Chubb, a part of UTC Climate Controls & Security, is helping to protect employees, visitors and property through a significant new contract with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service to install, upgrade, maintain and monitor fire alarm systems throughout the Service’s entire estate.
The contract includes 28 fire stations, two community safety centres, Cheshire Fire and Rescue’s Sadler Road site and the new innovative safety centre based in Lymm. Each site is a different size and specification, requiring detailed individual assessments. Some stations required new custom systems to be designed; in other buildings, existing systems were upgraded. A combination of addressable fire alarm systems and conventional alarms were used, depending on the individual site’s requirements.
“The fact that Chubb is a national brand with a local office was another important factor in our supplier decision. The service we have received has been second to none. Communication has been excellent with regular updates, and challenges were met with a common sense approach. I felt my requirements were always championed by our Chubb account manager. We have found that the customer is at the forefront of the Chubb approach,” said Johnson.The primary goal of the new contract is to ensure all sites meet BS5839 L2 fire alarm safety standards. These standards are designed to provide automatic fire detection on all escape routes within a building and rooms leading onto those escape routes.
For Cheshire, it was also important that the supplier have the expertise and capacity to complete installations and upgrades on a very tight deadline. “The Service has been extremely impressed with the speed in which the contract has been mobilised. Even though we needed to add another fire station, all works were completed safely,” said Johnson. All alarms are monitored by Chubb’s alarm receiving centre, which notifies keyholders and relevant emergency services if a fire is detected and alarm raised. The contract also includes maintenance and servicing requirements
