Feature Fire & Security
which the risk to property or business continuity from fire is high. CTA Fire selected an intelligent ana- logue addressable system based around Hochiki’s Enhanced Systems Protocol (ESP). The installation involved replac- ing an old system with Hochiki’s prod- ucts, utilising the existing mineral insulated cable (MIC). Sean Knight, CTA’s senior engineer and project manager, commented, “Once we had commissioned the ESP system we integrated it with a control panel. The system works perfectly and has been configured to perform in two modes - day and show.
“Day mode simply requires every- one to leave the building straight away when the system is activated, while show mode silences the call points and gives designated personnel 90 sec- onds to react to acknowledge the prob- lem. Once acknowledged, staff get a further five minutes to investigate the situation and take the necessary course of action having been notified of the origin of the alarm condition via a full message pager.”
A solid performance
A variety of Hochiki products were specified for the project including heat sensors, call points, base sounders and sensor bases. Hochiki’s ALG-EN optical smoke sensors were also installed
Above: the Savoy Theatre was built by Richard D’Oyly Carte on the site of the old Savoy Palace as a
showcase for the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Having purchased the freehold of the site for the grand sum of £11,000, the theatre opened its doors on 10th October 1881
which feature the company’s High Performance Chamber Technology. Hochiki’s chamber design minimises the differences in sensitivity experi- enced in flaming and smouldering fires. The result is an optical chamber that is equally responsive to all smoke types, helping to reduce the possibility of unwanted alarms.
Unwanted alarms are a serious prob- lem for any premises but for theatres they can be particularly disruptive and it is vital to reduce them as much as pos- sible, as Knight explained, “To min- imise the possibility of unwanted alarms we installed Hochiki’s heat detectors around the edge of the stage where smoke detectors were not appro- priate. We were also able to integrate a
switch to allow a low sensitivity mode on the smoke detectors near to the stage for use during show time.”
The project was not without its chal- lenges, as for a period of time both old and new alarms had to work simultane- ously until the new installation was complete. Also, CTA Fire had to work around the performances, which meant sometimes having to carry out work through the night.
For the Savoy Theatre, like any other building that welcomes the public, preserving its aesthetic integrity was important. This is an area where Rooney feels that Hochiki products were particularly well suited. He explained, “Fire detection products need to blend in with their surroundings and it’s my view that Hochiki’s products not only perform brilliantly but look good too.” Since installation the system has had no unwanted alarms reported. Oli Matthews, the Savoy Theatre’s deputy chief electrician, summarised, “The Hochiki fire detection system has been excellent and 100% reliable. We want our visitors to be safe at the Savoy and the system that CTA Fire installed gives me every confidence that they will be.”
Hochiki
www.hochikieurope.com T: 01634 266 566
Power Explorer PX5 Power Quality Analyser
uIEC 61000-4-30 Class A Compliant uEvents Characterised to EN50160, Harmonics to G54 uColour Touch Screen uSo Easy to set up u8 - Channels AC or DC, 15 - 450 Hz
Enter 220
IMH Technologies Ltd Specialist Instrumentation & Consultancy
8 Roach View off Millhead Way, Purdey’s Industrial Estate, Rochford, Essex SS4 1LB Telephone: 0845 8800240 Facsimile: 0845 8800241 Email:
sales@imh.co.uk Internet:
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