Tailored solutions
extinguishing via sprinklers, water mist or – for high priority areas – suppressant gas or foam should be considered. The contents of an area may make this difficult, and the speed of detection and alert on the fire system may need to be a prime consideration. Some modern systems can react much faster, and this may need to be a key element to take on board when weighing up options. The intelligent zoning of fire systems can be combined with automatic fire doors to isolate the fire and extinguish it, or at least keep it under control until the fire service arrives. This solution was used in the underground vault at Lincoln Castle, purpose built to house a priceless copy of the Magna Carta, where an Advanced fire panel has been combined with an extinguishing control panel and fire suppression gas to protect the vault. Automatic door controls isolate the space, preventing a fire from spreading and ensuring that the gas is concentrated in the necessary area.
Human intervention
Escape routes that are longer than normally permitted are a frequent problem in historic properties, especially where they have a residential use, such as hotels or apartments. As such, avoiding unnecessary evacuations and helping ensure efficient egress are important functions of the fire system.
In many situations, human intervention is
crucial to avoid false alarm incidents. Remote paging systems, such as the one used in London’s Royal Albert Hall, can alert staff as soon as (and often before) an incident occurs, giving them the chance to verify a signal and possibly cancel a false evacuation. The same paging systems can be used to communicate with remote staff and alert those with hearing difficulties to the fire alarm, even when sleeping. Some fire systems have sophisticated
false alarm management programming built in. This can radically reduce false alerts and evacuations by configuring automatic pre programmed verification methods and investigation delays, or by allowing trained residents or occupants to verify that signals in their local area (such as an individual apartment) are false. Failsafes are vital and must be part of the default system. In conclusion, historic structures have
always presented a unique challenge for the fire system industry, but innovation is delivering more choice and performance for end users, specifiers and responsible people in the sector. The choices made need to be based on a thorough understanding of the technology and standards present within the context of a particular site
Amanda Hope is UK business development manager at Advanced. For more information, view page 5
FOCUS
www.frmjournal.com OCTOBER 2018
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