
Building & Facilities Management – June 2014
private housing, all are integrated with Aico 160RC alarms.
In properties that are already fitted with Aico 160RC alarms, the simple addition of a RadioLINK base and Ei413 RadioLINK Panel Interface Module allows for swift integration with the lift. The 160RC Series is one of Aico’s best selling alarm ranges and features 10 year plus Lithium cell back-up for complete peace of mind. Optical, Ionisation and Heat alarms are available in the range and all work with Aico’s RadioLINK technology. RadioLINK allows Aico alarms and accessories to be wirelessly interconnected by Radio Frequency (RF) signals rather than cabling, which saves time and disruption when installing systems in existing properties and makes interconnection with lift controls considerable easier.
Aico is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ei Electronics. All Aico alarms are designed and built in Europe specifically to meet UK standards and regulations. For more information please go to
www.aico.co.uk or contact Aico on 01691 664100 or
enquiries@aico.co.uk
fire & hazard protection 37
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