A town hall is a large, historical building, typically located in a city’s town centre. Town halls can be used to hold conferences and events such as weddings, parties and festivals. Birmingham’s town hall, for example, holds a monumental town hall pipe organ that is 70 feet high and contains the largest metal pipe in the UK and attracts many visitors from around the world.
Hove Town Hall Fire, 2015
In late April 2015, a fire broke out in Hove town hall just after 12:30pm one afternoon. Fortunately the building was evacuated safely, no injuries were reported and the fire was put under control within the hour.
The fire is believed to have started due to an electrical fault in the PV solar installation on the building’s roof. Even though solar PV fires are rare, electrical faults are a risk amongst all electrical equipment and, luckily, correct fire safety procedures were followed during the incident.
What are the Fire Risks Associated with Town Halls?
- Electrical Faults
As town halls hold a wide range of electrical equipment, they become prone to electrical faults and, if faults are to occur, sparks can be generated and cause fire. - Arson
As town halls are typically in a central location and are home to many political debates, they become a focal destination for protests, meaning they are vulnerable to vandalism and arson attacks. - Smoking
With many people accessing the building, some may step outside for a cigarette – wherever combustible materials are present, a fire may ignite.
The Importance of a Reliable Fire System in Town Halls
As town halls are open to the public and are typically located in central areas, it is of utmost importance that a reliable fire detection system is in place.
Cost-Effective Solution
Eurofyre are proud, British manufacturers of specialist fire detection systems, they offer a cost-effective solution to keep buildings safe from fire. Eurofyre believe that every client should be given the opportunity to choose their own fire detection system maintainer and, therefore, offer a ‘open’ protocol solution.
What are the Most Common Fire Systems Used in Town Halls?
There are many fire detection systems available, however, the most suitable and effective systems for town halls are:
Analogue Addressable
Eurofyre’s ProFyre range of analogue addressable fire detection equipment has been designed to follow the latest international standards to offer full, high-quality fire detection and is a great choice for town halls.
The ProFyre A2 panel is the perfect solution for medium sized properties that require less than 256 devices, 8 zones and 2 loops and no cause & effect programming.
The ProFyre A4 panel on the other hand, is the ideal choice for large sized properties as a result of its modular nature. It has the ability to have a maximum of 8 loops and up to 250 addresses per loop. The A4 control panel can be installed alone or with the option to listen to other nodes on a peer to peer network facility.
Conventional Fire Detection
The ProFyre C24 is the perfect choice for medium size properties as it is an expandable, fully featured panel available in 24, 16 or 8 zone versions. The C24 panel is also easy to commission, install, maintain and operate.
The ProFyre C8, however, is a compact, cost-effective conventional fire alarm panel which is available in 8, 6, 4, 2 or 1 zone versions, making it a suitable choice for small sized properties, where an easy to install automatic fire detection and alarm solution is required.
2-Wire Addressable
The ProFyre T8 2-wire addressable fire alarm system is designed to use the ProFyre range of addressable detectors, manual call points, ancillary devices and sounders. The T8 offers all the advantages of an addressable system, with the simplicity of a conventional system, making it perfect for small to medium size properties.
To find out more about any of Eurofyre’s fire detection systems feel free to contact Eurofyre on +44 (0)1329 835024 or by email to [email protected]. For all the latest fire protection news sign up to our newsletter using the form at the bottom of your screen or follow us online on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ or sign up to our newsletter (in the footer below) to receive all the latest information from Eurofyre.