Power management company Eaton has been selected by ABCA Systems, a specialist electrical systems installer, to deliver a fire alarm system for one of London’s newest multiple-use facilities, Spring Mews in Vauxhall.
Completed in September 2014 and developed by CLS Holdings plc, a FTSE 250 commercial property investment company, the new facilities provide a broad accommodation, leisure and retail offer.
The new Spring Mews development provides luxurious lodging to more than 400 students, granting them excellent social, leisure and academic facilities on site, such as a cinema, gym and swimming pool, laundry facilities, study/games areas and secure bicycle storage. The development also includes a contemporary 93-bed suite hotel and various retail spaces.
To provide for the safety of students, guests and visitors, as well as the premises itself, CLS Holdings tasked ABCA Systems with providing a top quality fire alarm and disabled refuge system throughout the new facilities. With more than 30 years’ experience in the market, ABCA Systems specifically chose to fit the new facilities with high specification solutions from Eaton for comprehensive protection.
Philip Miller, Managing Director of ABCA Systems said: “We’ve worked with Eaton on a number of projects in the past and the support we receive, as well as the solutions offered, are second to none. So when it came to making the decision about which provider of fire systems to use for this new facility, the decision was a very easy one to make.”
In order to support business continuity, the Spring Mews project required a bespoke fire alarm solution with a sophisticated range of cause-and-effect programming to meet the differing detection and alarm requirements for each of its facilities, including permanent or temporary accommodation, retail units and business premises.
ABCA Systems chose to install 14 of Eaton’s CF3000 - a high specification intelligent addressable control panel – throughout the new facilities as an ideal solution to the number of demands put on it by the diversity of the multiple-use premises.
“We recommended these specific addressable control panels to ABCA Systems due to their sophisticated functionality with simple operation,” added Mike Slater, Sales Account Manager at Eaton. “Additionally, their aesthetically pleasing design fits in perfectly within the new luxury facilities.”
The advantage of an addressable panel, compared with a conventional panel, is that it pinpoints the particular alarm that has been activated, which speeds up the process of detecting the source of a suspected fire.
The CF3000 panels use soft addressing to decrease installation time as well as the potential for error associated with manual addressing, both of which limit costs for the business owner. It can operate as a standalone panel or as part of a networked system, offering flexibility and the potential for system expansion to meet the requirements of a developing business. They also feature powerful programming options that allow configurable control over whether messages from specific panels are transmitted around the network or remain local, to avoid unnecessary disruption to other building occupants.
In addition to the panels, an array of fire ancillaries were also installed, including a ‘bell tone’ electronic sounder that was developed specifically for the Spring Mews project.
“The installation process was fast paced and no challenges were encountered during it,” added Philip Miller. “Although we had a few difficulties due to putting a two year programme into one, the panels worked well throughout and Eaton was there every step of the way to ensure everything ran smoothly.”
David Towse, Project Manager at CLS Holdings concludes “The prestigious Spring Mews student accommodation facility has been in full use for a few months now, and Eaton’s addressable control panels have absolutely met the demands of the site. Health and safety is our main priority, and with an Eaton fire system in place we can rest assured that our students, guests and visitors are well taken care of.”
