Product category:
Fire and Smoke Protection, Detection and Alarms
News Release from: Kidde Fire Protection | Subject: Fire detection solution
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 21 March 2007
Kidde fire detection solution for
cathedral
Kidde Fire Protection Systems presented the ideal solution at historic Coventry Cathedral.
Early fire detection is essential in any building, but especially one of historical significance and so highly prized by the British Public and English Heritage as Coventry Cathedral So when it came to installing new fire alarm detection systems as part of a major project led by Cathedral Architect Michael Clews of Acanthus Clews Architects, High Sensitivity Smoke Detection (HSSD) technology from Kidde Fire Protection Systems presented the ideal solution
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 1 Oct 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The height and volume of the building and its fluctuating airflow were the key issues, along with the necessity to conceal any new equipment installed so as not to interfere with the aesthetics of the building.
Use of a radio-based alarm system overcame many of the problems associated with hard-wire cabling, and Kidde HART HSSD technology was determined as being the best detection technology capable of coping with such a difficult environment.
As Andrew Salter of Acanthus Clews Architects explains: "The Kidde system provides the earliest possible warning of smoke which could be the start of a fire, but because the detector units can be hidden away, and the pipework is so discreet, it is barely discernible from ground level and ideal for an historic building such as this".
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The Kidde HART system works by continually drawing air from the Nave areas into tiny capillaries within a pipe network and 'transporting' it to detection units installed out-of-sight within a false ceiling void.
Bespoke laser technology using an optical scatter principle continuously analyses the air samples to detect any smoke particles, and measures it against alert and alarm thresholds programmed into the fire control panel.
Smoke vents, also concealed above the false ceiling and controlled by the smoke detection system, have been cut into the roof, a sophisticated shell of reinforced concrete - which the architects describe as a significant project in its own right.
This allows smoke to escape and the vents have an override system to prevent false operation when using incense.
There are also some practical reasons for using the Kidde HART, not least of which is ease of maintenance.
Ceiling voids, lift shafts, production facilities, ducts etc are often necessarily inaccessible, which can cause considerable disruption and inconvenience when it comes to maintaining any detectors that may be installed there to prevent fire.
The advantage of Kidde HART is that only the sampling pipe needs to be installed in the 'inaccessible' area, rather than the detector itself.
This means the detector unit - the essential element in need of maintenance - can be easily accessed from the Cathedral's gantry, and maintained on a regular basis.
As well as above ground, further Kidde technology including emergency lighting has been installed beneath the Nave, and extends to adjacent buildings.
Sounders have also been sited discreetly but such that they can be heard in an emergency above the noise of the organ.
As Don Lindon, Property Director at Coventry Cathedral adds: "The whole installation is very sympathetic to the building and has been well designed".
"Whilst there were a few teething problems, these were not down to the technology, and the system has proven to be very reliable".
"Kidde installed the technology very well and with the minimum of fuss, and continues to service and maintain the equipment to ensure we don't encounter any problems in the future".
Coventry Cathedral was famously destroyed by bombing during the second world war and left as a ruin, with a new Cathedral built alongside and consecrated in May 1962.
The new cathedral contains many works of artistic significance, including Graham Sutherland's tapestry of Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph.
The ruins remain hallowed ground and together the two create one living Cathedral.
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