One of London’s most prestigious hotels, The Berkeley in Knightsbridge, London, is now protected by a Lux Intelligent emergency lighting test system and MxPro fire panels from Advanced. With a history dating back to the 1800s, the current 214-bedroom Berkeley Hotel was built in 1972, incorporating elements of the original building, and it has recently been subject to a major refurbishment covering all bedrooms, suites, terraces, the lobby, the restaurant, the iconic Blue Bar and the main entrance. Lewis Bowden, spokesperson for Surrey-based Alarm Communication Ltd, the company that specified and installed the system, explained: “Hotels require state of the art emergency lighting systems to safeguard their staff and residents in an emergency situation, helping to facilitate an orderly evacuation and also to guide firefighters coming into the building. As a long-time Advanced partner, we believed that Lux Intelligent, alongside Advanced MxPro fire panels, was the right choice for The Berkeley, offering the stand-out capabilities, features and reliability required of a system of this type.” Luminaires monitored by Lux Intelligent panel Advanced luminaires are monitored and controlled by a Lux Intelligent panel, connected to the building’s fire system More than 200 Advanced luminaires have been installed in the historic hotel, on Wilton Place, which is part of the same stable as Claridge’s. They are monitored and controlled by a Lux Intelligent panel, connected to the building’s fire system. Most of the luminaires are from the Advanced LED-Lite range, which can be recessed into ceilings, offering an aesthetically pleasing solution in the public areas of the prestigious building. Etienne Ricoux, Head of Sales for Advanced, said: “Our Lux Intelligent system offers many benefits including real peace of mind, the ability to work with almost any light, and cost and admin savings. Alongside the MxPro multiprotocol fire panels, we’re proud to be providing market protection to the staff and residents at the Berkley.” Compatible with third-party lights Lux Intelligent ensures all emergency lighting is functioning and compliant to BS5266-1. The system can be retrofitted onto existing wiring and luminaires, keeping installation costs to a minimum. It is one of the most flexible systems available with panels supporting 1-4 loops, 249 devices per loop and up to 200 panels in a network. Lux Intelligent is also compatible with most third-party lights and luminaires, including LEDs, giving installers and end users unprecedented purchasing freedom. Lux Intelligent systems can be remotely managed and monitored using web and iOS apps via the Lux Intelligent Cloud Lux Intelligent systems can be remotely managed and monitored using web and iOS apps via the Lux Intelligent Cloud. Users can add any site in their portfolio to the cloud service and get live system data from site, right down to device level. Fault, test and maintenance reports can be generated from a whole site right down to individual devices. These can be shared with colleagues or maintenance partners in a click. Optimum multiprotocol fire panel The MxPro is the industry’s unbeatable multiprotocol fire panel. Built on almost two-decades of market leadership, it offers greater freedom to specifiers, end users and installers, and includes two panel ranges, the flagship EN54-2, 4 & 13 approved MxPro 5, and the benchmark MxPro 4. Both come in 1-8 loop formats, are compatible with Apollo, Argus, Hochiki and Nittan protocols and can be networked into 200-panel strong systems.

Amthal Fire & Security guarantees safety of staff and patrons at Lussmanns Award-winning Lussmanns sustainable Fish & Grill has enlisted Amthal Fire & Security to ensure its growing restaurant group is safe and secure for the benefit of staff and guests. Lussmanns is an independent brasserie style restaurant, invested in by leading hospitality entrepreneurs and recognised as a locals’ favourite alongside gaining praise from leading critics. The group currently operates in five locations across Hertfordshire, with an ambition to double in size in five years. Smart fire and security solutions To ensure complete fire safety and security, Amthal Fire & Security was selected to partner with, and grow with the company, to ensure all new and existing restaurant premises were fitted with latest smart fire and security solutions. Says Andrei Lussmann, Managing Director at Lussmanns: “Lussmanns is proudly independent, bringing ethical and increasingly renowned sustainable dining to high streets across Hertfordshire. But we are far from complacent and set on an ambition path to grow our offering with more locations available, as quickly as possible.” “We came to realise we needed one local fire and security partner who could work with us and be relied upon to organise our complete systems, whether in an existing or new location. Amthal fitted the bill perfectly and has proven to work around our timetables to ensure fire and security systems are planned and installed with minimal disruption and maintained with a 24/7 priority response.” Smart intruder and CCTV systems Amthal has worked with Lussmanns to design, deliver and maintain security solutions including smart intruder and CCTV systems Amthal has worked with Lussmanns to design, deliver and maintain security solutions including smart intruder and CCTV systems alongside all fire alarms for the ultimate safety of staff and customers. Paul Rosenthal, Amthal Sales Director added: “Lussmanns has rightfully been described by leading food critics as ‘Everything a local restaurant should be’ and has continued successfully against impressive competition to present the highest quality, sustainable dining experience across Hertfordshire.”  “We have worked on a partner basis to maintain fire and security in existing restaurants, and ensure systems are designed to meet the bespoke requirements of new restaurant locations. This way, Lussmanns can focus on their expertise of delivering great food, service and value to diners, with complete peace of mind that restaurants, staff and guests can enjoy their experience in a safe and secure environment.”  Advanced electronic fire & security solutions Independently owned, Amthal Fire & Security is dedicated to satisfying end user needs for security safety and convenience offering design, installation, service and remote monitoring of advanced electronic fire & security solutions, including intruder, Fire, Access and CCTV systems.  Amthal Fire & Security is accredited by the Security Systems and Alarm Inspection Board (SSAIB) United Kingdom Accreditation Services (UKAS) and British Approvals for Fire Equipment (BAFE.)

The Yamaha motorcycle factory in Chennai, India, is protecting its employees with a low maintenance, high performance fire alarm system, provided by Hochiki Europe. With a population of 6,000 workers in eight large buildings spread across a vast 147,450m2 site, Yamaha’s building designers faced a challenge when developing a centralised fire safety and emergency lighting network. The distance between the buildings and the number of devices needed made it impossible to use a single control panel for the entire plant. At the same time, installing a separate control panel in each structure would be expensive and make it more difficult to look after long term. The company had no doubt that a system from Hochiki Europe was the ideal solution.  Remote Monitoring And Centralized Control “With such a large site and so many workers, we needed a life safety solution that could be easily monitored from a remote location to help us pinpoint and correct potential performance issues as quickly and efficiently as possible,” explained a spokesperson, at Yamaha Chennai. “The final system had to help us centralise control, while also minimising disruption due to false alarms.” Technical experts from Hochiki Europe worked closely with life safety installers, Bell Automation, and Yamaha’s designers to develop an effective solution that could be easily integrated into their computer aided design (CAD) models. Hochiki Europe recommended dividing the site’s buildings into four separate groups, each connected to a centralised control panel – provided by the manufacturer. This would overcome the challenge presented by the site’s complexity, while simplifying maintenance and monitoring procedures. Minimizing False Alarm Risk Photoelectric Smoke Sensors from Hochiki Europe were selected for use in all buildings across the site. Offering high-precision chamber technology, rather than standard ionisation sensors, the solution has a greater particle sensor threshold than traditional products, minimising the risk of false alarms. Hochiki Europe’s Intrinsically Safe Photoelectric Smoke Detectors were selected for the site’s paint store area. These detectors have been specially designed to operate on a reduced current and have been third-party approved for use in hazardous areas. They are installed in conjunction with a barrier, which reduces the energy entering the hazardous zone and their components are encapsulated in a non-conductive material, negating the chance of sparking and igniting a flammable atmosphere.  Water-Proof Heat Detectors In the canteen kitchen, Hochiki Europe recommended the installation of its Water-Proof Heat Detectors. Featuring a variable Fixed Temperature heat element, these sensors are able to overcome the issue of excessive smoke from cooking food. Their water-proof casing means that they are able to withstand the humidity of the kitchen, increasing durability and cutting maintenance needs. Weather-Proof Sounders and Weather-Proof Manual Call Points were chosen for external assembly areas. The safety products installed in each building were linked to the relevant network each controlled by one of four centralised control panels provided by Hochiki Europe, meeting the requirement for streamlined monitoring. Alok Chaturvedi, Director of Bell Automation, added: “Thanks to Hochiki Europe’s innovative open Enhanced Systems Protocol (ESP), all of the equipment was compatible with thenetwork loop modelled by Yamaha’s designers. This really simplified the installation process and enabled us to complete the work in just four months, well within the company’s strict deadline.” Compatibility With Wider Safety Network Rohit Harjani, country manager for India at Hochiki Europe, concluded: “The Yamaha Chennai site is complex. It has many buildings, each housing hundreds of workers every day. With this in mind, it is vital that the final life safety system was both reliable and effective with minimal maintenance needs to reduce disruption to the business of the plant. “The technologies recommended offered the high performance required combined with compatibility to a wider safety network. These streamlined maintenance and monitoring needs for the company, saving it time and money, while enabling workers to do their jobs in a safe environment.”

Logan County Emergency Operations Center implements MicroAutomation's NG9-1-1 The Logan County Emergency Operations Center, located in Logan County WV, seamlessly migrated to MicroAutomation’s Next Generation 9-1-1 Solution, Omni911. Logan County signed a contract with MicroAutomation in May 2018 and had an urgent need to replace a legacy system that was not meeting the County’s needs. Omni911 software-based NG9-1-1 solution "MicroAutomation implemented their Omni911 solution in record time,” stated Ted Sparks, Director, Logan County Emergency Operations Center. “We had an urgent need to replace our legacy solution and wanted to ensure that we plan for a seamless migration to our NG9-1-1 solution. The MicroAutomation project team put my mind at ease from the beginning, and I was confident that this would be a project that we can all be proud of. Omni911 is highly configurable, and it allowed us to create a familiar user environment that allowed our users to transition seamlessly to the new solution. We look forward to having a lasting relationship with MicroAutomation." MicroAutomation, renowned public safety marketplace, developed and implemented Omni911, a software-based NG9-1-1 solution. Omni911 is NENA i3 compliant, ICE validated and will work seamlessly within any legacy or future PSAP environment. Purpose-built, MicroAutomation’s software-based solutions provide a complete suite of call-taking and emergency response functions that comply with the evolving NENA i3 standards. Reinforced by MicroAutomation’s 24x7x365 support, these systems are built to scale and evolve with the increasing demands facing emergency operations centers of all types and sizes. MicroAutomation’s software-based solutions “We are pleased to establish a partnership with Logan County,” says Faysal Tay, MicroAutomation’s Vice President of Emergency Operations Solutions. “Logan County needed a solution urgently to replace their legacy E9-1-1 system. Our focus was to deliver a solution expeditiously that is configured the optimum way to create easy-to-remember workflows, so the Logan County team can focus on what they do best, delivering critical 9-1-1 services. Together we were able to cut live to our Omni911 solution in only six weeks.”

Drones and UAVs being increasing employed to ensure public security Small unmanned aerial vehicles, colloquially known as drones, are being adopted by more public safety agencies around the world than ever before; and the number of lives they’re saving is climbing dramatically. On one recent day, four people were saved by drones, in three separate incidents around the world. Drones Security Drone manufacturer DJI calls it a ‘marked new milestone in public safety drone use,’ in a press release issued last month. On May 31st, Wayne Township Fire Department in Indiana used a drone to drop a life jacket to a fleeing suspect, who had gotten himself into a near drowning situation in a lake. Thermal imaging camera on drones On that same day, officials in a Texas town near Dallas dropped life jackets to a mother and daughter who found themselves in rising floodwater; and police in the UK used a drone with a thermal imaging camera to find a stranded hiker on a dangerous cliff. “We are seeing more and more life-saving stories coming out of these agencies,” says Matt Sloane, CEO of Skyfire Consulting, a group who works with public safety agencies to adopt drone programs. “This technology can no longer be written off as a ‘toy’ or a plaything. It’s a front-line tool in public safety, and it’s already saving lives.”  The UAV is one of the most exciting tools to come along that improves first responder safety and efficiency" UAVs for Public Safety For many agencies, including the Wayne Township Fire Department, the technology has been a game-changer. “In my 32 years working in Public Safety, the UAV is one of the most exciting tools to come along that improves first responder safety and efficiency,” said Captain Mike Pruitt, Wayne Township’s UAV program manager. “The possibilities of what we can do with these aircraft are endless.” Pruitt, who worked with Skyfire to start his drone program, says he’s flying the departments’ aircraft several times a week in his area, and in other parts of Indiana where he’s called to assist. Water-resistant drones They even flew last week in heavy downpours with DJI’s Matrice 210 aircraft, a water-resistant drone. More than 900 public safety agencies around the country are flying drones, according to a recent Bard College study, up 200% from last year’s report, but this is only the tip of the drone iceberg, says Sloane. “There are over 100-thousand public agencies in the US,” he says. “Early adopters like Wayne Township are showing the other 99-thousand agencies out there that this technology can be implemented safely, effectively, and will truly save lives.” Public Safety UAV symposium Skyfire has worked with over 120 of those 900 agencies, including the Los Angeles Fire Department, Orlando Fire Department, Miami-Dade Fire, and most recently, Houston Fire. “Big and small, our clients are taking their response capabilities to the next level, and I don’t see this trend slowing down anytime soon,” Sloane says. Skyfire will be holding a public safety UAV symposium with Memorial Villages Police Department and Houston Fire Department July 30th and 31st in the Houston Area.