- Jan 2023
- Social housing
- All
Automist was employed to provide urgent fire protection at a house in Wolverhampton.
The challenge
Wolverhampton Homes manage more than 21,000 homes on behalf of the City of Wolverhampton Council. As part of its services, the company also provides homelessness support which sometimes includes the provision of temporary accommodation to those in the most urgent need.
One of the homes it manages as temporary accommodation required fire suppression as a matter of urgency to prevent delays for a family that was planning to move in. Following a person-centred fire risk assessment, Wolverhampton Homes identified that members of the family due to move-in were identified as high-risk due to vulnerabilities, and additional fire safety measures would need to be put in place.
Approach
Having previously heard about Automist from a CPD seminar and that the system could be installed quickly and efficiently without jeopardising safety, Wolverhampton Homes enquired about arranging an urgent retrofit.
Automist-approved installer Fire Mist visited the property to undertake a site survey to check the system would be fit for purpose and submitted a quote the following day – with Wolverhampton Homes authorising works to start within 24 hours.
The system's sprayheads feature infrared sensors so that when triggered, they scan the room to identify and locate the fire. Once detected, the pump drives mains water through the sprayhead located nearest to the fire, targeting it with a dense fog of watermist. This robust double knock trigger means the system is not prone to false activations and minimises the chances of any consequential unnecessary water damage as a result.
Outcome
Automist removes heat and displaces oxygen from the fire zone, suppressing or extinguishing fires whilst using 90 per cent less water than traditional sprinklers. The installation carried out by Fire Mist was a turn-key project with all electrical and plumbing requirements included. To prevent any untrained persons from damaging or interfering with the system, Fire Mist carried out the following works:
- Installed the Automist sprayheads to surface trunking fixed with security screws and the edges of the trunking sealed with anti-pick sealant
- The system’s hoses were contained in PVC trunking, with the multi-detectors hardwired with the security tab removed
- The small pump was stored in a ventilated steel security cabinet, fixed to the wall using Unistrut brackets, located in the garage
- In addition, the pump was interfaced with the home’s existing smoke alarms to give an evacuation signal in the event of an activation. The interface cables were connected through a key switch to enable isolation of this feature when carrying out annual tests of the system
The installation took two days to complete, with Wolverhampton Homes’ fire safety team also witnessing the commissioning of the system.
Nick Lacey, Building Safety Manager at Wolverhampton Homes said: “The system was efficiently installed over a two-day period and we observed the successful testing and operation of the system. We are very pleased with the additional fire safety measures we have been able to provide this family to help keep them safe.”
If you are interested in knowing more about how Plumis’ Automist technology can provide enhanced protection for vulnerable residents, get in touch on 020 7871 3899.
