Beauchamp City Sixth Form excels at fire safety provision thanks to Comelit

The new four-storey college, which has been opened by The Lionheart Academies Trust, presents classrooms, labs and IT suites, as well as study spaces and a library which will give students “access to the latest academic research in their chosen areas of study interest”.

To ensure fire safety as part of the transformation process, the main contractor worked with representatives of the Avalon Technology Group, who specified Comelit’s Atena fire panels to operate across the site.

Beauchamp City Sixth Form College principal James McKenna explained to Fire Safety Matters: “Beauchamp City Sixth Form is an incredible new asset for both Leicestershire and the wider region. There’s a long history of scientific and technological achievement here in the Midlands and this sixth form college will help a diversity of learners take their ambitions as far as possible.”

McKenna continued: “Of course, we need to provide a safe environment for pupils to learn and staff to teach. Fire detection was essential right from the outset to accommodate the renovation work and ensure the safety of all facilities. The teams worked together seamlessly to achieve our ambitions and we now have complete peace of mind across the site.”

Addressable system

Comelit’s Atena solution is a user-friendly touch screen addressable system with the capacity to extend to four loops and supporting up to 1,000 devices thanks to its dual processor technology. In total, four panels have been networked at Beauchamp City Sixth Form College to manage overall system requirements.

Guy Stephens, director of the Avalon Technology Group, observed: “This was a complex renovation to facilitate the integration of security and fire safety. We needed to work with the main and electrical contractors to convert the empty office block into such an extensive education facility. In terms of fire safety, we required simple-to-install systems that wouldn’t compromise on the technology component and could also accommodate the sheer size of the scheme, which required a total of 13 loops. Comelit achieved this objective with a keen focus on a system design suited to the modern college environment.”

Mandy Bowden, Comelit’s business development manager for fire, added: “Beauchamp City Sixth Form really does break down the boundaries when it comes to the delivery of a new and unique approach to sixth form education in Leicester. Even the design of the facility, which has transformed an office block into a modern day college environment, is dynamic. It commands the highest attention to specification detail, especially so when it comes to fire safety.”

Bowden went on to state: “Comelit Atena fire panels are specifically designed to enable an expansion of loop requirements to accommodate large facilities.  With just four panels fitted across the building, we’ve been able to present compliant fire detection systems across all four floors so that staff and pupils can teach and learn in a safe environment. There’s still room for expansion to enable even more individuals to benefit from this ambitious new facility.”

*For more information on Comelit’s fire safety portfolio visit https://www.comelitgroup.com/en-gb/systems/fire-protection/introduction-to-fire-protection/