Hochiki Europe Protects Students from False Alarms

For many students, the prospect of moving away from home and living alone for the first time can be daunting. Thanks to Hochiki Europe and NSC Sicherheitstechnik, students living at two sophisticated accommodation developments in Germany have one less thing to worry about when it comes to fire safety.

The new developments are eight stories high and capable of accommodating 239 residents at each location. Both named The Flag, they provide a flexible, smart city living space for students in Frankfurt and Munich, and feature premium fire detection and alarm equipment supplied by Hochiki Europe.

One challenge that arose when specifying the life safety solutions for The Flag was the complexity of the sites. The nature of the buildings called for compliance with European EN standards including EN 54 Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems. It was also imperative that products selected offered optimum reliability to safeguard the well-being of occupants and limit the risk of false alarms.

As well as being reliable, the products had to help keep running costs down across the sites, without compromising quality. Using products that offer enhanced energy efficiency credentials was therefore essential.

To address these challenges, Hochiki Europe’s German-based systems partner, NSC Sicherheitstechnik, worked with building owners to identify and provide a range of life safety solutions for the two sites. This included a Solution F1 18 loop fire alarm system with 800 multi-sensor detectors, which incorporate both smoke and thermal elements, and 925 base sounders.

Multi-sensors offer a number of benefits when it comes to reducing the risk of false alarms in residential environments, thanks to in-built intelligence. The sensors can be programmed in a way that ensures alarm conditions are reached only when smoke and heat are present at specific levels to minimise false alarms and prevent unnecessary evacuations of residents.

The base sounders selected for use likewise feature in-built intelligence and have an auto shutdown feature to reduce the risk of noise pollution, a common issue in large housing developments such as The Flag. In addition, the base sounders offer a low current consumption to help increase energy efficiency.

Both the multi-sensors and base sounders are also compatible with Hochiki Europe’s Enhanced Systems Protocol (ESP), a range which offers high performance with enhanced reliability. This ensured compliance with strict fire safety standards as required by the developers.    

Frank Schade, Sales Manager at NSC Sicherheitstechnik, added: “By using these intelligent life safety solutions from Hochiki Europe, we have been given peace of mind that our premises are fully protected and compliant with international legislation.”

Both of The Flag developments were completed in 2017.