Southern Fire Alarms Ltd(SFA) and Hochiki Europe share a passion for providing high quality, reliable systems that protect both property and people, and this has led to a strong 15 year business relationship between the two companies. SFA boast BAFE SP203-1 accreditation, and as experts in the field, they are able to offer; design, installation, commissioning and maintenance services for all types of fire detection and alarm systems.

Recently SFA and Hochiki have collaborated to provide efficient and reliable fire detection solutions for a number of educational facilities in Sussex, Hampshire & Dorset. Educational sites present a number of unique challenges, for example; installers must take into consideration the different risks found in different parts of the building (such as kitchens and science labs) and install a solution that is going to protect students and teachers, but also minimise the possibility of false alarms.

In 2013, SFA was approached by J&B Hopkins to design and install a fire detection solution for the new Swanage Free School. The brand new school would consist of two buildings and had an expected occupancy of 500 staff and students. SFA designed and installed a system that used 300 Hochiki detectors, 25 manual callpoints and 80 base sounders and base sounder beacons, networked using a 4 loop panel in the main school and a 1 loop panel in the sports hall. The project was completed in June 2014 so that the school could open in September 2014.

In 2014, it was decided that The Academy Selsey needed to upgrade its fire detection system, and SFA were again drafted in to provide the most suitable solution. The academy came with a number of challenges; it was a large site, they required a flexible system and there was a limited time scale for the installation. SFA were not fazed by the challenge and had no hesitation in designing a category L2 system which specified 327 Hochiki devices, including the new EN54-23 compliant visual alarm devices (VADs).

Hochiki devices were specified due to their high compliance to standards, flexibility of the open protocol and ease of installation. The project was completed in October 2014 and the building’s occupants are more than pleased with the result.