Integrated fire protection for Manchester's new integrated transport hub
Manchester Piccadilly Station has become the first major
transport terminus in the UK to be equipped with a fire protection
system that provides horizontal progressive managed evacuation. The
fire protection system was installed as part of the recent station
improvement project.
The station handles over 55,000 passengers and 1,000 train
movements every day, offering direct links to London and other UK
cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Cardiff and
Norwich. The fire protection system is part of Network Rail's
commitment to passenger safety and includes over 400 Apollo XP95 intelligent detectors
configured around five networked Morley ZX control panels. The
system was installed by Swift Fire & Security.
An Apollo-based intelligent fire detection system
has been installed at Manchester Piccadilly
transport terminus as part of a major station improvement
programme.
Fire protection
Network Rail demanded a fire protection system that would exceed
basic statutory obligations and specified an open protocol system
for flexibility of choice and with a view to simple system
expansion and upgrade in the future.
The fire system requirements were particularly challenging.
Firstly, Network Rail wanted to provide something that had not been
attempted before: a progressive managed evacuation in the event of
an emergency. This would require a high degree of integration with
other building services and a series of sophisticated PA/VA
evacuation sequences.
A second related issue was the proximity of existing properties
that needed to be included in the evacuation sequences. The new
system needed to interface with two extant stand-alone systems: one
protects the Metrolink tram terminus adjacent to the new station
entrance and the other protects a nine-storey office block that
sits above the station building.
Manchester Piccadilly is the first major
transport terminus in the UK to be equipped with a fire
protection system that provides horizontal progressive managed
evacuation.
Other factors for consideration included the fact that railway
stations - however modern - present a tough operating environment
for sensitive electronics. The fire detectors needed to be robust
enough to withstand factors such as wide fluctuations in ambient
temperature. They also needed to be capable of screening out
factors that may cause a false alarm, such as transient high levels
of dust or water vapour. A full study of the site was undertaken by
fire consultants Tenos and a final specification was drawn up.
The fire system that Swift Fire & Security supplied to meet
the specification is based around five networked control panels and
includes over 400 Apollo XP95 devices. The fire system is
controlled and monitored via a PC and graphics package situated in
the station's central control and security centre.
The fire detection equipment is fully interfaced with doors,
access control systems and the station's PA/VA system so that a
number of sophisticated fire alert response and evacuation
sequences can be triggered automatically in the event of a
suspected fire. It can also alert occupants of the office block and
Metrolink building, or respond to alerts raised by their
independent fire systems.
The Manchester Piccadilly system is configured to have eight
sector-evacuate zones. If a detector in one of these zones raises
an alert, the fire system runs through a series of predetermined
responses, from checking the cause of the signal alert, to alerting
the fire brigade and initiating a staged evacuation. If the
situation demands.
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