Apollo Protects Portsmouth Guildhall from Fire
Fire detection technology from Apollo has been chosen to protect
Portsmouth Guildhall following a major review of fire strategy. The
contract was awarded to Christie Intruder Alarms (CIA) Ltd, who are
an approved supplier for Portsmouth City Council.
The Guildhall is situated in the centre of Portsmouth and dominates
Guildhall Square. Following extensive damage caused by bombing
during World War II, the building was rebuilt during the 1950s.
Today it is used as an entertainment and conference centre, as well
as housing The Coroner's Office, the Council Chamber and Mayoral
Suite.
There were a number of issues to take into account when
designing the new fire system. In some areas, such as the Mayoral
Chambers and banqueting facilities, architectural considerations
precluded the use of standard hard-wired devices. There was also
the need for flexibility, to cope with the multi-use nature of the
site. For example, smoke generators are a regular feature of the
rock concerts held at the venue, so the fire system had to be
capable of distinguishing between transient triggers and genuine
fires.
Bryan Pope, Portsmouth City Council's Fire Advisor,
explains: "I was concerned by the occasional lateral spread
of smoke to areas around the auditorium and the need to mitigate
disruption to those attending a concert and other building users.
The new system had to be flexible without compromising the safety
of the building or its occupants."
Using Apollo technology, Christie Intruder Alarms was able to
select products to meet these specific requirements and deliver a
fully compatible fire system that did not compromise on performance
or reliability. Apollo's analogue addressable XP95 and Discovery
devices form the basis of the fire protection system.
Some 600 XP95 devices were used to protect the main areas of the
building, while Discovery ionisation detectors were used in areas
where there was the possibility of smoke entrainment. Those
installed at the Guildhall are set to Mode 4, so that their
sensitivity levels are appropriate to the risk in these areas. Beam
detectors were used in the auditorium roof void, high level plant
rooms and the Council Chamber. For the heritage areas, Christie
Intruder Alarms used Apollo's wireless XPander range.
A key switch facility enables the stage manager to switch the
smoke detectors in the auditorium to 'heat only' mode when smoke
generators are in use. Operating the key switch also isolates the
high level beam detectors in the roof void. A second key switch
facility controls the door 'hold open' devices around the
auditorium.
The fire system is configured in 32 zones and controlled by an
eight-loop Advanced Electronics MX 400 control panel. The system is
monitored at the ground floor reception and by front-of-house staff
during functions. Interfaced with it is a Scope emergency pager
system that alerts designated staff if an alarm is raised and
transmits information about the alarm zone and device operated.
This enables staff to investigate incidents prior to an evacuation
being instigated and avoids unnecessary disruption to the
occupants.
Fire cover was maintained throughout the changeover. Colin
Langdown, General Manager of Christie Intruder Alarms, sees Apollo
as being central to the successful completion of this project.
"Despite all our experience and expertise in designing
installations of this nature, it would not have been possible to
overcome the challenges of this project without the versatility and
flexibility of the Apollo range," he said.
Following the successful completion of the Guildhall fire
system, the Council is now looking to replace the fire detection
and alarm system in the Civic Office on the opposite side of
Guildhall Square using Apollo technology.
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