Landmark Tyneside apartments benefit from wireless system installation

Built in the early 2000s as part of the Gateshead Quays development, Curzon Place is a familiar site to thousands of motorists who cross the famous bridge on a daily basis, as well as to the many brave souls who take on the Great North Run each year.

The new fire system, which was installed by RayFire Services Ltd, represents the first complete overhaul for this element in the building’s history, bringing it fully into line with the latest UK fire regulations and Best Practice.

Ray Hope, Managing Director at RayFire Services Ltd, commented: “This was the largest and smoothest install we’ve carried out to date, largely thanks to the simplicity of setting up and installing the Hyfire Taurus wireless devices, which made the whole process from site survey right through to commissioning completely seamless. For an apartment complex with residents in situ, you really couldn’t ask for more.”

Hope added: “Working with the Hyfire team, we specified a full communal Level 1 system incorporating heat detection and sounders within each apartment lobby and additional heat detection in sensitive areas. We were able to reduce the wiring requirement by up to 90% and introduce a radically reduced installation schedule with  minimal disruption for residents.”

Fire panels

Hyfire offers a wide range of commercial standard wireless fire devices including optical, multi-criteria and heat detectors as well as notification, alarm, interface and control units. All are fully certified to EN54.

All products “offer the highest performance and quality” in the industry and are also fully 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. This affords total flexibility for specifiers and installers.

Robert Bruce, Hyfire’s national sales manager for the North, stated: “This is one of our first projects with RayFire Services Ltd and it was great to work with the company on such a landmark building. The Taurus range, combined with an Advanced MxPro panel, offers all of the capabilities of its wired equivalents, with the added benefits of simplicity and ease of installation. This is a major advantage for building occupiers and the end client. With more and more fire system upgrades now taking place outside of the usual maintenance schedule, an ability to limit their impact on the host structure is also very welcome.”

Taurus features Pathfinder technology, which allows the devices to communicate over up to a kilometre, point-to-point in open air, and even further where expansion hops are used. Antenna technology has been optimised to allow communication across different frequencies and environments, which means that Taurus can do the job with less equipment and less batteries. That means a saving on costs.

Clear brief

Colin Wrightson, director at Securetech Systems NE Ltd, lead contractor for the end client on the project, commented: “We had a clear brief to deliver this project as rapidly as possible, with minimal intrusion and inconvenience, so Hyfire’s wireless devices were the obvious choice. The installation was completed ahead of schedule, the system is working as specified and the residents are very happy with the outcome. You cannot really ask for more.”

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. Since then, the Hyfire brand has become synonymous with quality, reliability and innovation in the commercial fire sector.

All Hyfire devices are supplied with a five-year warranty and backed up by a dedicated Partner Programme designed to ensure the best survey, installation, commissioning and after-sales service as well as “exceptional” technical support.

*Further information is available online at www.hyfirewireless.com