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| CCTV video smoke detection has been developed with new enhancements by D-Tec |
Hilson Moran Partnership enquiries led to D-Tec, the inventors and developers of the CCTV Video Smoke Detection (VSD) technology.
The new headquarters for Swiss Re's UK operations in the City of London is a remarkable building rising to 180m the 40-storey structure, incorporating advanced methods of planning, design and construction. One unique design feature is the six lightwells on every floor spiralling at 5-degree angles from the floor above down the building.
As the lightwells form a natural source of ventilation throughout the structure it was imperative that an early form of smoke detection was applied to these areas as smoke would most certainly travel through these areas in the event of fire. Hilson Moran Partnership (HMP), the Building Services Consulting Engineer, was charged with the responsibility to find the most efficient fire detection system to protect these areas.
The use of systems involving conventional smoke detectors such as beam detectors or aspirated smoke detection systems were all considered and discounted for different reasons. Also, the Architect wanted to keep the areas as 'clutter free' as possible so as to retain the aesthetic features of the lightwells.
HMP's enquiries led to D-Tec, the inventors and developers of the CCTV Video Smoke Detection (VSD) technology. Demonstrations of the technology were arranged so that the Client Swiss Re, The Architects, The District Surveyor and the Main Contractor. The demonstration was carried out in the new Swiss Re Tower where a 30 second burn smoke pellet was ignited on the fourth floor and a camera set up on the ninth floor. Upon ignition the system picked up the smoke within thirty seconds. Several tests were made and all gave similar detection rates.
One of the key issues identified during testing was that the smoke did not follow the same flow patterns as the testing progressed. This was good news for the VSD System as it does not rely on smoke reaching a specific point so it can detect the smoke no matter what the airflow direction.
D-Tec delivers smoke detection with minimum amount of disruption |
It was agreed that a six-camera system would protect the light wells, the same technology would also be applied in the main lobby where the existing security cameras would be used also for fire protection. The lobby height was 6.5 m and again the Architects specified the minimum of services' clutter. By running D-Tec software on 6 of the security cameras, smoke detection was achieved with the minimum of disruption. The installation was carried out in phases to fit in with the main construction schedule. In essence the system was integrated with the security CCTV System, the main Fire Panel and the Building Management System.
The District Surveyor was very impressed with the technology and believes that many other buildings will benefit from using the VSD Technology, especially when large atriums are becoming more popular with designers, coupled with the fact that the same CCTV security cameras can be used as fire detectors means that the system becomes a cost effective viable solution.
