29-Aico Ltd Smoke alarm installation heat detection News 170707

Subscribe to newsletter

Editor's Note: Aico Ltd provide:-

Smoke alarm installation heat detection

Request Information

Home
Include Article
Advertise

Links
Request Information
Terms of use
Contact

Request Facilities / Interiors product information

Request Architectural product information A-J

Request Architectural product information K-Z

Request Mechanical HVAC product information

Request Electrical product information

Aico Ltd - Flintshire sets new standards of fire safety for tenants

Flintshire Council has taken an innovative approach to meeting the Fire Risk Assessment recommended in BS.5839 Part 6, utilising innovative smoke and heat alarm technology from Aico Ltd.
"BS.5839 Part 6 clearly stresses the need for a fire risk assessment when designing a smoke alarm system," says Council Spokesman Sean O'Donnell. "That means, for example, if an individual tenant is elderly or infirm, they may need a greater degree of protection than a young, healthy individual. If they smoke, they may present a greater fire risk. There are many variables that need to be taken into consideration.
"To add to the complexity, tenants may change. One day, a property may be occupied by a young couple and the next by an elderly one, or a family with an infirm child.
"Our dilemma was to install a system that met the needs of tenants no matter who they were, or how vulnerable they were. It would be hugely expensive to keep changing systems as tenants changed. We wanted a cost-effective, future-proof solution that gave our tenants truly exceptional safety."
Flintshire's solution was to embark on a phased programme of installation to LD2 standard, in excess of the normal 'compromise'
coverage. In practice, in a typical house this would mean installing four smoke and heat alarms - one optical smoke alarm upstairs, one optical smoke alarm downstairs, a third in the main living area and an additional heat alarm in the kitchen.
Flintshire specified Ei160 optical smoke and heat alarms from Aico for its properties, and interconnected them using Aico's unique RadioLINK wireless interconnect technology.
"As you can imagine, interconnecting four smoke and heat alarms might have been a daunting, expensive and time consuming task using hard wiring," says Sean O'Donnell. "Aico's RadioLINK wireless technology made it possible for us to link up the alarms quickly and cost-effectively. Most importantly, it meant minimal disruption for our tenants."
As the alarms in the property are wirelessly interconnected with RadioLink, it will be particularly easy to add any further alarms to the
system if standards or circumstances require, or to interface with special equipment such as Aico's Deaf Alarm technology.
Two phases have now been completed, covering over 240 properties. Phase Three is about to commence, during which Flintshire will take advantage of Aico's new RC technology to add a measure of control over the system and to improve safety even further.
"We know that reaching a smoke or heat alarm to hush it or to perform a test is not easy for many tenants," Sean O'Donnell points out. "Aico has recently added a really useful new feature to its RadioLINK system which allows for its Ei411H remote Test, Hush and Locate switch to be wirelessly interconnected to the system. We can mount this in a place where tenants can easily and safely reach it. Of course, this will have the added safety benefit of encouraging tenants to test their systems more often!
"We believe that nothing is more important than tenant safety. By adopting this truly extensive level of protection, we believe we're
leading the field and helping to establish 'Best Practice' in meeting the varying fire safety requirements of our tenants. We also believe that it's cost effective because we have eliminated the need for individual risk assessments and re-installations in properties where
tenant safety needs change."

Email: Julie@publicityoverload.co.uk