Southern Fire Alarms Ltd. - Experts & Thought Leaders

Merriman Grange, a beautiful new care home from Cinnamon Care Collection, located in Worthing, West Sussex, is designed to provide a warm, comfortable, and thanks to Hochiki's ESP range, safe environment for its residents. Offering exceptional care across three floors, including a dedicated dementia unit, the home prioritizes the well-being of its vulnerable residents. Robust protection with needs Ensuring comprehensive fire safety in such a complex domain is paramount, needing a tailored approach Ensuring comprehensive fire safety in such a complex environment is paramount, requiring a tailored approach that balances robust protection with the specific needs of the residents. Care home fire safety is a multifaceted project. It demands a system that not only detects fires rapidly but also integrates seamlessly with other building systems, minimizes disruption during installation, and provides reliable, user-friendly ongoing maintenance. ESP range’s reputation for ease of installation For Merriman Grange, Southern Fire Alarms was entrusted with the crucial task of designing and installing a state-of-the-art fire safety system. As a new build project, Southern Fire Alarms had the opportunity to implement a comprehensive solution from the ground up. They chose Hochiki as their primary life safety manufacturer, citing their ESP range’s reputation for ease of installation and excellent compatibility with other building management systems. This integration was crucial for Merriman Grange, allowing for a streamlined and efficient operation of all building services. Full L1 category fire alarm system The system installed was a full L1 category fire alarm system, providing full smoke and fire detection coverage The system installed was a full L1 category fire alarm system, providing complete smoke and fire detection coverage across all three floors of the building. This comprehensive approach ensures that every area, from communal spaces to individual rooms, is protected. The presence of a dementia unit presented a unique challenge, requiring a system that would not cause undue stress or panic among residents. Hochiki devices Hochiki devices were selected specifically for their flexibility in terms of alarm volumes and tones, minimizing potential distress for these particularly vulnerable individuals. The ease of use for staff was another key consideration. Hochiki devices are designed to be intuitive, simplifying routine testing by maintenance teams. This user-friendliness ensures that staff can respond effectively to any fire safety event, providing peace of mind for both residents and their families. ESP range of addressable products Hochiki devices are designed to be intuitive, simplifying routine testing by maintenance teams "When it comes to reliability and ease of installation, Hochiki is our go-to manufacturer," said Naomi Fell of Southern Fire Alarms. She adds, "Their ESP range of addressable products are consistently high-quality, and their integration capabilities are second to none. For a complex project like Merriman Grange, where we needed a robust and dependable system that also considered the specific needs of dementia residents, Hochiki was the perfect choice." Naomi Fell continues, "Their devices are designed to minimize false alarms and provide clear, reliable warnings, which is crucial in a care home environment. We know that with Hochiki, we're providing our clients with the best possible protection." Installation of the Hochiki fire safety system The successful installation of the Hochiki fire safety system at Merriman Grange underscores the importance of a well-planned and expertly executed fire safety strategy.  By partnering with Southern Fire Alarms and utilizing Hochiki's advanced technology, Cinnamon Care Collection has created a safe and secure environment for its residents, ensuring their comfort and well-being for years to come.

Livingstone Academy Bournemouth is a brand-new all-through school that combines excellent education with an innovative skills development program, ensuring students from the ages of 4 to 18 have the skills and qualifications they need to succeed in modern life. The school has over 1800 occupants including students and staff and covers four stories of brand-new purpose-built facilities alongside historical buildings. This unique setting also includes a magistrates and coroners court, which will be preserved as part of the school site and used by the students for lectures and staging parliament-style debates. ESP range of products J&B Hopkins Ltd was the M&E contractor who hired with Southern Fire Alarms as the fire installation team Preserving this incredible educational facility, as well as ensuring the safety of the next generation was of the utmost importance to the facilities management team. With a proven track record of over 40 years in design and build contracting, J&B Hopkins Ltd was the M&E contractor who engaged with Southern Fire Alarms as the fire installation team. With the opening of the school imminent, there were strict deadlines to be met so the team at Southern Fire Alarms wanted to install a system that was quick and easy to fit, as well as simple to maintain. They opted for Hochiki Europe’s ESP range of products, and in fact, over 400 devices were installed at this state-of-the-art educational facility. Designed for easy integration Hochiki Europe's ESP product range offers many benefits that ensure optimal protection and peace of mind, particularly in school settings. Its cutting-edge technology guarantees swift and precise detection of potential threats, enhancing response times and minimizing damage. The ESP range boasts unparalleled reliability, reducing false alarms and ensuring accurate alerts in critical situations. Moreover, these products are intelligently designed for easy integration with existing systems, making upgrades seamless and cost-effective–something which appealed to the project managers for this installation. risk of false alarms Caught up with Naomi Fell, the Contract Manager at Southern Fire Alarms to find out more, “We’ve worked with Hochiki products for several years across multiple projects and industries. We chose Hochiki almost every time because they know how to design and manufacture reliable and easy-to-fit devices." At Livingstone, as well as standard smoke detectors, we also fitted multi-sensors" Naomi Fell adds, "At Livingstone, as well as standard smoke detectors, we also fitted multi-sensors. We needed to ensure the risk of false alarms was completely reduced; with almost 2000 people here you can imagine at full capacity what chaos a false alarm might cause. We chose the ACD Multi-Sensors from the ESP range because they are fully EN54 accredited and work across three sensing elements, heat, smoke and CO–all vital in a school environment. These were fitted across areas that had a high risk of false alarm, areas such as food technology and science laboratories." Industry-wide shortage in components Naomi Fell continues: "Our fit-out team also really liked the fact that there’s a common mounting base for all the ESP devices, when compared to the rest of the market, Hochiki devices really are some of the simplest to fit, but they aren't comprised on quality. Despite an industry-wide shortage in components, our contact, Cathy at Hochiki, was invaluable in helping us to solve any supply chain issues, she was on the ball and her communication was brilliant.” Opening in September 2023, everyone at Hochiki would like to wish the students and staff at Livingstone good luck in their first academic year and beyond.

Five new towers at the University of Brighton’s Moulsecoomb Campus are protected by a fault-tolerant network of MxPro 5 fire panels from global fire systems pioneer, Advanced. The 13 networked MxPro 5 panels have been installed to protect the five student accommodation towers varying between eight and 18 storeys, which will provide more than 800 student bedrooms as well as ground-floor fitness facilities and amenities for the students’ union. Fire detection and access control system Responsible for the fire system design, supply and commissioning were West Sussex-based Southern Fire Alarms (SFA) Ltd, who also installed the equipment alongside mechanical and electrical engineers, J&B Hopkins. The fire system is integrated with multiple third-party interfaces, including automatic opening vents (AOVs), sprinklers, and access control. Careful consideration was given to the complex cause-and-effect programming that needed to be applied across the site. Each building is configured with a six-minute investigation period, with sounders on the floor of origin initiated after single device activation. Single subsequent device activation will escalate into the full evacuation of the specific tower. A master key switch has also been introduced, to allow for a full evacuation of all towers if required. Networked solutions We rely on Advanced products to deliver powerful cause and effect that can be easily programmed and maintained" David Fell, Sales Director at SFA Ltd, said, “The integrity of the network was a key concern for our client. Many solutions appear to allow extensive cause and effect. However, in larger, networking sites, such as the five student accommodation buildings at Moulsecoomb Campus, some systems can fall short of attaining adequate performance levels over longer distances.” “Advanced’s solutions were SFA’s first choice for this large-scale installation. We rely on Advanced products to deliver powerful cause and effect that can be easily programmed and maintained, carrying all the required inputs and outputs for third-party systems. This, in turn, ensures the safety of the hundreds of students who will be living on-site.” Multiprotocol fire system solution MxPro 5 is the fire industry’s pioneering multiprotocol fire system solution, certified by FM Approvals to the EN 54 standard. It offers customers a choice of four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, backed up by free training and support. MxPro 5 panels can be used in single-loop, single-panel format, or easily configured into high-speed networks of up to 200 panels covering huge areas. Ease of installation and configuration, as well as a wide range of peripheral, make MxPro 5 suitable for almost any application. Reducing false alarms MxPro 5 panels offer a range of verification and investigation delay options into play that can reduce false alarms" Amanda Hope, UK Fire Business Development Manager at Advanced, said, “The sophisticated cause and effect programming that our MxPro 5 panels offer, brings a range of verification and investigation delay options into play that can significantly reduce false alarms.” “The project at Moulsecoomb Campus that SFA, our long-standing and trusted installer partners, were involved in is yet another fantastic example of our solutions delivering great value, reliability, and peace of mind.” Fire protection solutions Advanced, owned by FTSE 100 company Halma PLC, protects a wide range of prestigious and high-profile educational facilities across the globe from Scotland’s University of Edinburgh and the Serbia’s University of Belgrade to Myanmar’s British International School. Advanced is a world pioneer in the development and manufacture of fire protection solutions. Advanced’s reputation for performance, quality, and ease of use sees its products specified in locations around the world, from single-panel installations to large, multi-site networks. Fire detection systems Advanced products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging, false alarm management, and reduction solutions as well as emergency lighting. Halma is a global group of life-saving technology companies with a clear purpose to grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day.