Dublin Airport’s new terminal seeks to overcome false fire alarms
The installation of an air-sampling fire-detection system in the new second terminal at Dublin Airport is confidently expected to avoid the numerous false alarms that were suffered in the existing T1. Indeed, the system proposed by Protec was put on trial for a month in the old terminal and the sensitivity of the equipment adjusted over that period.
The new terminal has around 9000 m2 of retail and catering outlets, 58 check-in desks and provision for self-service and online check-in and baggage drop.
The experience of Protec at other airports such as Manchester International secured approval of the system from consulting engineers Arup.
Protec also proposed the used of a number of innovative cost-saving interfaces. The most significant cost saver for the project came from using some clever integrated smoke-damper control interfaces to use the wiring loop of the fire-detection and alarm system for other purposes. The system controls all the cold smoke dampers for the terminal and removed the need to provide a separate control circuit for smoke dampers. The cost saving was around Eu200 000.
The trial of the Cirrus air-sampling detector system led to the installation of 120 units in the baggage-handling areas and the loft public areas.
Shops and catering units, offices, store rooms and back-of-house areas use 6000Plus detector heads for fire detection and alert indication. The sensor included may check for smoke, heat or carbon monoxide; the sensitivity pattern can be matched and adjusted at the panel to virtually eliminate false alarms.
In total, 61 Protec Algotec digital addressable panels were installed. They manage and control over 10 000 6000Plus multi-sensor detector/alert head units, 2300 interfaces and 500 manual call points.
