A new analogue addressable fire detection and alarm system has been installed at Milton Keynes magistrates’ court to replace the existing single loop system.

The building includes six courtrooms, a public area and a custody suite

Network Security & Fire installed around 260 Apollo Discovery devices, including optical smoke and heat detectors, loop-powered beacons, manual call points and interfaces. These have been configured around three networked panels from Advanced Electronics.

The modular voice alarm system comprises three master and five slave units. It is pre-programmed with a series of automated messages that are activated in the event of an alert, but there is also an option for manual intervention to broadcast ‘live’ messages.

If an alarm is raised by devices in the courtroom areas, evacuation procedures are initiated in these zones and an alert is transmitted to the custody suite. Equally, should an incident be detected in the custody suite, this area will be evacuated immediately and the court areas are put on stand-by.

Installation hurdles
The installation of the new fire equipment had to take place out of hours, but this was not the only challenge on the project, as John Angell, Network Fire & Security’s contract manager, explained:

“In addition to limited access, we had to take into consideration the need to rewire the vast majority of the system. This was compounded by the design of the building, which features plasterboard ceilings, rather than suspended ceilings, and made access to voids for cable-laying quite difficult.

“Within the courtrooms themselves, we also had to take into account the high ceiling heights. The roof void in each court has a central dome that rises two storeys at its highest point. This was not only an issue during installation but could have restricted access for essential maintenance. We were able to overcome this aspect by positioning the fire detectors around the coffer that surrounds the central roof dome.”

The magistrates’ court is housed in purpose-built premises in the centre of Milton Keynes, and includes a public area, custody suite and six courtrooms, as well as offices for court administrators and the probation service.