KwikHEAT - Practical Facilities Management

health & safety: fire safetyEurope’s first Watermistcode published by FIAEurope’s first ever Code ofPractice for watermistsystems has been written bythe Fire Industry Association(FIA) and is freely availableon the association’s website(www.fia.uk.com).Watermist systems are increasinglybeing employed in the protection ofpeople and property from fire in awide range of commercialapplications, including IT,telecommunications, powergeneration and food processingfacilities. Such systems use water inan intelligent way to suppress fire,offering rapid fire knockdown but in amore environmentally responsible waysince they use less water thanconventional deluge systems. Inaddition to savings in water, this alsomeans less run-off and thereforereduced effluent which, in turn,lessens the impact on the surroundingenvironment.Additional benefits include therequirement for a smaller footprintthan conventional water suppressionsystems: smaller piping, pumps andtanks ensures watermist systems aremuch easier to accommodate inpremises where space is at apremium. Despite the increasing useof watermist in fire protection, untilnow there has been no official guideto their design and installation. Thisnew Code of Practice has beenwritten by a team of industry expertswithin the FIA, all of whom areleading specialists in this field.Bob Whiteley, Chairman of the FIAcommittee that wrote the code,comments -”The code has beenwritten with the specific needs ofinsurers, architects and risk assessorsin mind, providing them with all theinformation required to correctlyspecify a system. Although it isvoluntary, we see it taking on a similarrole to that which was produced forgaseous extinguishing systems whichhas effectively been used as theindustry standard for several years.”Reader Reply No.: 112038Apollo performs at the NIAThe National Indoor Arena(NIA) in Birmingham isbenefiting from a fire systemupgrade that has equippedthe 13,000-seat venue with anew Apollo intelligent firedetection system.The contract to upgrade the currentApollo system was awarded to BDSFire & Security Limited, whorecommended a range of detectorsand ancillary products from theDiscovery range to meet the client’sspecification.The NIA is a multi-purpose arena thatcan stage more than 30 differentindoor sports as well as concerts,entertainment and business events.With regular use of pyrotechnics anddiesel-powered equipment, as well asfull catering and merchandisingfacilities, the multi-use nature of thebuilding is a potential source of falsealarms. The new fire system neededto provide protection to the main fourstorey building and its four linkedmulti storey car parks.In fact, Apollo’s Discovery range ofintelligent fire detectors offers anumber of features to ensure thatwarnings are particularly reliable andnuisance alarms are kept to aminimum.In total, over 1,300 devices wererequired to upgrade the existingsystem, including 782 multisensordetectors, 154 manual call points andin excess of 300 Klaxon sounderbeacons. 110 interfaces connect thefire system with the NIA’s automaticsmoke doors, extract fans, cateringgas valves and access control doors.In the event of an alarm being raised,a phased evacuation sequence isactivated with instructions relayed viaa Signet PA/VA system.Designed around six AdvancedMX4400 panels, the fire system isnetworked together and includes aGraphical User Interface. BDS hasused the Advanced Graphics packagein a novel way to switch groups ofmultisensors between differentoperating modes in a presetsequence to take into account thevarying fire detection requirements ofthe building at different times of day.Reader Reply No: 111023BIFM ExaminationsHave you considered sponsoring your employeesthrough the BIFM examination route to qualification?Having BIFM qualified staff can lead to:a more competent workforcegreater retention through increased job satisfactionenhanced delivery of your FM service“My study has enabled me to ‘stretch my wayof thinking’ and become a more effective memberof the FM team within my organisation.”Marie Snow, Facilities Manager, West Mercia Constabulary, April 2006For full details on this and other products, including the IFMA CFMcredential, visit our website or contact the Exam Programme Manager,Lynne Rushton on 0845 058 1355 or lynne.rushton@bifm.org.ukwww.bifm.org.uk30