Apollo fire detection technology was chosen to provide protection for the new Royal London Hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust and home to a range of specialist centers, including London’s leading trauma and emergency care center and one of the UK’s major children’s hospitals.
Apollo fire detection technology was chosen to provide protection for the new Royal London Hospital, part of Barts Health NHS Trust and home to a range of specialist centers, including London’s leading trauma and emergency care center and one of the UK’s major children’s hospitals. The new hospital opened in March 2012 and replaces a number of now demolished old buildings with a coherent structure, purpose-built to support the delivery of 21st century clinical care.
The problem
Government guidance for fire safety in the design of healthcare premises clearly states the fire safety requirements for the design of new healthcare premises and major new extensions to existing healthcare premises. Main points are that buildings have to be constructed to allow early detection of fires and have warning systems in place for occupants and the emergency services.
The installation
Meeting the hospital’s highly complex set of fire protection and evacuation requirements was the responsibility of Static Systems Group, who were awarded the contract for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of the system.
37 fire alarm panels have been provided in total, with two panels protecting each floor of the hospital except at ground level, where three control panels are installed. Each panel controls approximately 20 fire alarm zones, although this varies depending on the floor and tower with the lower floors having a greater number of zones per panel. Main control of the fire alarm network is from the Fire Command Centre, which has also been supplied with a sprinkler data gathering unit which registers activation and status of sprinkler flow switches and zone isolation valves throughout the building.
Approximately 5,000 Apollo Discovery Multisensors and 2,500 XP95 mains switching Input/Output Units have been installed to protect the 675-bed hospital.
The final verdict
Chris Smith, Systems Engineering Manager at Static Systems, said, “When you have a project that is on such a large scale, you want a reliable system that is easy to configure. Our panels give us flexibility to network and install the system over time.”
“The analog addressable technology from Apollo gave us the reliability and flexibility to meet the client’s requirements on this demanding project, whilst its open protocol gives us the ability to mix and match products to meet the specific needs of the site. It also future-proofs the fire system because Apollo analogue addressable devices are forwards compatible so any future system extension and maintenance will be simple to achieve,” he concluded.
Product Adopted:Passive Fire Safety