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It isn’t every day you need to specify a fire detection system for an industrial complex inside a mountain – but that was the challenge facing International Power, owners of Dinorwig Power Station near Snowdonia National Park in North Wales.

Built in 1984, Dinorwig hydro electric power station offers one of the fastest response times of any power facility in the world, generating 1,728MW from standstill in just 90 seconds. Virtually all the critical plant at Dinorwig is situated underground.  Some of the main areas requiring fire protection are also on a massive scale: the machine hall, for example, is 180 metres long, 23 metres wide and 51 metres high.

International Power developed a specification that would:
• deliver a networked fire detection system to cover overground and underground areas of the power station sited several kilometers apart;
• be based on an open protocol;
• include aspirating fire detection.

Working in partnership, Apollo Fire Detectors Limited and Kentec Electronics Limited were able to demonstrate that a fire detection system based on Apollo’s open digital protocol would fulfil International Power’s unique requirements.

System specification
The new Dinorwig fire detection system is based around 12 Kentec Syncro analogue addressable control panels – eight of which are installed underground. Three graphic panels based on Kentec’s GUIDE system provide a single point of co-ordination for all alarms and are positioned in the pressurised main control room underground, the administrative offices, and at the main gatehouse.

More than 1500 Apollo XP95 fire detectors and ancillary devices are incorporated in the new fire system. Optical smoke detectors are used in the main areas and approach tunnels, with heat detectors protecting rest rooms and kitchens. In excess of 450 addressable sounders and sounder beacons alert staff to an emergency and around 250 manual call points enable employees to raise an alarm.

An aspirating system has been fitted in the main cavern so that air turbulence will not affect the system’s ability to detect fire. Water spray and gas extinguishing systems are also installed in the transformer rooms at the power plant. Approximately 100 Apollo interfaces enable this equipment to link in to the main fire detection system.

Andrew Taylor of International Power comments: “We were able to use standard fire detectors from Apollo’s range to achieve the reliability levels we required in our subterranean environment. This helped to control costs and timescales on the project.

“The inclusion of aspirating fire detection could have been an issue, but the choice of an open digital protocol, plus the existence of an Apollo interface to link this in, avoided any compatibility problems.”

Although the power station is highly complex in its fire detection requirements, the evacuation principle is simple: one alarm, all out – except a few essential staff in the control room.

In addition to International Power staff, the site is subject to regular tours for the general public so evacuation procedures needed to accommodate people who are unfamiliar with the site layout. The new fire system meets modern standards by providing reliable noise dispersal, with loop powered sounders and sounder beacons in the machine hall where noise levels may prevent audible alarms being heard.

Conclusion
The fire detection system at Dinorwig now offers comprehensive coverage across the entire site. Thanks to Apollo’s open digital protocol, the point fire detection, aspirating detection and extinguishing systems are fully integrated. Kentec’s sophisticated graphics controls provide a user friendly interface that enables routine maintenance issues and sources of alarms to be pinpointed and responded to effectively.

Andrew Taylor concludes: “The new fire system certainly gives us peace of mind that Dinorwig power station is protected from fire hazards and that we can get everyone out should an incident arise.”

Notes

1. First Hydro Company is part of a joint venture between International Power plc & Mitsui & Co Ltd.

2. CDM Regulations - the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations came into force in Great Britain on 6 April 2007 with the aim of simplifying and clarifying the delivery of improved standards of health, safety and welfare. They place duties in relation to management arrangements and practical measures on a range of construction project participants, including clients, designers and contractors.

The FA Cup made an appearance in Havant recently as part of a week-long football fundraising extravaganza at the headquarters of the world-leading fire detector manufacturer, Apollo Fire Detectors Ltd.

Organised through Apollo’s sponsorship of Portsmouth Football Club to raise money for the Australian Bushfire Appeal, the fundraising kicked off on Thursday 26 February with Apollo’s 450 employees being given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have their photo taken with the FA Cup. For a modest £1 donation, they received a colour print of the occasion and were also entitled to wear their Portsmouth FC colours at work for the day.

And the football-themed fundraising activities didn’t stop there. A coveted pair of tickets to the Portsmouth vs. Chelsea Barclays Premier League match (which took place on Tuesday 3 March), plus a signed Portsmouth FC shirt, were also up for grabs in a prize draw. To be in with a chance of winning, employees were asked to donate good condition household items and equipment, clothes, sheets, blankets, towels, children’s toys, and books, which will be sent to families affected by the fires in Australia.

In addition to the donated items, a total of £246 was raised by employees, which was rounded up by Apollo to make a grand total of £500.

Chris Elkins, Operations Director at Apollo, comments: “Charity opportunities are a very important benefit of our sponsorship package with Portsmouth FC. On this occasion, the popularity of the club, its kind donations and its connections with the FA have allowed us to raise £500 for a very worthwhile cause. It is also a charity very close to our hearts, as one of Apollo’s key customers, Ampac, is based in Australia with offices and staff based only 60km from the devastating fires in Victoria.”

Apollo Fire Detectors is Portsmouth FC’s Official Fire Solutions Partner and, since the start of the 2008/09 season, has been a proud sponsor of Fratton Park’s East (away) Stand, which is now known as the ‘Apollo Stand’.

Apollo’s new mains switching input/output unit, designed for mounting on a DIN-rail, provides a voltage-free, single pole change-over relay output with a contact rating of 250V AC @ 5Amp and 48V DC @ 2Amp. It also has a monitored switch input that is designed to supervise one or more normally-open switches connected to a single-pair of cables.

The device is supplied in a DIN-rail housing which can be clipped onto a standard 35mm DIN-rail (DIN 46277). (DIN-rail enclosures and end-stops are available from Apollo). Connections are made via plug-in terminal blocks which accept wires up to 2.5mm2. The unit has dimensions of 110 x 107 x 20mm and weighs just 95g. It has been designed to comply with EN54–18.

The mains switching input/output unit is loop-powered and can only operate with control equipment using Apollo’s XP95 or Discovery protocols. Application examples include air sampling units, mains power shut-down on machinery, automatic door retainers, smoke dampers and gas valves.

Apollo Fire Detectors Ltd has been granted the Royal Warrant by Her Majesty The Queen in recognition of its official supplier status to the British Royal Household.

Granted to individuals or companies who have supplied goods or services for at least five years to HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh or HRH The Prince of Wales, Royal Warrants are widely regarded as demonstrating excellence and quality, and are highly prized.

As a ‘Warrant Holder’, Apollo Fire Detectors may display the Royal Arms of HM The Queen and the legend ‘By Appointment’ on their products, premises, stationery and advertising.

“Royal Warrant Holders are united by their commitment to the highest standards of service and excellence,” comments Danny Burns, Managing Director of Apollo Fire Detectors. “We are very honoured to receive this prestigious accolade and will continue to uphold the exceptionally high standards the Royal Warrant represents.”

Apollo is no stranger to Royal approvals, having been the first company of its kind to hold three consecutive Queen’s Awards for Export Achievement. It now exports to more than 120 territories and its comprehensive range of products is certified to all key international standards. Apollo holds in excess of 3,000 product approvals worldwide as well as a number of internationally recognised quality and environmental awards.

Unit can drive higher powered sounders or up to five times as many conventional sounders

Apollo Fire Detector’s new DIN-Rail Sounder Controller has an increased current capacity – from 1A to 5A – allowing it to drive more powerful sounders or up to five times as many conventional sounders or visual warning devices. This capacity is particularly useful under the Disability Discrimination Act, which requires sounders with a higher sound output. It is also ideal for use in areas with high background noise such as factories, petrochemical plants and offshore platforms. The device complies with the Construction Product Directive (CPD) (89/106/EC) and meets the EN54-18 standard.

As well as driving a zone of externally-powered sounders and/or visual warning devices, the Sounder Controller reports their status back to Apollo-compatible analogue control equipment. In normal operation it returns a pre-set analogue value of 16, but in the event of an open or short-circuit fault, or a fault in the external power supply, the unit returns a pre-set analogue value of four.

The device allows warning devices to be operated continuously or to be pulsed one second on, one second off, and can be operated individually or in groups. Whichever address mode has been applied, it can be synchronised when in pulsed operation. An opto-coupled input is also provided which monitors the state of the external power supply.

The Sounder Controller also has the facility to monitor the presence and polarity of the external power supply to the sounders. This is achieved through a circuit which includes an input to monitor a volt-free, normally-open contact. A wire link must be fitted if the fault contact is not used. The unit will only operate with control equipment using Apollo’s XP95 or Discovery protocols and its features are only available when the device is connected to a panel with the appropriate software.

The device is supplied in a housing which simply clips onto a standard 35mm DIN rail (DIN 46277). Connections are via plug-in terminal blocks which accept wires up to 2.5mm. Two LEDs (red and yellow) are visible through the top of the enclosure: the red LED pulses or is illuminated to indicate that the sounders are, respectively, pulsed or switched on continuously, while the yellow LED is illuminated when a fault condition has been detected. If the fault LED is not required or the extra loop current to illuminate it is not available, it can be disabled with the eighth segment of the DIL switch.

Loop powered and operating at 17-28V DC, the Sounder Controller requires a local power supply of 12-35V DC to power the external load, up to 5A. A polarising diode is required with each alarm device, as the sounders are operated by voltage reversal, provided by a double-pole change-over relay. The sounder circuit is protected by a quick acting miniature fuse (TR5) rated at 5A.

World class fire detection from Apollo Fire Detectors has been specified for a new £43 million commercial development in London’s West End. Once completed, 8 Fitzroy Street, W1 will become the London base of Ove Arup, the global firm of designers, engineers, planners and business consultants.

The contract to supply the building’s fire system, which is being installed in two phases, was awarded to Titan Fire & Security. Tony Tutton, Business Development Manager, says: “Ove Arup is a very important client for us and the project had very strict requirements.  A fire system based on Apollo’s Discovery range was specified which provided a flexible and fully compatible solution.”

The Discovery range allows for the provision of different levels of sensitivity depending on the needs of the space to be protected. This is possible because Apollo Discovery fire detectors feature five panel-selectable sensitivity bands that make them particularly adaptable to a wide range of environmental conditions. To help to protect against unwanted alarms even further, devices in the Discovery range are also equipped with inbuilt drift compensation. They are LPCB approved to EN54 in every one of these modes.

Phase two is now complete and when phase three is completed in 2009, the fire system at 8 Fitzroy Street will comprise almost 600 Apollo devices, including Discovery smoke, heat and flame detectors, manual call points and interfaces. Warnings are provided using a combination of Apollo sounder bases and sounder beacon bases. The fire system is controlled using two four-loop Morley ZX5e panels.

Chester House, a Grade II Listed Elizabethan townhouse that is now home to Knowle Library in the West Midlands, has been equipped with XPander – Apollo’s new range of wireless detectors.

Chester House was originally built in the 16th century as two adjacent dwellings, which it is thought were used by local craftsmen as combined workshops and homes. In the 17th century, these dwellings were converted to form a larger building, possibly a farmhouse or an inn. Then, during the 19th century, the building appears to have been divided again into three separate dwellings before being converted back into one building in the 20th century

After being used as an antique shop for many years, Chester House became the property of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in 1972. Following a complete restoration programme, the building opened as Knowle Library in 1975.

When looking to upgrade the library’s fire system in 2008, the Council’s specification called for an analogue addressable automatic fire detection system designed to BS5839-1:2002 L4 while also being sympathetic to the heritage areas of the building. Monument Fire Detection Systems Ltd, who designed, supplied and installed the new fire detection system, recommended Apollo’s XPander range to protect the building’s 16th century vaulted ceiling and exposed beams, which could have been damaged by hard-wired devices.

Easy to install and connect to the fire system via an interface which is wired to the loop, XPander also helped Monument Fire Detection Systems to overcome installation difficulties presented by the extensive vaulted ceiling.

Jim Eccles, Director of Monument Fire Detection Systems Ltd, comments: “XPander’s easy wireless installation made the Knowle Library project achievable within the time scale and ensured that the strict English Heritage requirements – including no obtrusive wiring and no drilling or damage to the structure – were overcome without difficulty.”

The new fire detection system is configured around a single loop Ampac SP1M control panel and programmed to enable a one-out, all-out evacuation.

Apollo technology lies at the heart of an intelligent fire detection system installed to protect Phoenix Court, a new luxury student village in the heart of Bristol city centre.

The specification emphasised the need for minimum unwanted alarms and an open protocol system. Multi-Alarm Systems Ltd. of Bristol won the contract to supply and commission the fire detection system and recommended Apollo’s Discovery range of intelligent fire detectors to meet the client’s criteria.

Built by the UK’s largest student accommodation company UNITE, Phoenix Court is the first part of Bristol’s £500 million Cabot Circus retail and leisure redevelopment to be occupied. At 11 storeys, it is also the tallest building of its kind to be built by UNITE. It is now home to 277 students who attend both Bristol University and the University of the West of England.

The Phoenix Court fire system is designed around a Multi Ifax 12 loop control panel and includes over 700 Apollo Discovery Multisensors and 360 sounder bases, which interface with the building access system, lifts and fire doors. Multi-Alarm Systems recommended the Apollo Discovery range because it has a number of features specifically aimed at reducing false alarms.

Barry Dunn, Senior Technical Engineer at Multi-Alarm Systems, explains: “We identified that the areas of high risk for unwanted alarms were the shower rooms, where steam could give a false reading, and kitchen areas where transient levels of smoke or steam from cooking are common. The Discovery Multisensor is ideal for this type of environment as it is equipped with an optical smoke and heat sensor and features five programmable sensitivity settings that make it extremely adaptable to differing conditions.”

Other features of the Discovery range designed to help eliminate nuisance alarms include automatic drift compensation, a feature that adjusts for environmental conditions such as dust to ensure the detector is not adversely affected, and sophisticated self-monitoring that rejects transient alarms.

The Discovery Multisensor itself uses algorithms to process the signals from its smoke and heat sensors to produce one output on which the decision ‘fire/no fire’ is based. Multisensors can be selected to operate as a smoke detector only, a heat detector only, or as one of three combinations of both. If an ‘in combination’ selection is made, the signals from each sensor are considered in relation to each other. The Discovery Multisensor is certified to EN54 standard in every one of its five operating modes and its reliability in the field in reducing nuisance alarm incidents has been proven over several years.

The Phoenix Court fire detection system is designed to L2 standards and configured to enable a phased evacuation controlled by sensor, zone sector or remote networked panel.

Apollo’s AlarmSense range of conventional fire detection and alarm products is now compliant under the Construction Product Directive (CPD) (89/106/EC). Applicable to any product intended for permanent incorporation in buildings and other construction works, the CPD aims to create a single European market by removing the technical barriers to trade between EU member states through the use of harmonised standards and approvals.

AlarmSense is a range of conventional fire detection and alarm products designed to be connected to the same pair of supply wires, making installation quicker and less expensive. The range was specifically developed to make the design and installation of a fire detection and alarm system easier and more economic for small to medium-sized buildings. It also allows an existing system to be extended or modified if necessary, making it ideal for buildings such as Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs).

The AlarmSense range includes optical smoke detectors, heat detectors, manual call points, a sounder/beacon base and a base sounder. All the products are powered and controlled by purpose-designed control and indicating equipment and incorporate features that help reduce false alarms.

The new XPander range of wireless intelligent fire detectors from Apollo is designed for use where wired detectors are either impractical or undesirable. Only available to companies who have had their engineers trained by Apollo in the use of wireless detectors, the XPander was developed to enhance the capabilities of Apollo’s existing XP95 detector range. It comprises an interface, an optical smoke detector, a multisensor smoke detector, heat detector types A1R and CS, a  wireless base, a manual call point, a sounder and a sounder beacon.

Using the XPander is very simple – the devices are simply connected to an XP95-compatible control panel via an interface which is wired in the loop. No special adjustment or programming is required: once connected, the XPander devices are recognised by the control panel as another detector connected to the system. Up to 15 devices can be installed per interface, with up to five interfaces per loop.

The detectors are conventional in that they report ‘normal’, ‘fire’ or ‘fault’ states to the radio base, which transmits the information to the interface. The radio bases and signalling devices are addressable and use a pre-set analogue value to report via the XP95 protocol. The bases can also indicate if battery power is low, if a detector is dirty or been tampered with and if signal strength is low.

“The XPander range owes a lot to Apollo’s policy of listening to its customers,” says Paul Smith, Apollo’s Head of Marketing. “Apollo is now able to offer a simple solution for both existing and new systems, minimising the need for costly cables and associated disruption.”