Two high-rise blocks under Watford Community Housing’s portfolio of over 5,000 homes have upgraded their fire safety systems using a Grade D LD1 fire detection system, utilising Aico’s RadioLINK technology.
The two blocks, Abbey View and Munden View, were chosen for mandated safety audits under Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue’s supervision, with the decision made to upgrade the safety systems following an initial review. Watford Community Housing worked closely with Aico to install multi-sensor fire alarms, said to give complete coverage.
The project began for Watford Community Housing by taking advantage of Aico’s free FIA-accredited Expert Installer Training for all of the installation team. Aico’s mobile unit visited the site and colleagues undertook training on alarm maintenance, siting and standards to assure the safety and accuracy of their installation process.
The mobile unit also allowed the residents within the building to talk to the housing group, allaying any worries they might have about the installation process, as well as receiving fire safety advice and information on how to test and maintain their alarms.
Watford Community Housing decided to utilise Aico technology for several reasons, with a key factor being the easy data extraction tools available, it explained. The newly appointed building safety manager will now be able to extract data from the multi-sensor alarms with ease using Aico’s RadioLINK technology. Each property has had up to four Multi-Sensor alarms installed which intelligently monitor heat and smoke levels giving more complete coverage. Heat alarms have also been installed in each kitchen to complete the project, with an Ei450 switch added for easy testing capabilities.
Surveying Manager for Watford Community Housing David Wright added: “Our customers’ safety and wellbeing is our highest priority. With this in mind, and due to the known risks around high-rise buildings, we decided that full fire detection would be appropriate. We believe Aico products deliver the best safety for our residents. We are also aware of what is required from a maintenance point of view, helping us to minimise the time we spend in the properties.”
The housing provider also opted to add an Ei414 Alarm interface, enabling the Part 6 fire alarm systems in the living spaces to connect to the Part 1 system in the communal hallways. Once the upgrades were complete, Watford Community Housing welcomed Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue for their successful safety audits and received commendation for the pre-training carried out by Aico colleagues.
Aico Regional Specification Manager Ben Malton commented: “Key to the successful delivery of the fire safety upgrades to these tower blocks was to provide the installation team with Aico’s FIA accredited Expert Installer Training. In addition to this training, we deployed our mobile training unit to the site before the commencement of the works. This enabled us to engage directly with the residents to provide them with both fire safety advice and show them how to test their alarms. It was great to hear that the provision of this training was commended by the fire service in their recent mandated inspection.”
