Kentec’s wireless fire safety system protects residents of a large London residential development
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K-Mesh, a wireless fire detection system and Taktis, both award-winning products by Kentec Electronics, have been installed in five residential tower blocks in Wapping to provide residents with a sophisticated and highly reliable fire detection and alarm system.
The K-Mesh and Taktis system was installed at 21 Wapping Lane in central London by DPJ Fire and Security Ltd, a Kentec Installation Partner (KIP), after winning a competitive tender put out by property developers, Ballymore.
The fire safety system protects five mixed-use luxury and affordable housing residential complexes, including an 18-storey tower near St Katherine’s Dock. There are over 380 dwellings over an area of 7,500 square metres.
A wireless solution was proposed because of the ease and speed that the installation could be carried out, offering less disruption to the occupants of the site, and because of its appealing aesthetics. The number of floors meant running cables was impractical and so the wireless solution avoided costly builders work and fire stopping; also important was K-Mesh’s unique SmartGuide technology, which supports safe and strategic building evacuation and means the fire detection system can be easily converted to an EVAC evacuation system as and when desired or practical.
Networked to K-Mesh, the system features five of Kentec’s 4-loop Taktis control panels, and more than 750 devices, including wireless heat sensors and sounders, and optical smoke detectors.
K-Mesh was chosen because of its impressive wireless network performance using a self-healing dynamic Mesh network, which makes it easy to use, install and commission – and ultimately provides a highly redundant and robust wireless network giving confidence and assurance that fire incidents are detected and communicated immediately. A wireless translator module, which sits at the centre of the K-Mesh system, is hard-wired to the fire alarm control panel loop and communicates continuously with the wireless devices. The detection range provides the highest reliability for automatic detection and includes Optical, Thermal and combined Optical and Thermal detectors which can respond to a wide spectrum of fire phenomena, whilst minimising false and unwanted activations.
Paul Fitzsimmons, Account Director of DPJ Fire and Security Ltd, says K-Mesh’s unique SmartGuide technology is a considerable benefit: “It wirelessly utilises sound, light and voice command functionality to provide clear evacuation instructions. And because it can be easily converted to an EVAC evacuation system it provides a future-proofed solution,” he says. “It was without doubt the best solution for this development.”
Lauryn Amara, Senior FM/Projects Manager,of Ballymore, says the project was delivered on time and to budget: “A complex installation went well and DPJ Fire and Security Ltd provided excellent communication throughout. Overall, we are very pleased to have furthered the safety of our residents.”
Derrick Hall, Director of Sales at Kentec Electronics, says K-Mesh overcomes all the traditional barriers to using wireless systems: “It has a seven-to-ten-year battery life, which is approximately twice that of the industry standard,” he explains.
“The advanced technology is also fully expandable, and configurable from anything from two to 2,000 devices so even the largest, most disparate and complex sites can now be protected wirelessly. It provides an easy-to-install and highly practical wireless solution, ideal for residential complexes.”
Ballymore is an independently-owned property developer responsible for some of Europe’s largest regeneration protections. 21 Wapping Lane provides a modern living space in one of London’s oldest maritime neighbourhoods.
