Southern Fire Alarms Ltd  (SFA) has installed a four-loop, wire free EMS Firecell fire detection system at Centenary House, Worthing for West Sussex County Council (WSCC). The system was selected for its versatility, ease of installation and reduced disruption, the cost and time saving benefits it affords as well as the potential to move or reconfigure the system at a later date.

Centenary House in Worthing is a 1960’s build, covering six floors. It is flanked by two further two storey office structures and the main block adjoins the divisional headquarters of Sussex Police.

When the existing fire detection system became obsolete and less than reliable, a modern solution needed to be identified for this large scale building. Based on an assessment of the project particulars, and drawing on their extensive experience, SFA turned to EMS Fire & Security. Working in partnership, a site survey was carried out and the Firecell system proposed, resulting in SFA being awarded the contract for the new installation.

Firecell is the UK’s first fully addressable wireless fire system that complies with EN54 Part 25. The wire free nature of the system makes it a favourite in applications where downtime and disruption caused by installation are not an option.

“Due to the nature of the offices, the client wanted a system which was swift to install,” explains David Fell from SFA, “Wireless was the obvious choice. It enabled us to overcome several challenges: without this flexibility we would have had to install the entire system out of office hours, at huge expense to the client. In addition the sheer time involved in wiring a new system of this scale would have required CDM regulations compliance, again incurring further cost for the client. Instead the Firecell system was installed with minimum disruption within office hours.”

The Firecell system consists of an industry standard control panel, linked to a radio hub and set of radio cluster communications (RCCs) that act as bi-directional range extenders. Each control panel communicates with a single hub. This in turn manages up to 64 RCCs, each of which link to 31 devices across a building. This results in a system that can monitor in excess of 500 devices.

“The flexibility of wireless was a key benefit in its use at Centenary House,” continues David, “For organisations in the public sector, any investment in upgrading plant and equipment must be justified. EMS Firecell represents an asset which, because it is portable, can be moved or reconfigured where necessary”