Two independent living
schemes have benefitted from Aico’s latest Smoke Alarm technology as part of
Nottingham City Homes’ ‘Grander Designs’ advanced refurbishment programme.
An arm’s length
management organisation (ALMO) of Nottingham City Council, Nottingham City
Homes (NCH) manages around 27,000 homes, including a range of independent
living communities across the city.
The Grander Designs
programme has been implemented to improve and modernise the communal areas of
these schemes.
In the latest round of
Grander Designs refurbishment, Garfield Court, a 32 flat corridor scheme in
Radford, and Kersall Court, a similar scheme with 33 flats, have been fitted
with Aico mains powered Multi-Sensors and Ei160e Series Alarms.
The Multi-Sensors
contain two sensor types, optical and heat, to constantly monitor smoke and
heat levels, sending and receiving information via its intelligent detection
software, for fast response and reduced false alarms.
These alarms, which
form a BS5839 Part 6 fire system, have been cleverly connected to a nurse call
system and the BS5839 Part 1 fire system in the communal areas to maximise
safety. This has been achieved through the use of Aico’s unique Ei414
Fire/CO Alarm Interface which has been specifically designed to interconnect
Aico alarms to third party life-safety devices.
When an alarm in a
dwelling triggers, the nurse call system is immediately alerted but a two
minute delay has been set before the signal is actioned by the Part 1 fire
alarm system. This gives on site staff enough time to check the situation
with the tenant and get them to press the silence button on the Aico Ei450
Alarm Control Switch fitted in their flat, thus stopping the Part 1 fire alarm
system from activating.
This is the first time
NCH has combined Part 1 and Part 6 installations using the Ei414, as John Carr,
Senior Electrical Technical Officer at NCH comments: “This product allowed
integration of both systems in a manner that suited the building structure and
provided appropriate functionality.
“We chose the Ei2110e
and Ei160e alarms with RadioLINK+ wireless interconnection modules based on
advice from Aico’s Paul Cartwright, Swift Fire & Security our partner
contractor and discussions with our internal Fire Safety Officer” says John.
“This combination provided the functionality we required at an appropriate cost
to NCH. Aico and Paul in particular have provided an excellent service to
NCH. We have visited Aico’s training centre [the Centre of Excellence in
Oswestry, Shropshire] and found it a great resource and Aico’s continuing
support has been invaluable.”
A wholly owned
subsidiary of Ei Electronics, Aico is the market leader in residential fire and
CO protection in the UK. All alarms are designed and built in Ireland
specifically to meet the UK standards and regulations. With more mains powered
domestic smoke alarms installed in the UK’s social housing than any other
manufacturer, Aico is tried, tested and trusted.
