Hyfire partnership with Clear Safety saves £3 million for Notting Hill Genesis

Notting Hill Genesis, which owns 65,000 properties around London, asked Clear Safety to identify a fast and sustainable solution to provide temporary fire systems across four sites encompassing 700 flats, while at the same time minimising disruption for residents. After careful consultation and extensive research, Clear Safety selected Hyfire as its preferred supplier for wireless devices and engaged with four installation partners to facilitate the project, which was completed in just 35 days.

Colin Bygraves, head of technical services at Clear Safety, commented: “The brief from Notting Hill Genesis was to specify temporary systems with a lifespan of around one year. These were installed in just over a month at a cost of around £584,000, in turn saving circa £3 million in ‘Waking Watch’ costs over 12 months. The rapid installation could not have been completed without Hyfire’s wireless devices, which can be pre-programmed off-site and fitted in minutes, with no need for complex wiring installation and no impact on the fabric of the building.”

Hyfire offers “the widest range of commercial standard wireless fire devices” on the market, ranging from optical, multi-criteria and heat detectors through to notification, alarm, interface and control units, all of them fully certified to EN54. All products are also compliant with BS 5839 Part 1.

Fire panels are wired via a loop to translators from which wireless devices can be used on their own to build fully wireless systems of virtually any size or otherwise mixed with Hyfire’s wired products to provide seamless hybrid solutions, offering total flexibility for specifiers and installers alike.

Minimising time on site

Tom Crane, Hyfire’s business unit director for the UK and Ireland, explained: “This is exactly the sort of project where wireless comes into its own, offering rapid and efficient solutions to urgent requirements. In the COVID-19 era, it’s even more advantageous as it allows us to minimise time on site and also contact with building residents. The systems installed on behalf of Notting Hill Genesis will not only save around £250,000 per month in ‘Waking Watch’ costs, but can also be adapted to a new BS 5839-compliant fire system in the longer term or be used as part of a BS 8629 evacuation system.”

Clear Safety is an independent consultancy specialising in safety, compliance and risk management. The business has extensive experience of working with UK landlords including social housing providers, private landlords, specialists in the education sector and housing developers. The company helps its clients to understand and prioritise key compliance management responsibilities, while also delivering a financial oversight service to monitor contractor performance, ensure the satisfactory completion of works and protect client budgets.

The company’s service includes the design, specification and commissioning of fully compliant fire systems which is facilitated by an established network of suppliers – such as Hyfire – and installation partners.

Hyfire was launched as Sterling Safety Systems back in 2007, bringing to market some of the first commercial wireless detection and alarm devices fully certified to EN54. Hyfire devices come with a five-year warranty, backed up by a dedicated partner programme to ensure first class survey, installation, commissioning and after sales service as well as technical support.

*Further information is available online at www.sterlingsafety.co.uk