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Fire Safety in High-rise buildings.
If you are responsible for Fire safety or are a resident of a high-rise, multi-occupancy property you will be only too aware of the increased awareness of the need for enhanced fire detection and evacuation processes.
The former ‘stay put’ guidance is now regarded as unsafe and has been replaced by a ‘simultaneous evacuation’ strategy.
Many properties have deployed a waking watch service; this is a fire protection service and involves marshals patrolling to lookout for potential signs of a fire. They are also responsible for raising the alarm.
These services are costing property owners and residents thousands of pounds. A Waking Watch service can be replaced by a wireless Fire Detection System. This meets all the required standards and is quickly and easily installed. The total one-off cost of a Fire Detection System can be less than 10 weeks of a Waking Watch service.
Grade 1 is the lowest EN grade alarm system and is typically installed on the basis that intruders are expected to have little knowledge of the alarm system and may be restricted to a limited range of easily available tools to disarm the system.
How does Terminology differ between BS and EN50131?
Some Terminology has changed, and some of the more common terms and abbreviations used in the standards are detailed below.
IAS
Intruder Alarm System
(Type of System)
HAS
Hold-up Alarm System
(Type of System)
I&HAS
Intruder & Hold-up Alarm System
(Type of System)
ACE
Ancillary Control Equipment
(eg Exit Terminator Switch)
PACE
Portable Ancillary Control Equipment
(eg Remote Keyfob)
CIE
Control and Indicating Equipment
(eg Alarm Panel)
WD
Warning Device
(eg Bell Box, Sounders, Strobes)
ATS
Alarm Transmission System
(Signalling System)
ARC
Alarm Receiving Centre
(Monitoring Station)
PS
Power Supply
(Power Supply for I & HAS)
Example IAS (Intruder Alarm System)
The diagram shows the terminology for the main components of a system.