Just one MxPro addressable fire panel and Advanced’s false alarm management solution, AlarmCalm, has been used to protect every unit in a UK business park from false alarms and improve fire protection.
Rawmec Industrial Park is home to nearly 100 businesses, with light industrial spaces from 2,480 to 7,000 sq ft. The new system was installed following a recent fire in one of the manufacturing units, after which it was decreed that a new site-wide fire alarm system was required. Installers CRE8 Electrical Solutions approached IGPA Services Limited who designed, supplied and commissioned a system that included a single Advanced MxPro 5 panel in the main reception, with an AlarmCalm Button intelligent loop device in each unit, allowing occupants to delay a full alert when an erroneous incident occurs.
AlarmCalm
There are several units where false alarms are likely, including a vehicle repairers and other manufacturing facilities"
AlarmCalm is available as standard on Advanced’s MxPro 5 multiprotocol panels, and delivers unprecedented control of verification times and investigation delays by dividing site up into virtual false alarm building areas that can be points, rooms, floors or whole buildings. The optional AlarmCalm Button allows trained occupants to verify if they believe a local fire signal is a false alarm, helping to radically reduce false alarm incidents.
Lambros Nicolaou, Design Manager/G.M for IGPA Services Limited , explained, “There are several units where false alarms are likely, including a vehicle repairers and other manufacturing facilities. Following the recent fire, the insurers and Fire Services told the park owners that a single, integrated system was required. As a long-time Advanced partner, MxPro panels were the obvious choice for us as they offer the quality and reliability needed for a light industrial environment, but the budget wouldn’t stretch to a networked panel in each unit, so we needed to provide a solution suitable for the building layout and business practices.”
Single-loop MxPro 5 system
“After further consideration we concluded that using a single-loop MxPro 5 system, with an AlarmCalm Button in each unit will provide a cost-effective solution that offers peace of mind to all tenants and their employees, while also fulfilling the stipulated requirements.”
If the alert is genuine, the occupants can simply evacuate and allow the full alert to go ahead
The fire system is programmed using a set of Cause and Effects so that activation of a single detector within a unit will only trigger the sounders in that specific area (alarm zone). If the alert is genuine, the occupants can simply evacuate and allow the full alert to go ahead, the added bonus of activating a local manual call point would also initiate a full evacuation, but if it is false or unwanted, i.e. caused by steam or car exhaust fumes, each unit has 60 seconds in which to press the AlarmCalm Button and avoid a site wide evacuation alert.
If the cause of a confirmed false alarm is taking time to clear, a further two minute window can be activated by utilizing the AlarmCalm feature, but if more than one detector is triggered at any point the system automatically goes to full alert.
AlarmCalm Button
Amanda Hope, UK Business Development Manager for Advanced, commented, “While AlarmCalm can work on any MxPro 5-based system, the AlarmCalm Button was originally developed with residential buildings, such as hospitals or hotels, in mind. This system meets the requirements of Rawmec Industrial Park by using the AlarmCalm Button in an innovative new way.”
“Using the single-panel MxPro 5 system, each factory unit is programmed as an individual building area with its own false alarm management strategy. The detectors and panels can do much of the work on their own, using cause and effect programming, while the optional AlarmCalm Button provides further peace of mind to the occupants of each unit and across the site.”
MxPro 5 panels can be used in single loop, single panel format or easily configured into high speed, 200-panel networks
MxPro 5 is the fire industry’s leading multiprotocol panel, offering high-performance fire detection and alarm control across multi-panel networks and multiple sites. Approved to EN54 2, 4 and 13, MxPro 5 panels can be used in single loop, single panel format or easily configured into high speed, 200-panel networks covering huge areas. Advanced’s legendary ease of installation and configuration make MxPro customizable to almost any application.
Intelligent fire systems
Harriet Sullivan, spokesperson for Kechto Holdings Ltd, owners of Rawmec Industrial Park, commented, “We’ve been very impressed with the solution devised by IGPA Services Limited who also supplied and commissioned the system, manufactured by Advanced. The MxPro panel is both reliable and intuitive to operate, while the use of the AlarmCalm Button in the units was a highly innovative solution to the requirement for a cost-effective system to cover the whole site.”
Advanced is a developer and manufacturer of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease-of-use of its products sees them used in prestigious and challenging locations all over the world, from single panel installations to large multi-site networks. Advanced products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control and fire paging systems.