9 flat fire alarm

[Mattmasters]

Hi guys. 

 

Sorry to be a pain..

 

i have an an interesting question. We have been asked to quote for a fire alarm system to cover 9 separate flats over 4 floors. Smoke and heats in each flat and communal areas.. I have been given a spec to follow via the architect which shoes smokes by the bedroom and heats in the kitchen.. all linked up to a main panel down by the main door...

 

im not 100% convinced with this system as I have had issues with false activations before from people setting things off accidentally and meaning a full evac of the whole building..

 

would you all do what is requested and supply a full addressable or conventional system with full integration in the flats and the communal areas?? Smokes, heats and carbon.. or would you do communal areas only with stand alone fire alarms in each flat such as the domestic aico smoke and heat detectors? 

 

Thanks in advance

[Rulland]

I worked on a council program where communal fire alarms, such as you describe,were being removed due to total evac situations in the middle of the night, no7 comes home pissed and burns toast or whatever.

They have now made the flats safe to stay, and installed stand alone mains interlinked-aico-as it happens into all properties, best bit is the majority of the communal systems were less than 10 years old.

It's yet to be seen if the safe to stay approach will work in the event of a real fire scenario, human nature says try to get out not sit and await rescue services.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Rulland

[Mattmasters]

Hi Rulland..

 

the logic i am thinking is to have a full conventional fire alarm in the hallways and have a fire alarm detector in each flat by the front door with a sounder and maybe a beacon. While inside the flats they get the electrician to install aico fire alarms. 

 

What would you do in this situation?

 

cheere

[Rulland]

That's basically what I've been removing, no protection in communal areas at all now.

Interlinked installed instead.

[sixwheeledbeast]

FItted systems with C-Tec Hush Buttons for this scenario, seem to work well.

You end up with a mix of conventional and analogue on the same system tho.

[datadiffusion]

36 minutes ago, Mattmasters said:

Hi Rulland..

 

the logic i am thinking is to have a full conventional fire alarm in the hallways and have a fire alarm detector in each flat by the front door with a sounder and maybe a beacon. While inside the flats they get the electrician to install aico fire alarms. 

 

What would you do in this situation?

 

cheere

 

Exactly how it is round our way in most housing authority places, proper system in communal that extends to an all-in-one just inside the front door of each flat. Seems to work OK, and at least does give some warning when the alky falls asleep with a pan on the stove, eventually when it boils dry and burns it will ring ALL the flats after they've ignored 10 mins of 'that tw**t nexts doors f**kin' alarm going off again'...

[Mattmasters]

Not sure I like the idea of only interlinked protection in the hallways... I can see your view Rulland but I feel after reading the regs it would require a little more to satisfy the fire authority here.. 

 

from what im reading it only requires communal detectors, emergency access call points and one smoke / sounder in each flat.. 

 

i also like the sound of the hush buttons suggested by sixwheeledbeast... but not sure the landlord would like them to turn their alarms off..

 

thanks for for the help guys.. also booked onto am FIA course to hopefully cut the questions down..

 

 guys.

[Rulland]

Matt, i probably didn't explain correctly.

Most flats had one standalone smoke in the living room, heat possibly, in kitchen and a communal smoke adjacent to front door with sounder, sometimes break glass.

There was then smokes and bgs on communal landings.

I removed all communal gear completely, so no detection etc on landings or in flats.

Flats existing standalone stuff was modified to mains interlinked. 

Prior to these mods, all flats had to be made 1 hour fire rated, attics, risers, electrical enclosures, extract ducts, cable routes, anything between floors or walls that could allow fire to migrate.

 

[al-yeti]

All down to risk assessment then?

[datadiffusion]

As far as I know (and I don't do fire, but see a lot of it on my travels) the above seems to be a widely accepted solution

 

And, apropos of nothing...