Apollo Fire Detectors News - from Halma PR - visit www.apollo-fire.co.uk

Apollo Fire Detectors Ltd. is bringing a range of eight new base-mounted flame detectors to the market, combining high performance with a compact design into a unit suitable for most land-based and marine applications.

Apollo Fire Detectors Ltd. has launched a new range of base-mounted flame detectors that combine high performance and a compact design into a unit suitable for most land and marine based applications.

The devices’ Class 1 performance allows them to quickly detect 0.1m² flames at a distance of 25m (EN54-10), and they can rapidly detect all types of flames – including those from a hydrogen source, which are invisible to the both the naked eye and some alternative flame detection systems.

The devices are available in intelligent and conventional versions which fit into Apollo’s popular Discovery, XP95 or Series 65 bases, and are suitable for use in both marine and land-based fire safety systems. A choice of detection methods is available to suit the application, with single UV, UV/IR² combined, and IR³ variants on offer. Single UV distinguishes between flames and most other sources of radiation, which the combined UV/IR² also does in addition to filtering out most sources of false alarms such as arc welding and flickering sunlight. The IR³ is typically unaffected by dust, dirt and other sources of false alarms, as the detector can still operate effectively even with the lens partially obscured.

Apollo Fire Detectors Ltd. has launched a new range of base-mounted flame detectors that combine high performance and a compact design into a unit suitable for most land and marine based applications.

Installation is made quick and easy with a special bracket and integral Deckhead Mounting Box, and full compatibility with the Discovery and XP95 protocols ensures that this range of high-quality flame detectors is suitable for almost any situation where flame detection is important – such as: aircraft hangars, recycling centres, manufacturing and chemical production plants, ships’ engine rooms, fuel handling areas and power generation facilities.

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The combination of lots of water and a constant temperature of 30ºC might be the perfect recipe for rest and relaxation, but even in these ideal surroundings Apollo is hard at work. Its fire detectors are busy protecting visitors and staff at the the Wahooo! Waterpark in Bahrain – the Middle East’s first ever indoor-outdoor waterpark.

The contract to supply and install the fire detection system was awarded to Khayber Trading, who have represented Apollo Fire Detectors in the kingdom for many years. In addition to the fire detection system, Khayber also supplied a drowning alarm system to alert staff to any potential safety incidents.

Apollo Fire Detectors protects Wahoo! Water Park in Bahrain

Wahooo! in detail
Covering an area of 15,000 square metres, Wahooo! includes a whole new world of thrilling rides called Master Blaster, Sidewinder and Matt Racer and attractions such as a Multi Level Rain Fortress, wave pool, toddler pool and the Lazy River. It also contains Flowrider, the world’s first full-size surfing machine within an indoor waterpark.

In addition, Wahooo! offers first class amenities such as a restaurant, large party rooms and Wave Pro – the retail outlet selling swimming apparel and souvenir merchandise. With 70% of the pool deck area planned indoors and 30% outdoors, the waterpark is well-equipped to welcome guests all year round with its temperature controlled pools. In the centre of the complex is a pristine white, moored schooner offering panoramic views of the waterpark.
 
Fire and safety
The fire detection requirements were therefore quite varied. In addition to a variety of local environments, ranging from commercial kitchens to large open areas, the fire system had to take into account the range of people in the waterpark at any one time. As Wahooo! is aimed at the entire family, visitors could include the very young and the elderly.

Khayber Trading recommended a fire system based on Apollo’s XP95 analogue addressable range. Arranged over four loops and controlled using an Advanced Electronics control panel, the fire system includes three hundred multisensors and heat detectors. Almost one hundred ancillary devices, including manual callpoints and open area sounder beacons, are also installed throughout the complex.

An alert is raised if any two or more detectors go into alarm, or a manual callpoint is operated. This pre-alarm will also activate the sounder beacons on the relevant floor.

The drowning alarm system comprises 14 separate posts equipped with an addressable manual push button, sounder and amber beacon. It is controlled by three networked control panels. Operation of a local push button activates the local sounder and beacon and the location is shown on the three control panels so that lifeguards can proceed to the correct part of the site immediately.

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Apollo Fire Detectors Limited, the world-leading manufacturer of fire detectors for industrial and commercial applications, has appointed Stephan Sommer as its new Technical Director. Stephan joins the company from Bosch Siemens Hausgeräte (BSH), where he was R&D Director for processing technologies.

Stephan Sommer is appointed as new Technical Director for Apollo Fire Detectors Ltd.

Stephan intends to bring his previous experience of international markets – notably in Germany, the US and China – as well as extensive technical expertise to the role of Technical Director. His stated aim is to make Apollo more efficient and responsive than ever.

Commenting on his new role, Stephan said:
“Although Apollo is a global market leader in fire detection, it needs to continue to respond swiftly to market influences. I want to build on the company’s current success by developing much more interaction between the Technical team and other parts of Apollo’s business, including Marketing and Quality. Greater integration and more opportunities to develop and exchange ideas will help to drive product innovation in the future and keep Apollo ahead of the competition.”

Stephan has relocated from Germany to the UK with his wife and daughter and now lives on the Isle of Wight.

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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.

Fire detection technology from Apollo has been chosen to protect Portsmouth Guildhall following a major review of fire strategy.

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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- £100m earmarked for acquisitions -

Halma p.l.c. (www.halma.com), the leading global safety, health and sensor technology group and parent company of Apollo, has announced record results with profits up 9% to £86m and revenue rising by 1% to £459m. The UK-based group has posted strong financials to raise shareholder dividends by 7%, the thirty-first consecutive year of increases greater than 5%. The company plans to augment its organic growth efforts through acquisition of complementary technology companies, as it has done for many years.

Halma’s subsidiaries operate in three main market sectors: Health and Analysis, Infrastructure Sensors, and Industrial Safety, creating shareholder value with consistent organic growth and sound acquisitions. Halma companies operate as independent entities under the day-to-day direction of their local management, while reaping the capital and network benefits of a larger multi-national parent.

The company is seeking successful and profitable companies that are closely allied to any of its current market sectors, although photonics, water, fluid technology and health optics are a particular focus. It has £100m earmarked for acquisitions.

“In recent months we have increased our acquisition search activity,” said Nigel Trodd, Chief Executive of the Fire & Security Division. “Our experience has been that vendors of good quality businesses are now keener to talk but that many remain cautious about whether to sell now or to wait, in the hope that markets will recover in the medium term. Our task is to convince them that they will achieve even greater success by being part of Halma and to structure deals accordingly. We continue to search for businesses in all of our existing market sectors and in all geographic regions.”

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Halma is a holding company of approximately 35 worldwide subsidiaries that develop and manufacture products that protect lives and improve quality of life for people worldwide. The company’s business groups focus on industrial safety, health and analysis and infrastructure sensors.

To present potential acquisitions opportunities, please contact:

Nigel Trodd – Chief Executive, Fire & Security Division
Email: nigel.trodd@halma.com
Tel:  +44 (0)1494 721111
Fax:  +44 (0)1494 728032

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Fire detection technology from Apollo Fire Detectors has been installed to protect people using Maidstone Combined Court in Kent. The contract to supply the building with an L2 fire system was awarded to R&M Clarkson.

Apollo Fire Detectors protect Maidstone Combined Court

Maidstone Combined Court was constructed in 1983 and houses both the Crown and County courts. Six storeys in height, the building is most famous for the recent trial surrounding the £53 million Securitas depot raid in 2006, for which six people are currently serving sentences.

R&M Clarkson was given a very short project time of just 10 weeks. They selected Apollo Fire Detectors as a manufacturer that would deliver on time and supply reliable technology to meet the client’s requirements.

Neil Shrubsole, the company’s Operations Director, explains:
“Working to such a short time-frame, we needed to be certain that the equipment would arrive on site exactly when it was needed.

“Due to the nature of the client’s activities, we also needed assurance that the fire system was based on proven technology and that it would be reliable from day one. Apollo fulfilled every aspect of this brief and we had no hesitation in recommending their technology.”

Maidstone Combined Court’s new fire system uses in excess of 1500 devices, including 900 Apollo Discovery fire detectors and multisensors. In addition, the building is equipped with more than 500 Discovery audio-visual warning devices. The system is controlled using six networked Kentec control panels complete with graphical mimics.

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A new fire detection system based on Apollo technology has been installed at the Palàcio do Planalto in Brasilia, the official workplace of the President of Brazil.  The contract to ensure that this landmark building continued to meet the latest fire protection requirements was awarded to Ezalpha MV.

Apollo Fire Detectors protect Brazilian Presidential Palace

The Palàcio do Planalto is a landmark building situated in the heart of Brazil’s capital city. It dates back to the planning and development of the city in 1956 and was designed by Principal Architect Oscar Niemeyer to showcase modern building materials such as concrete and glass. Along with other original buildings in Brasilia’s centre, it forms part of a UNESCO world heritage site.

Marcelo B de Vasconcellos, Director of Ezalpha MV, said: “Ezalpha MV is very proud of its work at the Palàcio do Planalto, which will protect part of our national heritage. We have considerable experience in heritage applications, having also provided fire detection for the Palacio da Guanabara and Music City, both of which are in Rio de Janeiro.

“We won this fire detection contract through a combination of our own experience, the quality of Apollo’s products and because they held all the right certifications, thus meeting the client’s specification.”

Ezalpha MV recommended a fire system based on Apollo’s analogue addressable technology. Key features include flexible system configuration; continuous confirmation of system integrity; a pre-alarm to help reduce false alarm incidents; and verification of alarm levels to further reduce false alarms.

Many of these features were of particular importance at the Palàcio do Planalto, because it was essential to provide continuous and comprehensive fire protection, while ensuring that affairs of state would not be interrupted by non-fire alarms. In addition, the work of Government could not be stopped while the fire system was installed, so Ezalpha MV chose Apollo fire detectors for their simplicity of installation and commissioning. The company’s team of engineers worked around the clock to make sure the new fire detection system was completed within the client’s timescale.

Ezalpha MV has installed more than 2,000 Apollo fire detection devices in total, including 1,000 optical and heat detectors, plus sounder bases and manual call points. They also used aspirating detectors in some areas. The fire detection devices were configured around eight networked control panels. The company also supplied and installed an FM200 extinguishing system.

Marcelo concludes: “Apollo analogue addressable fire detectors were perfect for this application. The products were simple to install and now provide the reassurance and reliability required to safeguard our President and senior Cabinet members from the risk of fire.”

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A new marina on the South coast of England, which will be one of the venues for sailing events during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has been equipped with an Apollo-based fire detection system.  Owners Dean & Reddyhoff Marinas awarded the contract to supply the fire protection to H W Smith & Son (Contracting) Ltd.

Apollo Fire Detectors Protect New Portland Marina in Weymouth, Dorset

Portland Marina is situated at Weymouth, Dorset, and has been designed to be a world-class sailing destination. It offers berthing for vessels up to 44 metres in length and a full boatyard service, including lift-out and storage ashore. The berths are fully serviced, with water and electricity laid on, and there are also extensive shoreside facilities such as a washroom, a laundry and showers, as well as a free internet café, bar and restaurant.

A fire detection system was required to provide constant protection to the marina facilities building, restaurant building, 13 business units and four boat workshops.

David Smith, managing director of H W Smith & Son, explains: “As the site is manned 24/7 and the business and workshop units are let to tenants, we agreed on a solution based on Apollo’s conventional technology. This offers a number of benefits to the client, including reduced costs, simplified future maintenance and greater adaptability to changes of use. We recommended Apollo fire detection products because they have proved very reliable in the past.”

The distributed fire detection system comprises 19 Channel Fire control panels in total, varying from six-zone models in the main buildings to single zone models in the individual business units. There are 40 manual call points installed around the complex and a combination of Apollo Series 65 optical smoke detectors and fixed and rate-of-rise heat detectors has been used to meet the local environmental conditions. In addition to internal audio visual devices, the fire system includes 18 IP65-rated sounder beacons, which are installed externally to communicate an alarm anywhere in the boatyard.

Russ Levett, manager of Portland Marina, says: “Our fire system offers the simplicity of the ‘break glass’ option for customers in an emergency while working with other essential equipment to provide comprehensive fire protection. For example, the system interfaces with the fire resistant shuttering in the main offices.

“Portland Marina opened in April 2009 and we haven’t required any technical or customer service support since then, other than routine maintenance. The system is very easy to use and we are very happy with its performance to date.”

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An Apollo-based fire detection system has been installed to protect people and premises at the Magistrate’s Court in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. Representing a total upgrade of the previous fire protection to meet L1 requirements, the new intelligent fire system was installed by Network Security & Fire, based in Basingstoke.

The Milton Keynes Bench was founded in 1979 from an amalgamation of the former local benches at Fenny Stratford, Stony Stratford and Newport Pagnell. The Magistrate’s Court is housed in purpose-built premises in the centre of Milton Keynes, which includes a public area, custody suite and six courtrooms, as well as offices for court administrators and the probation service.

Apollo Fire Detection System Protects Milton Keynes Magistrate's Court

Fire detection challenges
The original, single loop addressable fire system had been renewed at various points previously, but was no longer fit for purpose. The Estates team specified a new analogue addressable system with high sensitivity smoke detection in the custody suite, together with an automated Voice Alarm (VA) system.

There was no possibility of closing the building while the upgrade was made, so installation of the new fire equipment had to take place out of hours. This was not the only challenge on the project, as John Angell, Contract Manager, Network Fire & Security, explains:

“In addition to limited access, we had to take into consideration the need to rewire the vast majority of the system. This was compounded by the design of the building, which features plasterboard ceilings, rather than suspended ceilings, and made access to voids for cable-laying quite difficult.

“Within the courtrooms themselves, we also had to take into account the high ceiling heights. The roof void in each court has a central dome that rises two storeys at its highest point. This was not only an issue during installation but could have restricted access for essential maintenance. We were able to overcome this aspect by positioning the fire detectors around the coffer that surrounds the central roof dome.”

Fire system solutions
Network Security & Fire recommended a fire system based on Apollo’s Discovery distributed-intelligence technology to meet the requirements for the Magistrate’s Court. Around 260 Discovery devices were used in total, including optical smoke and heat detectors, loop-powered beacons, manual call points and interfaces. The fire system is configured around three networked Advanced Electronics control panels.

The modular voice alarm system comprises three master and five slave units. It is pre-programmed with a series of automated messages that are activated in the event of an alert, but there is also an option for manual intervention to broadcast bespoke messages using a microphone.

Explaining his company’s specification, John Angell says: “We would always recommend Apollo as part of a fire detection solution. Their open protocol allows us to choose exactly the right equipment for a project and tailor the solution to the client – in this case enabling us to select the compatible Advanced Electronics control panels and distributed voice alarm system. Apollo’s Discovery range was perfect for this application thanks to its proven reliability in the field and advanced features that minimise false alarm incidents.”

If an alarm is raised by devices within the courtroom areas, evacuation procedures are initiated in these zones and an alert is transmitted to the custody suite. Equally, should an incident be detected in the custody suite this area will be evacuated immediately and the court areas are put on stand-by.

John Angell concludes: “Considering all the challenges regarding the ‘live’ site and other installation restrictions, this project went incredibly smoothly. We have been able to equip the Magistrate’s Court with a modern fire detection system that is reliable, easy to use and flexible enough to meet current and future requirements.”

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Apollo fire detection technology has been installed to protect people and premises at the newly redeveloped Wellington Hospital in New Zealand. Representing a total investment of NZ$265 million, the new hospital required the installation of more than 1300 fire detection devices across multiple buildings, a tailored graphics package and a 50 zone emergency warning and intercommunications system (EWIS).

Apollo Fire Detectors Ltd. Protects Wellington Hospital in New Zealand

Wellington Hospital is New Zealand’s main tertiary hospital and supplies specialist and acute services, including cardiac surgery, cancer care and neurosurgery.  The project to redevelop the site included the demolition of some older buildings, the refurbishment and upgrading of others and the construction of an entirely new main building. This new complex houses many essential in- and outpatient services over its six storeys, as well as incorporating underground parking at basement level.

Meeting the hospital’s highly complex set of fire protection and evacuation requirements was the responsibility of Aquaheat Industries Ltd, the main electrical contractor on the project. Kevin Williams, Aquaheat’s Fire Alarm Manager, called in fire system specialists Ampac Pacific Ltd, a company that has successfully championed Apollo technology in New Zealand for many years.

Ampac provided a comprehensive fire detection system that incorporates approximately 1300 Apollo XP95 and Discovery devices. These are controlled by nine Ampac FireFinder control panels, which are networked together and supported with Ampac’s own graphics package. The company also developed the EWIS system that is used at this site to provide staged evacuation in the event of a fire incident.

According to Kevin Williams, the Wellington Hospital is one of Aquaheat’s biggest achievements to date due to its size and complexity, but he was confident that Ampac’s Apollo-based fire detection solution would meet the challenge.

He said: “When you are under a lot of pressure to get the job done, you want good support and systems that are easy to configure. We have never had any problems with Ampac systems.”

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