Overcoming the challenges of fire safety in office and commercial buildings

Administrative workers use diverse digital devices and electrical equipment items, from computers to smartphones, desk lamps and printers. If an appliance or device overheats, has faulty wiring, or is plugged into a defective power point, it could spark or smolder. Any paper, card or soft furnishings nearby would provide kindling for flames. But electrical equipment also creates electromagnetic disturbance which hinders the reliability of some fire detectors.

Solution:
Danger to life and risk of damage to valuable business assets must be addressed by comprehensive, highly reliable fire detection. The modular system of AVENAR fire alarm panels and AVENAR 4000 fire detectors covers office and meeting spaces in any size and layout to swiftly detect heat spikes, smoke or gas emissions where needed. The detectors’ eSmog feature assists operators in identifying EMC values and locating the sources of electromagnetic disturbance to avoid false alarms and subsequent unnecessary evacuations.

The foyer of a large commercial building provides the first impression of a company to welcome visitors and job candidates, even if the whole premises houses multiple businesses. But such areas are not without fire risks and hazards with soft lounge furnishings, drapes, and computer equipment and paperwork at the reception desk. Fire and smoke detectors must be installed in these areas like any other, but should ideally blend into the architecture and décor unnoticed.

Solution:
Bosch detectors 500 and 520 series are known as the “invisible” detectors. Thanks to their flush mount, slender design and wide range of colors available, they are perfectly discreet for a positive, aesthetically appealing entrance into a building, while providing highly reliable detection of flames, smoke and even CO gas, with combined optical and chemical sensors.

With hundreds of busy office workers, staff, guests and residents under its roof, a large commercial premises often provides a canteen or restaurant with on-site kitchens to cater for mealtimes. These spaces feature multiple fire risks: Excessive heat, gas stoves or boilers, electrical appliances and flammable or explosive ingredients, from cooking oils to powders. If a fire were to break out, besides the high risk of a fire spreading rapidly, further hazards would include the dispersal of toxic vapors from refrigerator coolants or gas boilers.

Solution:
The AVENAR 4000 series includes multi-sensor detectors that are ideal for addressing combined fire risks. Optical sensors can detect even pale smoke, smoldering and gas emissions. Heat sensors react to sudden temperature spikes or when a defined maximum temperature has been reached. A carbon monoxide sensor reacts to chemical phenomena, making the detection even more reliable. The sensors can be configurated to work in unison for dependable fire detection and system stability against false alerts.

Large-scale commercial buildings often feature stores, coffee and snack bars, banks, hairdressers and other services on their lower floors. Upper floors might house an entire food court with food and beverage outlets. Some of these services may also rent storage space within the building. Precise knowledge of the fire load and hazards is therefore not possible. A complex mix of materials, ingredients, substances and retail products make it imperative to be prepared for multiple fire risk scenarios – and detection must be fast.

Solution:
The AVENAR 4000 series multi-sensor detectors rapidly identify real smoke from cooking vapors with optical sensors. Thermal sensors differentiate between regular heat sources and excessive temperatures. The combination of all sensors makes them highly reliable against nuisance alarms. Bosch “invisible” detectors also provide options for multi-sensor detection, with the added appeal of a discreet design to fit with any interior style and color scheme.

IT or facilities managers are responsible for maintaining online connectivity and website hosting with the efficient running of servers and networks. The high volume of electrical equipment in these technical environments raises the risks of fire. Complex cabling is often encased in floor-to-ceiling cabinets which require efficient cooling systems to prevent them from overheating. The reliance by many companies on network access and digital communications means that any outage in a server room would result in a loss of business.

Solution:
Bosch aspirating smoke detectors continuously draw air samples through their pipe system and instantly detect the presence of any smoke particles. This saves precious time, allowing for immediate location and containment of a fire before it spreads. Safety managers can react and intervene quickly to keep people safe, limit cost-intensive outages and prevent property damage. Alternatively, AVENAR 4000 series multi-sensor detectors can be installed.

Personnel, goods and equipment are usually transported between floors via elevators in a high-rise office block. Any sign of fire in the elevator shaft, however, would instantly cease elevator operations – a huge inconvenience for affected personnel. Duct shafts in these buildings are used to transport warm, cool and filtered air for the comfort of people on the premises. In extreme temperatures, hot or cold, business time can be lost if the system is switched off as worker productivity is impacted.

Solution:
Our aspiration smoke detectors can be installed from top to bottom along an entire elevator shaft, duct shaft or any other vertical shaft used for cabling, pipes or similar infrastructures, ensuring protection along the entire shaft, no matter how high. Another fire detection solution, specifically suitable for narrow shafts, is heat detection. Bosch linear heat detectors quickly pick up on temperature spikes or when a pre-defined temperature is exceeded.

Parking garages for offices and commercial premises may be multi-story, underground or partially exposed to outdoor elements. All vehicles, whether electric, hybrid or with internal combustion engines are highly flammable. The ignition of a fire on such areas often leads to total damage – and risks damage to adjoining property. Fumes from such a fire would be toxic to inhale and there would be a risk of explosions with the presence of fuel, flames and excessive heat. Detection of a fire in a parking area must be within seconds for quick containment.

Solution:
Specific local regulations determine the precise fire safety solutions required on parking lots. Blind spots in parking areas with pillars and dark corners can be addressed with AVIOTEC flame and smoke detection. This video-based technology analyzes footage of an area 24/7 and detects smoke, smoldering or flames within seconds at their source – with a low rate of false alarms. Excessive values of carbon monoxide can be reliably picked up by AVENAR multi-sensor detectors with specific CO gas sensors for more reliable fire detection. Bosch heat detectors are a further option for detecting sudden increases in temperature where vehicles are parked.

Large-scale commercial and business premises usually only allow smokers to light up in certain spaces indoors. Cigarettes which have not been adequately extinguished are still high on the list of sources of workplace and residential fires. Safety managers and system integrators are therefore obliged to address this known hazard within their fire safety planning.

Solution:
The dual-optical variant of AVENAR 4000 multi-sensor detectors can detect even the lightest smoke from burning or smoldering cigarettes, allowing for reliable detection in these areas

Organizations which require employees to work long shifts, such as call centers and help desks, must provide quiet areas for their staff to sleep during rest periods. A person sleeping will be oblivious to the outbreak of a fire, potentially putting their life in danger and increasing the risk of smoke inhalation.

Solution:
The AVENAR 4000 detector series are highly dependable for early detection of real fires. The entire system can be integrated with Bosch sounder bases which generate clear audible alerts wherever people are sleeping, to enable them to react quickly and evacuate if a real fire breaks out.

The owners and managers of skyscrapers often capitalize on real estate opportunities by offering top-floor apartments with impressive views over a city. Owners or tenants may occupy this space day and night. Fire detection must therefore be in operation 24/7 and alarms must be clearly audible in case a fire breaks out while occupants are sleeping. As alarm systems often prevent the use of elevators, occupants would require enough time to descend stairwells to evacuate the building in case of fire.

Solution:
AVENAR 4000 detectors are ideal for maintaining safety in apartments. They offer rapid detection of smoke and fire, so alerts are raised promptly and reliably with minimal false alarms. Bosch sounder bases support this early fire response with audible alerts, allowing for swift evacuations.

A mixed business and residential building may include small studio apartments. These compact spaces feature a kitchen which will emit cooking vapors – not far from where fire and smoke detectors are installed. This has the potential to generate frequent false alarms. A fire detection system would need to provide early detection of real flames and smoke, but the system must be intelligent enough to recognize harmless phenomena to avoid triggering nuisance alarms.

Solution:
The AVENAR multi-sensor detector works efficiently to recognize the difference between real fire and smoke and safe phenomena and activities within one space. They can therefore be configured to differentiate between cooking vapors and smoke from a fire, for example, and can be adapted specifically to minimize or prevent false alarms. Uninterruptible sounders can be integrated to ensure residents are woken up and made aware of any fire alert.

If a system integrator or safety manager receives an alert to say a component of a fire safety system is defect or needs to be maintained, their next step would usually be to identify its location to remove or service it. This is because there is a risk that this fault could interrupt the effectiveness of a whole loop or the entire system. If access to this location is not possible, measures must be taken to mitigate the serious risk of fires going undetected.

Solution:
The flexible wiring provided with Bosch fire safety solutions supports both series and parallel installations and configurations. This enables the isolation of individual detectors or specific zones to prevent disruption to the operation and efficiency of the main fire alarm system. A parallel connected defect detector can therefore be removed or receive maintenance without halting operations of the fire safety system for the rest of the building.

Security staff allocated to a commercial, office, residential or mixed-use building may be trained on certain aspects of building safety, but may lack details on how to work with a specific fire safety system. An unfamiliar system might be confusing to work with, risking a delay in response to alerts, inadequate maintenance or other hazardous inefficiencies.

Solution:
AVENAR fire alarm panels feature intuitive, user-friendly interfaces with language-neutral color-coded LEDs and icons. This means they can be understood easily for greater user confidence and efficiency, even for staff without formal fire safety training or extensive experience of fire safety system management. This enhances site safety, especially in buildings with fewer members of fire safety personnel.

A multi-purpose premises, or one which has been reconstructed or adapted for different uses over time, may house various systems for air conditioning and ventilation, heating, lighting and fire alarms. This can create miscommunication and confusion for monitoring each of these systems. Processes can be inefficient as a result, which can also impact safety.

Solution:
AVENAR fire alarm panels are not only backwards compatible with legacy systems and forwards compatible for scalability of an expanding fire safety system. AVENAR can also be integrated seamlessly with different system communication setups as required, including Fire System Interface (FSI) servers, open platform communications (OPC) or building automation control (BACnet) servers. Fire safety for an entire premises and its facilities can therefore be optimized with standardized, streamlined protocols.

System integrators are responsible for the efficient configuration and maintenance of fire safety systems, including checking the battery status of devices, responding to reports of defects and performing regular system checks. This is a time-consuming role in a large building and access to conference rooms or a busy reception, for instance, is not always possible or convenient. This adds to a system integrator’s challenges in ensuring an entire premises is continuously covered by a fully functioning fire safety system.

Solution:
The Bosch NEXOSPACE Fire System Explorer provides system integrators with a clear overview of fire safety systems over portable devices. This means they can monitor the status of systems for all premises and customers for whom they provide services in a few clicks. NEXOSPACE allows them to set up alerts to be sent via an app or email so they can respond to critical situations promptly. Predictive maintenance and troubleshooting options enable them to preempt system issues and solve them sooner.

Owners and managers of a commercial premises might want to build, renovate or repurpose a space to respond to changes in business demand, for instance. Or new owners may decide to expand the premises. One compromise which cannot be made is fire safety. A fire safety solution must operate efficiently for all applications and scenarios. But a lack of compatibility between systems installed years ago and those to be installed in future might lead to gaps in fire safety coverage.

Solution:
Bosch fire safety solutions are forwards and backwards compatible, customizable and scalable to adapt to the evolution of an office building or commercial premises while providing comprehensive coverage with the same high-quality fire detection. Bosch fire safety systems can be expanded with additional loops and modular components as needed, such as detectors with specific sensors. This means building managers do not need to rethink their entire fire safety system with every change to a premises.