Fire alarm system – care home – Glasgow

Project summary

The site is a large privately owned care home in Glasgow, which is split into individual wings, rooms, and office spaces.

Highlander were requested to upgrade the existing conventional fire alarm to a category L1 addressable system and extend to areas not currently covered at the location.

There are unique risks posed by safety critical locations like care homes and these demand fire safety systems of the highest pedigree, performance, and reliability.

This Glasgow-based care home had a unique set of requirements due to the building layout, occupancy patterns and, of course, the people living there.

How building occupants will be alerted to an emergency and evacuated from a building or moved to a safe space is particularly important in health care buildings where it is unlikely full evacuation will be possible.

The solution

It was decided that we would replace the existing conventional fire alarm system with an ‘open protocol’ analogue addressable system.

Safety of the staff and clientele was paramount with this project. We had to ensure that the existing system was continually operational while we installed the new system throughout the fully operational site. This meant that at no point was the building left unprotected from fire detection. This often meant that floors and designated areas had to be completed within a single night. At certain stages, half of one floor would be operating under the old system, whilst the other half would be operating under the new system.

This took a great deal of planning and organisation with the on-site maintenance team to ensure the works were completed in a safe and timely manner. There were challenges, however, through honest and regular communication at all levels throughout the project, these were reduced and overcome on proactive basis.

Highlander | Building Security and Maintenance

The outcome

Our experienced engineers are used to working in operational healthcare environments ensuring minimum disruption and minimum down-time during system upgrades and replacement.

Commissioning ran very smoothly, as did the installation works. The system was designed, installed, and commissioned on time, and all the required certification was provided.

This system is supported 24/7 through monitored links to the (ARC) alarm receiving centre.

Each aspect of the fire system design was specifically chosen to match the client’s needs. The works were carried out within the agreed timescales and on budget.