Apollo Fire Detectors Protect IKEA Cardiff
An Apollo-based intelligent fire detection system has
been specified and installed to protect IKEA Cardiff, the latest
venture by the Swedish retail chain in the UK. The fire detection
system incorporates in excess of 1,500 Apollo XP95 devices and was
designed, installed and commissioned by Logic Fire
Systems.
IKEA Cardiff is a record-making project. Construction time for
the superstore broke all the company's previous records worldwide.
The store was up and running just 38 weeks from project
commencement. At 26,000 square metres (½ million square feet), it
is the second-largest IKEA store in the UK. Displays include 59
different room sets and 21 kitchen layouts as well as around ½km of
sofas.
The sheer scale of the store did pose some interesting
challenges for the fire detection system and evacuation sequences.
Not least of these were the internal fire escape routes. There was
also a special requirement for a "push button"
accept/investigate/evacuate facility on the control panel.
Logic Fire Systems supplied a two-loop
master control panel networked to three four-loop control panels.
These govern around 1,300 Apollo XP95 optical smoke and heat
detectors, manual call points and hundreds of interface devices
that link the fire detection system to essential plant and building
control equipment. Logic was also responsible for designing and
installing an intelligent emergency lighting system and a PA/VA
system to guide people out of the building in the event of an
emergency.
The special requirement for an accept/investigate/evacuate
facility on the master panel was resolved with help from panel
manufacturer Advanced Electronics. The master control panel is
installed in the store's security lodge and the additional
capability gives security staff the capability to accept a signal
as a fire alarm within 30 seconds. If no action is taken the panel
moves automatically into evacuation mode. If the alarm is
acknowledged, security staff then have three minutes in which to
investigate the incident. They can then choose either to cancel the
alarm or move to evacuation in the event of a genuine fire.
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