A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trapeze acts, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians and many more. Circuses come in all shapes and sizes and performances are often carried out in big-tops; traditional style, large tents that travel the world. Circuses are a popular source of entertainment and there are some very large circus acts, such as the Cirque du Soleil, that draw huge crowds all over the world.
Circus performances are open to the public. Therefore, circuses have a moral and legal obligation to keep performers, guests and personnel safe from fire and a suitable fire detection system must be installed.
There are many challenges that are presented when it comes to protecting circuses from fire. The fire detection system installed must meet some very specific requirements to ensure that fires can be dealt with safely and efficiently.
What are the Requirements?
- Flexibility
As many circuses are travelling circuses, and, therefore, use semi-permanent structures, the fire detection system they employ must be flexible and capable of supporting a structure that is continually on the move. - Ease of Installation
Travelling circuses often arrive at their destination and have very limited time to get everything set up before their first performance. Therefore, the detection system used must be quick and easy to deploy at each new location. - Alarm Verification
In some circumstances, personnel require the opportunity to assess a fire situation before an audible alarm is raised and evacuation procedures are executed. Therefore, a system that can raise a silent alarm is sometimes preferred. - Lightweight and Agile
Transporting and storing 100s of meters of cable and fixings is impractical and expensive. The system used must be able to be transported and reinstated as quickly and easily as possible.
What is the Solution?
A fire detection system that utilises Wi-Fyre hybrid fire detection technology can provide the perfection fire detection solution for travelling circuses. Wi-Fyre is flexible, cost-effective and requires very little cabling. This means it can be decommissioned, transported and recommissioned very quickly and easily.
A Wi-Fyre Transponder, installed into a fire alarm control panel via a compatible interface, can communicate with up to 30 Wi-Fyre wireless field devices, such as manual call points, sounders, detectors and input/output modules, providing complete protection throughout the facility.
A wireless survey must be conducted using the WI-Fyre wireless survey head, to ensure that the signal between the transponder and its associated devices is strong enough for the system to operate effectively.
In the instance that silent activation is required, the fire alarm control panel can send an alert to pagers carried by personnel who can then investigate a fire before raising an alarm.
For more information about how Wi-Fyre can be used to protect circus tents or other semi-permanent structures from fire, please feel free to give us a call on +44 (0)1329 835024 or email [email protected] where we would be happy to answer any questions. You can also find more applications where Wi-Fyre can provide a reliable and cost-effective fire detection solution on our Blog.
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