Apollo protects Australian Prison

Apollo protects Australian Prison

Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre and Wolston Correctional Centre, both located at Wacol in Queensland, Australia, have been equipped with a new Apollo-based fire detection system as part of an upgrade to the existing system. Ampac, who have been representing Apollo in the region since 1993, were responsible for designing and supplying the system, whilst Dayshelf Fire Systems were tasked with installation.

Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre is the only assessment and placement centre for female prisoners in South East Queensland. The centre accommodates up to 258 prisoners across two accommodation areas - secure and residential cells. The Women's Correctional Centre includes a purpose built-area that can accommodate those women who have been approved to have their children reside with them in custody. Adjacent is Wolston Correctional Centre, which houses 600 male inmates.

There are a number of particular considerations that have to be made when providing fire detection in such a facility, including evacuation procedures. Apollo's analogue addressable technology will allow an alert to be accurately located and verified, and an evacuation can be avoided if not needed.

Ampac recommended Apollo's XP95 system to meet the main fire detection requirements at the site. Dayshelf installed approximately 3,500 devices to meet the fire detection requirements, including more than 1,500 smoke detectors, 1,200 heat detectors and 500 interface units. The system is based around 46 networked Ampac control panels. The fire system has been integrated into the prison's building management system using an Ampac controller interface card.

Due to the nature of the building, a phased replacement was necessary. Fire detection devices were changed as each panel was upgraded, which had to take place one at a time. The entire process took six months to complete.

Adam Lansdown at Dayshelf, said: "A false alarm at this facility could be dangerous, so the end client needed to be confident that the chosen fire detection was reliable and accurate. Dayshelf have grown to hold a majority share in the Gold Coast fire protection market and buy Apollo equipment from Ampac 95 per cent of the time."

In addition to this large scale upgrade, Ampac are also pleased to announce the opening of a new Northern Territory Customer Service Office.