Aico increases fire protection for student accommodation
To increase protection for students living in 27 semi-detached cottages, Harper Adams University in Shropshire has installed Aico 160e mains-powered smoke alarms. The cottages each have four or five bedrooms and already had Aico smoke alarms on the landing and in the hall. The university wanted to increase the level of protection, but without the considerable expense of moving to an LD1 system, which is the highest protection in fire-alarm categories for dwellings. It also wanted a solution that was flexible, as these properties may be repurposed in the future.
The solution was based on Aico’s Ei160e mains-powered alarms with 10-year rechargeable lithium-cell back-up. Heat alarms were fitted in the kitchens and optical alarms in the bedrooms. These alarms deliver the highest level of protection for BS 5839-6, the standard for domestic smoke-alarm installation.
The alarms have been interconnected using Aico’s RadioLink+ technology to reduce disruption during installation. Because of the extended size of the fire-alarm system, Ei450 alarm controllers have been fitted in each property to enable all alarms to be easily tested, silenced and the trigger alarm located from a safe, accessible location.
Estate foreman Arthur Broadhurst said, ‘The new fire-alarm systems provide greater coverage and enable us to record alarm incidents so we get a much better picture of what is happening in each property.
The university is now looking to extend the system to other student and staff accommodation.
