The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, more commonly known as The National Trust, is an independent charity and membership organisation for environmental and heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The trust was founded in 1985 and now looks after more than 500 places of historic interest or natural beauty across the UK.
The Property
A la Ronde is a quirky sixteen-sided National Trust property in Exmouth, Devon. It was built for two spinster cousins, Jane and Mary Parminuter, on the return from a grand tour of Europe in the late 18th Century and contains many objects and mementoes of their travels.
The sixteen-sided house has fascinating interior decorations and collections and is described as having a magical strangeness that one might dream of as a child. The interior decoration includes a feather frieze, gathered from native game birds and chickens laboriously stuck down with isinglass, an adhesive obtained from the swim bladders of fish, and a fragile, shell-encrusted galley said to contain nearly 250,000 shells.
The Challenge
National Trust properties all require a reliable fire detection system, not just to protect visitors and personnel from fire, but to preserve valuable artefacts, architecture and history.
The previous fire detection system installed in the atrium of A la Ronde was prone to false alarms caused by the system’s inability to operate in an environment that exhibits medium levels of dust contamination, spiders and insects and sunlight shining through the windows.
The Solution
Eurofyre, who has a long-standing relationship with The National Trust, was asked to recommend a solution to their continuing nuisance alarm problem. Eurofyre devised that, due to the fragile and delicate nature of the building, the only practical solution would be a fire detection system that uses beam smoke detectors. Therefore, Eurofyre recommended OSID, Open Area Smoke Imaging Detection, from Xtralis.
Xtralis OSID
Xtralis OSID detectors are an easy-to-install, low-cost and reliable detection solution that provides an early warning of fire while overcoming detection issues such as false alarm incidents. OSID detectors are low-maintenance, saving both time and money, and only require 20cm of free space for installation. Their compact size also reduces their impact on the aesthetics of a property.
New generation beam detection technology used in OSID detectors is far better at coping with the effects of bright sunlight, and its innovative dual-wavelength technology is able to discriminate against dust and small objects such as spiders and insects. Therefore, the risk of false alarms is vastly reduced.
Since upgrading the beam set used in A la Ronde to an OSID system all false alarms have stopped.
Eurofyre
Eurofyre are proud British manufacturers and suppliers of specialist fire detection equipment. Eurofyre has a strong relationship with Xtralis and are a main distributor and technical supplier of their fire detection products. We pride ourselves on providing high-quality service through excellent technical support and after-sales care. Whatever your requirements, our team have extensive experience and technical expertise in the fire industry and ensure to provide the best fire detection solution.
For more information about Xtralis OSID detectors, or to discuss any of the other products that Eurofyre have to offer, please feel free to get in touch either by phone on +44 (0) 1329 835 024, by email to [email protected] or via the online enquiry form situated on our contact page.
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