36 EVACUATION See more like this online at:
www.fsmatters.com
The great escape
As our buildings and the way in which we put them to use become more complex, the challenges of
safely evacuating occupants also increase. The latest analogue addressable fire panels give fire
engineers, specifiers and end users more control and peace of mind than ever, delivering unprecedented
levels of performance and accuracy, explains Paul Duffy
The capabilities of latest analogue
addressable fire panels stretch way
beyond ‘detecting a possible fire and
letting everyone know’, by making
evacuations safer and faster, detecting
earlier, operating well past the initial
activation and integrating with third-party
building management systems
(BMS).
Better by design
Effective evacuation begins at fire
system design stage. Whether a new-build
or refurbishment, building use,
escape routes, fire compartments and
false alarm minimisation should all be
considered as an integral part of the
wider design and specification process.
An in-depth fire risk assessment
needs to be carried out and, in the case
of larger or more complex buildings, this
may include a more detailed evacuation
strategy for the site. This should cover
factors such as locations of indicating
equipment, escape routes, safe areas and
people at risk, as well as identifying and
addressing any potential barriers to
evacuation.
Avoiding unnecessary
evacuations
Ideally, evacuation only occurs when a
building is in genuine false alarm, and
recent innovations in false alarm
reduction aim to ensure this. Panels like
Advanced’s MxPro 5 combine cause and
effect programming with human
interventions and intelligent detection
to confirm alarm signals. Using
complex algorithms in conjunction with
an intelligent panel, detectors can
operate in different sensitivity modes to
confirm an activation, or in
combination with other devices –
commonly referred to as co-incidence
or double knock.
Programming of alarm verification
and investigation delays is
straightforward. After the fire condition
is displayed at the panel, the responsible
person can physically check if an
activated device is a genuine alarm. If
no action is taken the delay expires or, if
a pre-determined set of conditions are
met, evacuation will commence.
However, if the alarm was false and the
signal has cleared, the responsible
person can reset the panel, avoiding an
unnecessary evacuation.
The responsible person is also able to
Using cause
and effect,
modern fire
panels can
be
configured
according to
usage of the
whole
building,
specific
areas, or the
needs of
specific
individuals
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