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British fire detection technology manufactured by Apollo Fire Detectors has been chosen to protect the Ministry of Finance Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The project to upgrade the building’s fire detection system was awarded to Telectron, who have operated in the UAE for 35 years.

Apollo Fire Detectors Protect Ministry of Finance, Abu Dhabi

The Ministry of Finance is responsible for ensuring best use of federal government resources through effective financial management and implementation of fiscal policies. It comprises 14 departments and employs hundreds of staff. This presented Telectron with a major challenge: the fire detection upgrade – which included totally rewiring the system – had to be undertaken while the building was fully occupied and without causing any disruption to the work of the Ministry.

Telectron’s engineers therefore worked flexibly in shifts, depending on the type of work that was to be carried out. For example, any ceiling work was only undertaken outside office hours. Work in other areas was scheduled to fit with the accessibility available around the Ministry’s normal operations.

Telectron successfully completed the installation at the end of 2009. The new fire detection system provides comprehensive protection over all ten floors of the Ministry’s headquarters and comprises approximately 750 Apollo XP95 devices arranged over seven loops. The system is controlled using Advanced Electronics control panels and it interfaces with critical equipment such as lifts, air conditioning and pressurised fans. It was handed over to the client with full Civil Defense approval.

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Apollo intrinsically safe (IS) fire detection technology has been specified to protect a new manufacturing facility at Wallop Defence Systems Ltd site near Stockbridge, Hampshire. A division of Esterline Technologies, Wallop Defence Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defence pyrotechnics for air, sea and land applications.

The contract to design, supply, install and commission the IS fire system was won by Canon Fire Protection1 based in nearby Midhurst. John Barfoot, the company’s Fire Systems Manager, explains the rigorous selection process and how Apollo helped to meet the client’s requirements.

Apollo Intrinsically Safe (IS) Fire Detection Protects Major Defence Manufacturer

“Wallop Defence Systems was a key contract for our company, and is the largest project we have secured to date. Apollo was very supportive of our bid. We must make special mention of our Apollo sales manager, Sam Ward, who was truly exceptional. He worked closely with us throughout this project to ensure its success and has become an integral part of our team.”

Apollo helped in two key areas. Firstly, its fire detection products meet all key international standards, including the European ATEX Directive requirements for equipment used in areas with potentially explosive atmospheres. Secondly, Canon Fire Protection was able to use Apollo’s extensive in-house testing facilities to demonstrate its fire detection technology to the client.
Says John: “With Apollo’s support, we were not only able to meet the specification for ATEX approved intrinsically safe fire detection, but could also demonstrate to Wallop Defence Systems how the Apollo IS devices would work in practice.”

Among the products manufactured at Wallop Defence Systems’ site in Hampshire are infrared flares to counter air-to-air and ground-to-air missiles, decoy systems for naval protection and missile tracking flares. The assembly of these essential defensive products involves the use of potentially flammable and explosive materials, so fire protection is a key priority to ensure personnel safety and protect valuable assets.

Electrical equipment for use in these areas needs to be designed so that it cannot ignite an explosive mixture. There are a number of methods available to achieve this, but one of the most common is intrinsic safety. Intrinsically safe equipment operates at such low power and with such small amounts of stored energy that it is incapable of causing ignition, not only in normal operation but also in fault conditions. Apollo offers intrinsically safe versions of its XP95 intelligent range and its Orbis conventional range of fire detectors.

Fire system specification
Canon Fire Protection supplied and installed a fire system based around Apollo XP95 IS fire detectors and a four-loop Kentec Syncro control panel. The system features a modem link so that fire system performance can be monitored remotely 24/7. The entire system is wired using mineral-insulated (MICC) cabling. This is an additional precaution against any part of the system causing an electrical spark.

Around 100 Apollo IS devices provide comprehensive fire detection in the manufacturing areas. Where flame detection was required, devices were used in conjunction with IS-rated enclosures to meet the requirements for intrinsic safety. Due to high ambient noise levels, visual indicators are used in the administrative areas, while Vimpex IS sounders are fitted in the transfer corridors between manufacturing processes.

In the event of an alarm being raised, the entire premises are evacuated immediately. The site has its own firefighters, who are trained to tackle minor incidents. In addition, a repeater panel in the main gatehouse alerts security staff to any incident, so that they can summon the appropriate external fire services as required.

In conclusion, John Barfoot says: “This was an unusual project which, due to the nature of the business, placed very stringent demands on the fire protection system. We were confident that Apollo was the right choice for this application, but we needed to prove this to the customer. With Apollo’s help, we were able to go that extra mile and give the customer reassurance that the proposed fire detection solution would work reliably, which was invaluable.”

Wallop Defence Systems’ new manufacturing premises are due to be completed early in 2010.

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Apollo fire detectors have been chosen to protect a new £35 million college campus redevelopment at Cosham, near Portsmouth. The contract to supply and install the fire system for Highbury College was awarded to CHC Systems Limited, based in Ruislip, Middlesex.

Apollo Protects New Highbury College in Portsmouth from Fire Risks

The Site
Highbury College Portsmouth is one of the most dynamic educational establishments in the South East and has undergone extensive redevelopment across its main sites to provide some of the most modern learning facilities in Europe. The College offers collegiate, corporate and community courses for 14-19 year olds and adults, and attracts some 12,000 students locally, nationally and internationally.

The £35 million development at Cosham provides a vocational training-focused campus. The new building is four storeys high and features a glazed ‘street’ with views into a number of departments. Training facilities include specialist computer rooms, a fully equipped library and the latest e-enabled classrooms. Other features include an Internet café and a full-size sports hall and fitness centre.

In addition to state-of-the-art training facilities, the new building also features the latest ‘green’ technology, including one of the largest heat pump installations of its kind in the UK. This will help to reduce the College’s carbon footprint by more than 25 per cent. The building is also equipped with solar panels on the roof, which will produce 13,600kW of electricity per year. Any power not used by the College will be fed back into the national grid.

Other environmental features include high-tech blinds on the windows to reduce solar glare, auto shutdown on all the computers when they are not in use and PIR (expand) movement sensors in the classrooms that automatically turn lights on and off.

Fire System Requirements
The specification for the fire detection system was equally high. In addition to providing 24-hour protection for the new building, its occupants and its contents, the fire system needed to meet a number of ‘cause and effect’ scenarios.

Denis Foley, Managing Director of CHC Systems, comments: “Initially, we used the client’s fire strategy to determine the cause and effects required for the new fire system. With a building of this sophistication this does not just involve raising an alarm in the event of fire: we also needed to interface with numerous building management system functions. These included activating air dampers and returning lifts safely to the ground floor in the event of an emergency. There was also a requirement to interface the new fire system with existing fire systems in other buildings on the site.

“The sheer diversity involved led us to recommend Apollo fire detection technology. Apollo products are compatible between different ranges, which allowed us to choose exactly the right detector or device for the local situation, whether a classroom or an open communal area. The wide selection of audible and visual devices in the Apollo range was also invaluable in this regard, enabling us to select sounder bases, beacon bases and open area sounders as the situation demanded.”

System Specification
The new fire detection system is based around two Morley ZX control panels, with a ten-loop panel controlling the main building and a two-loop panel in the sports building. In total, CHC Systems installed more than 1350 Apollo XP95 and Discovery intelligent devices, including around 600 bases, base sounders and sounder beacon bases. Intrinsically safe (IS) Apollo fire detectors have been fitted in the building’s oil delivery area and paint stores.

The ability to mix and match across different intelligent Apollo ranges is due to the use of an open digital protocol which has remained consistent over time. As all Apollo products effectively speak the same language, the fire system will also be future-proofed, making maintenance and system extension or modification at a later date much easier.

Although the cause and effect sequences between the fire system and the building management functions are quite complex, the evacuation procedures are simple. If a manual call point is activated, the system allows a four-minute window in which the reason for the alarm can be investigated. If the system is not reset within that period, then a full alarm will be raised and the building will be evacuated.

If an individual smoke or heat detector registers a change from the normal state, the four-minute investigation delay also applies. If more than one detector raises an alert, the fire system goes into alarm immediately and the building is again evacuated on a ‘one out, all out’ basis.

The fire system also interfaces with the building management system to release controlled doors and send all lifts to the ground floor, deactivating them until the alarm is over.  It also shuts down the ventilation system and other plant, as well as turning on the emergency lighting.

Up and Running
It was critical for the client that the new Highbury Campus was up and running in time for the start of term on 7 September 2009. Despite some delays in the construction phase, which reduced the amount of time that CHC Systems had to fit the fire system, the project was completed on time.

Denis Foley concludes: “A modern learning facility like Highbury College represents a whole series of challenges from a fire protection perspective, ranging from wide open spaces like the ‘street’, to high risk confined areas like the paint stores. Apollo’s fire detection technology was equal to every task and it enabled us to supply the customer with a reliable, flexible fire system that will protect the College’s new asset and the people who use it for many years to come.”

Highbury College was officially opened by HRH Princess Anne on 22 October 2009.

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Travellers on First Great Western trains from Penzance to Paddington can sleep safely knowing that they are being protected by world class fire detection technology from Apollo.

First Great Western Trains use Apollo Fire Detectors

The sleeper service runs six days per week throughout the year, so reliability is a critical factor. Every component on the train, including the fire detectors, must withstand the rigours of travelling more than 95,000 miles every year.

David Cooke, Depot Engineering Technician for First Great Western, says: “Apollo fire detectors were first used on the sleeper carriages in the late 1980s, so we have first-hand experience of how reliable they are. When the interiors of the Night Riviera carriages were being refreshed we also reviewed the fire detection. The existing Apollo devices were still working well and we could have replaced them gradually, but we ultimately decided to change them in one go to coincide with the upgrade and to ensure our passengers and rolling stock were getting the best available protection.”

The fire system upgrade involved the installation of 130 Apollo Series 65 conventional smoke detectors as well as aspirating smoke detection on all ten Night Riviera carriages.

Ionisation smoke detectors are fitted in every berth and in the ducts, with optical smoke detectors providing protection in the communal areas. Each carriage has its own control panel to record fault and alarm signals, but the signals can also be conveyed from carriage to carriage. An alarm condition triggers audible warnings and a series of LED indicators.

Each fire panel clearly shows whether an alert has been triggered by a fault or a potential hazard and whether the incident has arisen in that particular carriage or in an adjacent carriage. An alarm condition will also automatically close the two internal fire doors within the carriage, enabling any genuine fire incident to be contained and guiding passengers away from the source.

Andy Haynes of Apollo’s Technical Sales team assisted with the system design. He says: “It’s certainly an unusual application but all our products undergo rigorous in-house testing and meet all major international standards, so we are confident that our fire detectors will provide First Great Western and its passengers with many years – and many miles – of reliable protection.”

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Apollo intelligent fire detectors have been installed to protect a new datacentre in Amsterdam operated by Equinix, a global supplier of data co-location, interconnection, support and monitoring services. Hi-Safe Systems, one of Apollo’s representatives in the Netherlands, won the contract to supply and install the comprehensive fire protection and suppression system.

Apollo XP95 smoke and flame detector

Equinix offers data support and core internet infrastructure to more than 300 networks and 2,000 customers worldwide. Some of the world’s leading companies are among its customers, including Google, IBM, PayPal and YouTube. The new datacentre in Amsterdam will not only house the multi-million pounds worth of equipment necessary to support this level of data transfer, but will also provide office space for up to 50 Equinix staff, plus some of its customers. Ensuring that its premises are protected from any risk of fire is therefore critical.

To meet these requirements, Hi-Safe supplied an intelligent fire detection system that includes around 400 Apollo XP95 smoke and flame detectors and 160 inert extinguishing cylinders with distribution valves.  In addition to a central control panel, each of the 10 data suites has its own extinguishing panel. If any two fire detectors in a given location raise an alarm, the central control panel signals the appropriate extinguishing panel to trigger warnings and discharge inert gas.

A special requirement of the project was to ensure that the fire detectors located in the office areas do not detract from the décor. As the datacentre has very modern offices with black ceilings and sophisticated lighting, white detectors would have looked very out of place. Apollo was able to supply its devices with specially coloured black casings to match the office interiors.

Hans den Boer, Managing Director, Hi-Safe Systems comments: “We have worked closely with Apollo since the 1980s and have a very good understanding of its product range. The XP95 intelligent fire detectors met all the criteria for this project because they offer proven reliability in the field and have a unique addressing mechanism that enables the seat of any fire to be pinpointed. In addition, we were able to go the extra mile for the customer and offer colour co-ordinated devices so that the aesthetics of the building were not compromised.”

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Apollo’s intelligent fire detectors have been specified to protect the premises of the Centea Bank in Antwerp, Belgium. The contract to supply the fire system was won by Limotec NV, Apollo’s longstanding representative in the country.

The Centea Bank was formed in 1999 through the merger of two finance companies and is part of the KBC Group. Its premises in Antwerp are extensive, occupying six different buildings – one of which is of historical significance. The new fire detection system therefore needed to be flexible enough to offer comprehensive protection in both modern and listed building environments. The client also demanded a fire system to meet Belgian (BOSEC) certification standards.

Jan Herreman, General Manager, Limotec commented: “This was a complex project due to the multiple buildings involved and the fact that we were unable to use hard wiring in one of the premises.  Having worked with Apollo for 25 years, we were confident that its fire detection technology would deliver on every level.”

Limotec supplied a fire system that included more than 1000 Apollo devices, including over 900 XP95 multisensors and 87 manual call points. For areas where hard wiring was not appropriate due to the historic nature of the building fabric, XPander wireless fire detectors were used.

Each building has its own Limotec MD2400 control panel (master/slave configuration) and any alerts are fed back to the main security centre so that they can be investigated. The final decision to evacuate rests with the security team.

Jan Herreman concludes: “The recent introduction of the wireless range of XPander fire detectors made the Centea Bank project much easier, especially as these devices are fully compatible with Apollo’s existing XP95 range. In addition, Apollo makes sure that its fire detectors are certified to all major international standards, so meeting BOSEC requirements was easily achievable.”

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A flagship luxury 605 room hotel at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 has been equipped with a sophisticated intelligent fire detection system based on Apollo technology.

Sofitel London Heathrow is one of the largest conference hotels in the UK, owned and operated by Arora International Hotels. The hotel has been conceived as an oasis of luxury for discerning international business and leisure travellers passing through Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow airport.

Leader Systems, based in Rugby, was appointed by the main mechanical and electrical contractor Crown House Engineering to design, supply, install and maintain a comprehensive fire detection system. Leader had no hesitation in specifying Apollo intelligent fire detection technology and Advanced Electronics control equipment to meet the client’s exacting standards.

The project
Heathrow’s only luxury hotel comprises three below-ground levels housing car parking and extensive conference facilities, including a lecture theatre with widescreen cinema and 45 meeting rooms. The hotel boasts five atria with various public areas such as a tea salon and a Zen garden; the main reception; and the “Avenue Sofitel”, the central boulevard of the hotel where retail outlets can be found.

Above the ground floor are six four-storey blocks comprising 605 bedrooms and suites. Among the many unique features of the hotel is a link bridge that enables guests to walk directly from hotel to airport terminal in under five minutes.

At any one time, the hotel could be host to several thousand guests, with its conference and meeting facilities alone capable of accommodating more than 3,000 delegates at any one time. In addition to residents and non-residents, the hotel employs several hundred staff. A comprehensive automatic fire detection system that would provide reliable and accurate information in the event of an incident was therefore essential to ensure the safety of guests and employees alike.

Fire detection requirements
Leader Systems became involved on the project early in the process. As well as taking responsibility for the automatic fire detection, the company supplied related services such as the smoke control system, emergency refuges, nurse call facility and PA systems.

In addition to the main point fire detection, a fire assessment identified the need for an aspirating system in the two metre void above the lecture theatre, which houses the sound and audio equipment. The lecture theatre’s high ceiling means that maintenance could be an issue, while the five atria presented another challenge as they are wide open spaces. Beam detection, in places on different levels, was specified for these areas.

Phased evacuation sequences were also closely evaluated at an early stage, in conjunction with local fire officers and the district surveyor. Requirements included stopping the hotel’s 20 lifts safely, shutting off escalators, isolating the link bridge to the airport and activating air conditioning, smoke dampers and door closers as appropriate.

Due to the complexity of the fire system requirements, Mike Simmons, Leader Systems contracts manager, was permanently based at the hotel development site for 14 months to ensure success. He says:

“The cause and effect sequences for the fire detection system and related safety and evacuation equipment were extremely complex. For example, to achieve the interface between the fire system and the sprinkler system involved the installation of sixty separate flow switches. We then had to develop a bespoke mimic panel to enable the emergency services to interpret the sequences correctly so that resources could be deployed effectively in the event of an emergency.”

The layout of the hotel and the variety of activities it contains – such as eating, cooking and sleeping – meant that a range of environmental conditions needed to be taken into account to ensure that nuisance alarm incidents were minimised. Leader Systems chose Apollo’s Discovery range of intelligent fire detectors to meet these requirements.

Apollo’s Discovery fire detectors can operate in one of five response modes, any of which can be selected from the control panel. Each mode corresponds to a unique response behaviour, which can be broadly related to sensitivity to fire.

Says Mike Simmons: “When you are faced with the type of complexity we encountered at Sofitel London Heathrow, being able to use fire detection technology that is proven to be reliable and accurate in the field is very reassuring. Apollo’s open digital protocol enabled us to link safety-critical systems together effectively and its Discovery range of intelligent fire detection devices offered the flexibility of programming and product choice necessary to meet all the environmental and operational requirements of this fascinating project.”

The hotel’s fire detection system incorporates 5,500 Apollo Discovery devices and is controlled by a network of 21 Advanced Electronics control panels. The hotel opened in July 2008 – on time and within budget.

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Apollo’s new Deckhead Mounting Box is a robust polycarbonate unit designed to protect bases, sounder bases and sounder beacon bases from ingress of water or other liquids. It is screwed to the soffit and accepts a variety of Apollo bases.

In most cases the device can be used on its own, but in some instances either an extension sleeve or adapter ring is required: an extension sleeve is required when fitting heater or deep bases, while an adaptor ring is needed for fitting sounder bases, beacon bases, or sounder beacon bases.

 The Deckhead Mounting Box has six cable access ports for M20 glands and is secured to the mounting surface via two 5.4mm holes in the webs.

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Apollo Fire Detectors is looking forward to welcoming many of its friends, colleagues and customers onto its stand (New Hall, Booth A126-130) at the 2009 China Fire Exhibition. The country’s leading fire exhibition is being held at the National Agricultural Exhibition Centre in Beijing from 16 – 19 October and attracts visitors from around the globe in addition to those from China and Asia.

Apollo offers 40 products which are fully compliant with the updated CCCF standard. On display will be a range of products from their Discovery® and XP95® analogue addressable ranges, Orbis® conventional range, as well their XP95 and Orbis intrinsically safe ranges. Throughout the show, the company’s team of experts will be on hand to offer product knowledge and advice on choosing a fire detection solution to satisfy customer requirements.

To coincide with the exhibition a new Chinese language website will be launched which will contain details of Apollo’s product offering, latest news and downloadable literature.

Mike Lam, Apollo’s Marketing Director for China, says, “We regard China Fire as a premier event in the industry calendar, which is why we return year after year. China is an important market for Apollo and is fully supported with representatives in Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The exhibition gives us a chance to speak to our customers face to face, which is an essential part of developing our relationship with them and finding out their requirements.”

China Fire – 13th International Fire Protection Equipment Technology Conference and Exposition
National Agricultural Exhibition Centre, Beijing, China
16-19 October, 2009
New Hall, Booth A126-130

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A new educational centre in the Scottish Borders, which combines further and higher education facilities on a single campus, is being protected using Apollo intelligent fire detection technology. The co-location project is the first of its kind in rural Scotland and offers a unique learning and teaching environment to thousands of students.

The £31.4 million Scottish Borders Campus brings together the Borders College of further education and the internationally renowned Heriot-Watt University at a site in Netherdale, Galashiels. This enables the College and the University to benefit from a range of shared facilities while still retaining their own distinct identities. The co-location includes major refurbishment of existing buildings as well as the construction of additional facilities, such as training areas, a new library and learning resource centre, enhanced IT facilities and student social areas.

The two and a half year development programme required a lot of forward planning and was carried out over a number of phases. SAFE Systems, based in Galashiels, won the contract to supply, install and commission a site-wide networked fire detection system for the main buildings, plus stand-alone systems for remote buildings with specific requirements, like the halls of residence.

“The client specified an open protocol system designed to L1 standards,” says Graeme Millar, Senior Fire Engineer with SAFE Systems. “We had used Apollo intelligent fire detectors two years ago to resolve problems with false alarms at this site for Heriot-Watt University and were happy to recommend Apollo technology again.”

In total, SAFE Systems installed 11 Advanced Electronics control panels and 2,427 Apollo intelligent fire detection devices in a two-phase programme of works.

The networked system is based on Apollo’s XP95 range of fire detectors and covers the main teaching blocks, the new library, the laboratories and the world-famous School of Textiles. It is also equipped with a number of interface units that enable it to interact with other building control systems including gas shutdown, plant shutdown, access control and PA systems.

In addition, there are five stand-alone systems fitted in remote buildings such as the Technology building, High Mill building and the halls of residence, as well as the Netherdale Rooms which house the archives. For this last application, SAFE Systems recommended the use of Apollo Discovery devices. These can be set to different sensitivity settings depending upon the local environment, reducing the likelihood of nuisance alarms while ensuring very accurate detection of fire. As all Apollo intelligent devices use the same open digital protocol, there were no compatibility issues between the main XP95-based system and the Discovery-based system.

Graeme Millar concludes: “The decision to use Apollo at this site certainly paid off. The open protocol gave us the degree of flexibility we needed to meet multiple requirements across the campus buildings, while the choice of compatible interfaces and ancillary devices helped us to link the new fire detection system to other critical equipment quite easily. In essence, Apollo fire detection technology has enabled us to meet the client’s requirements and complete the project on time.”

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