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The new 800-bed Mater Dei Hospital in Malta, which has been one of the most complex construction projects on the island, is being protected by over 13,000 Apollo fire detection devices.
The fire detection system at the hospital is based around Apollo’s Discovery range of detectors, which allows for five levels of panel-selectable sensitivity, depending on the needs of the space to be protected. To help further guard against unwanted alarms, devices in the Discovery range are also equipped with in-built drift compensation and are LPCB approved to EN54 in every one of these modes.
The sheer scale of the development called for a networked fire detection system that could interface with other building systems as well. The hospital consists of two main and five satellite buildings, all of which interconnect at ground level. Ranging between five and seven storeys in height, the site includes underground accommodation levels and four storeys of underground car parking.
“Apollo helped us to meet all the challenges along the way,” said Edwin Aquilina, project manager of installers Alberta Fire & Security. “Thanks to their use of an open protocol, there is a wide choice of compatible products which means that we could tailor solutions to specific circumstances – and in some cases we were able to proactively suggest solutions to the client’s requirements.”
The fire detection system consists of 15 addressable fire control panels networked together. These control over 9,000 Discovery fire detectors, 2,300 sounders and 1,200 manual call points. In addition there are over 700 input/output modules that enable the fire detection system to interface with other building services. Over 100 repeater panels and five large graphic repeaters are positioned around the facility to enable an immediate and appropriate response to an alert from key staff at nursing stations and security posts.
Areas above 10m in height, such as chapels, halls and auditoria, are fitted with beam detectors. Other special requirements include the protection of computer rooms and electricity substations, service ducts and plant rooms, as well as hazardous materials stores that required intrinsically safe fire detectors. The underground car parks are fitted with devices that have been IP-rated to prevent dust ingress.
All areas are equipped with audible alarms, with the exception of residential wards for the bedridden where an alarm will show only at the nurses’ station. Plant and service areas, where high noise levels may be an issue, have both audible and visual alarms. Wherever an alert is raised, the information is fed back to the security guard rooms and the nurses’ stations nearest the incident.
An interface between the fire alarm network and the building management system enables complex ’cause and effect’ sequences to ensure the evacuation plans for the building are activated correctly.