C-TEC: Hush Buttons - a tool to reduce false alarms

C-TEC: Hush Buttons - a tool to reduce false alarms. Statistics relating to fires and fatalities in houses of multiple occupation make ominous reading. In the United Kingdom, HMO occupants are six times more likely to die in a fire than people in single family dwellings and 34.8% of all fire deaths and 39.2% of all fire injuries occur in multi-occupancy properties. Clearly, the fact a fire can spread quickly from one HMO dwelling to another is a major contributor to the above, but another is the high incidence of false alarms that can often result in system vandalism and true alarm signals being ignored.

Unfortunately, as many installers will testify, due to practical limitations in the way most current HMO fire solutions work, unnecessary building evacuations and fire service call-outs are still taking place. This summer C-TEC’s Hush Button fire alarm solution has been approved for use with another of the fire industry’s leading open protocols – Hochiki Europe’s ESP. And with the system already validated for use with Apollo’s XP95 and Discovery open protocols, even more houses of multiple occupation can now benefit from reduced false alarms and improved, fullymonitored fire protection facilities.

Hush Button Fire Alarm Solution

Designed to work with readily available openprotocol analogue addressable fire alarm systems, C-TEC’s Hush Buttons provide reliable, fully monitored fire detection, alarm and silencing facilities inside each individual HMO dwelling unit.

They can be looked upon as miniature, selfpowered single zone fire alarm panels that sit on a host panel’s analogue loop. Requiring two addresses to allow them to communicate properly with the host panel, they have their own conventional sounder and detector circuits and their user interface is incredibly simple to use (see side panel for operation details).

Up to 20 Hush Buttons can be connected to one analogue loop. Hush Buttons effectively lift the level of protection offered in a HMO dwelling and offer many features and advantages above and beyond existing HMO fire solutions. The main benefits are:

• Hush Buttons provide each dwelling unit with a two-minute silence facility that can be operated by dwelling occupants whilst standing at floor level 
• Hush Buttons provide each dwelling unit with a 15-minute isolate facility to help prevent false alarms, for example if ‘hot works’ are taking place. 

Aimed at a growing market sector that is prone to high incidences of false alarms, C-TEC’s Hush Button solution is already resulting in fewer false alarms and less unnecessary building evacuations. From an installer’s point of view not only does this mean less callouts in the middle of the night and fewer irate tenants to deal with, it also means peace of mind as you can be confident that the system you have installed is less likely to be ignored in the event of a true alarm condition, potentially saving many lives.

How the System Works

System operation is incredibly simple. Press the Hush Button during a local alarm condition and a hushed period of two minutes begins. If the local zone returns to its normal condition within these two minutes, the Hush Button returns to its normal state. If it does not, a fire alarm condition is flagged at the host panel, to be acted upon according to the building’s fire management plan.

Press the Hush Button prior to a local alarm condition and a hushed period of 15 minutes begins. During this period, power is cut to the local zone so no alarm signals can be detected. If the Hush Button is pressed again during this period, power is reapplied to the local zone, allowing normal signal processing to resume.

A beeper gives feedback to the occupant 15 seconds before the hushed period is about to expire. If the hush button is pressed again during this period, the original hushed period of two or 15 minutes restarts.

Installation at a Luxury Housing Development

C-TEC’s new fire alarm solution has been installed at a prestigious new housing development in Cumbria. John Robert Gardens is a luxurious new-build development featuring 28 one and two bedroom flats each with stylishly designed contemporary kitchens, bathrooms and floors. An XFP networkable analogue addressable fire alarm panel operates in the reception area and is connected to 28 Hush Buttons installed in each individual flat.

Ray Park of Solid State, the company which fitted the system stated: “Hush Buttons put each resident firmly in control of their own fire detection systems, reducing false alarms, unnecessary and irritating building evacuations at all times of the day and night and the likelihood of a real fire alarm being ignored. The benefits are immense.”

Security, Hall 1, Stand 501

Contact:

C-TEC,
Wigan, United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 1942 403 810
Fax: +44 1942 829 867
sales@C-TEC.co.uk
www.C-TEC.co.uk