A local education authority was instructed, as a matter of urgency, to have seven of its schools upgraded from manual fire alarm systems to automatic fire detection.

Problems

• Seven schools were deemed to not have suitable fire alarm systems for the protection of pupils, staff and property, requiring urgent rectification.
• All the work had to be carried out in the short Easter break to avoid disruption to the normal timetable of the schools.
• As well as normal school buildings, all of the schools had mobile/remote classrooms, many separated by playing fields, playgrounds and internal roads and pathways.

Solution

The local education authority had used EMS radio fire alarm systems before and through experience had learnt that hard-wired systems would be more costly and take longer to install due to the layout of the school grounds. In particular the external works required to provide protection for the remote classrooms would have been prohibitive.

The installation on all seven schools was successfully carried out in the 3-week Easter break. No wiring was required which meant there was no disruption to the school environment or external works in the grounds.

The school timetable was unaffected and pupils and staff returned to their schools after the Easter break to a safe and protected environment.

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