Alarm Panels News

Advanced Protects the Engineers of Tomorrow at One of Southern Europe’s Most Important Research Centres

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Four networked MxPro 5 fire panels from global systems leader, Advanced, are now protecting one of Serbia’s most prestigious higher education facilities.

The project at the University of Belgrade’s School of Electrical Engineering, involved installing a fire system to reliably protect lives and property while respecting the value and authenticity of its 1920s features. This meant overcoming various problems presented by outdated construction methods, inaccessible areas and high ceilings.

Thanks to their performance, quality and ease of use, a network of three of Advanced’s 4-loop and one of its 1-loop MxPro 5 fire panels, including over 1000 Argus detectors, were chose to protect the entirety of this top educational and scientific institution, including the facilities of Civil Design, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering.

Advanced’s local partner in Serbia, TVI Ltd, was responsible for the design, installation and commissioning of the project. Electrical Engineer, Radomir Kerkez, at TVI Ltd, said: “The flexibility of Advanced’s fire panels to adapt to sites both large and small is what makes us choose them time and time again. Advanced products make even the most complex installation challenges straightforward and we can always rely on them to deliver complete protection.”

MxPro 5 is the leading multiprotocol fire system solution and was recently certified to the EN 54 standard by FM (Factory Mutual). It offers customers a choice of two panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, backed up by free training and support. MxPro panels can be used in single-loop, single-panel format or easily configured into high-speed, multi-loop networks of up to 200 nodes covering huge areas. MxPro’s legendary ease of installation and configuration plus wide peripheral range, make it customisable to almost any application.

Vladimir Zrnic, Advanced’s Regional Sales Manager for Southern Europe, said: “Our fire systems offer many ways to meet the challenges of protecting a building’s heritage features while providing robust and reliable fire protection. It is great to see that potential put into practice in yet another successful and prestigious site.”

Advanced, owned by FTSE 100 company Halma PLC, has a long history of protecting some of Europe’s most notable and prestigious buildings, including Athens’ Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia and Sofia’s Sofia University.

Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease-of-use of its products see Advanced specified in locations all over the world, from single-panel installations to large, multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management systems.

Advanced Protection for National Rail College

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A key driver in the successful delivery of the UK’s £42.6 billion HS2 project, the new National College for High Speed Rail, is now protected by industry-leading fire panels from Advanced.

Located in Doncaster, a town historically known for its prominent role in rail engineering and maintenance, the college occupies 76,000 sq ft of teaching and workshop space, with specialist training installations, including 150 metres of external track and catenary. It will train thousands of engineers to meet HS2’s future needs, as well as those of the wider rail sector. With 2,000 apprenticeship opportunities set to be created by HS2, and 25,000 people employed during construction, there has been, and continues to be high demand for appropriately skilled workers.

The Advanced MxPro panels were specified by the team at GBE Fire and Security, who were appointed by main contractor Briggs and Forrester to specify, install and commission the fire system at the site.

GBE’s Business Development Manager, Andy Westgarth, commented: “We’re thrilled to have been involved in this project. The college will create many opportunities for young people and make a major contribution to the Northern Powerhouse. With sensitive installations, including electrical catenary, a high-quality fire system is essential and, as a longstanding Advanced partner, we feel that MxPro panels are the ideal solution.”

MxPro is the fire industry’s leading multiprotocol fire system solution. It offers customers a choice of two panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, backed up by free training and support. MxPro panels can be used in single loop, single panel format or easily configured into high speed, multi-loop panels in 200 node networks covering huge areas. MxPro’s legendary ease of installation and configuration and wide peripheral range make it customisable to almost any application.

Neil Parkin, Advanced Sales Manager for the North, commented: “This is the latest in a series of high-profile rail sector installations for Advanced panels. We have worked with GBE on many projects and it’s great to be working with them on such a positive project. MxPro ticks all the boxes for the National College for High Speed Rail, combining proven reliability with innovation and ease-of-use.”

Advanced are members of the Rail Industry Fire Association (RIFA) and have panels installed in a number of other rail-related buildings, including the Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station, almost 100 London Underground stations, the Hitachi Rail Europe factory in Newton Aycliffe and the Tyne & Wear Metro.

MxPro is Advanced’s flagship range of multiprotocol panels, offers customers a choice of two panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network that enjoys free training and support.

Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease-of-use of its products sees Advanced specified in locations all over the world, from single panel installations to large multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management systems. More details can be found on the website at www.advancedco.com.

Advanced Fire System Handles the Pressure at Elfab

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Elfab, a global manufacturer of pressure relief products, has selected a high performance fire system from Advanced for installation at its corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility.

Elfab designs and manufactures rupture discs, explosion vents and detection systems for use in a wide range of applications and industries including oil and gas, chemical & pharmaceutical, as well as for original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in industries such as aerospace, medical, cryogenics and automotive.

Elfab specified an Advanced MxPro 5 2 loop multiprotocol fire panel and over 130 Apollo Discovery devices to protect its facility. The MxPro 5 range is the leading multiprotocol choice, offering world-beating quality, reliability and flexibility. 

The system was the first MxPro installation by RayFire Services. Owner Ray Hope, described it as: “By far and away the easiest panel to install and configure I have ever worked with.”

David Mellody, manufacturing engineer at Elfab commented: “Providing protection for people, plant, processes and the environment across the globe is our business so it was key to select an industry leading fire panel to protect our own facility and employees. 

 “Advanced has an outstanding reputation for quality, performance and ease of use and also for providing excellent ongoing support to customers. The MxPro system is backwards compatible, easily expanded and upgraded which matches Elfab’s fire protection needs both now and in the future.”

Neil Parkin, Advanced’s sales manager for the North said: “MxPro 5 is Advanced’s highest performance multiprotocol fire panel and leads the UK market whether standalone or networked. Already the fire panel of choice for a number of sites in the UK including Tyne and Wear Metro, Durham Cathedral, the Scottish Galleries and The Shard, MxPro 5 delivers more features than other fire panels providing both power and technology for buildings of all sizes. We’re delighted Elfab chose it for its world-class facilities.”

MxPro 5 is Advanced’s highest performing analogue addressable fire panel, fully approved to EN54 parts 2,4 and 13. Backwards compatible with MxPro 4, the MxPro 5 fire panel is available in 1, 2, 4 and 8 loop formats with up to 254 devices per loop and 200 panels on a fault-tolerant network. It is the system of choice for protecting sites of all sizes.

Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease-of-use of its products sees Advanced specified in locations all over the world, from single panel installations to large multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management systems. More details can be found on the website at www.advancedco.com.

Industry award for Advanced Customer Service

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Global fire systems leader Advanced has been awarded Highly Commended for Service Excellence at the annual Safety and Health Excellence (SHE) Awards 2018, held at the NEC, Birmingham.

The company received the commendation, in the BSIF (British Service Industry Federation) Customer Service Award category, on the back of its technical support and Advanced 360. This online portal gives customers free access, during the lifetime of their products, to a range of services including training, technical manuals and sales and marketing support.

Paul Duffy, Technical Support Manager at Advanced, who accepted the award, said: “To receive the Highly Commended award for our Service Excellence is a huge achievement and great recognition for the work of our customer services team. We are committed to making it as easy as possible for our customers to get the support and information they need when they need it. Advanced 360 helps achieve this and is constantly evolving to meet our customers’ needs.”

The SHE Awards were organised by Western Business Exhibitions Limited in conjunction with the BSIF. The BSIF Customer Service Award recognises companies operating in the fields of health and safety which offer exceptional and innovative service solutions. Winners were chosen based on the number of votes cast by customers who were asked to rate their suppliers’ service quality.

The SHE awards took place alongside industry trade shows: The Health & Safety Event and The Fire Safety Event, and were hosted by comedian and impressionist Rory Bremner.

Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease of use of its products see Advanced specified in locations all over the world, from single panel installations to large, multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management systems. More details can be found on the website at www.advancedco.com

For more information about Advanced 360, including account registration, visit www.360.advancedco.com

Advanced Protection for Chichester College

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More than 15,000 students and staff at Chichester College, one of the largest education institutions in the South of England, are now being protected by industry-leading fire panels from Advanced. 

Opened in 1964, the West Sussex college’s main campus houses over 5,000 full-time students studying A-Levels, BTEC Diplomas, NVQs and many other vocational qualifications. The campus has been substantially upgraded and refurbished in recent years, including a £3 million project to improve and extend the college’s hospitality training facilities in 2016.

MxPro 5 panels from Advanced were selected to protect the new facilities, which were built by Amiri Construction. Chichester-based PA Fire Systems installed the new system, which also includes an Advanced TouchControl touch screen repeater panel and over 300 individual components.

Mark Cook, Managing Director at PA Fire Systems, commented: “This refurbishment and extension project, which includes public restaurants and a café, was a major investment for Chichester College, so a cutting-edge fire system was needed to protect it. As a long-standing Advanced partner, we felt that MxPro was the obvious choice to meet the stipulated requirements for the fire system.”

The MxPro 5 is the leading multiprotocol fire panel range available and offers high-performance fire detection and alarm control across multi-panel networks and multiple sites. MxPro 5 panels are EN54 parts 2, 4 and 13 approved. They can be used in single loop, single panel format or easily configured into high-speed, 200-panel networks covering huge areas.

MxPro offers customers a choice of two panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, backed up by free training and support. Advanced’s legendary ease of installation and configuration make MxPro customisable to almost any application.

Phil Calvey, Advanced Sales Manager for the South West, commented: “Advanced panels are now installed in a number of educational establishments from Edinburgh University to Brighton College. MxPro offers an unbeatable mix of innovation, quality and reliability, combined with intuitive operation, training and support, making it ideal for installations like this one.”

Julie Sleeman, Chief Operating Officer at Chichester College, said: “The redevelopment of Block B was a major commitment for us and, as it plays host to diners in the restaurants and cafés, it is also part of the public face of the college. We needed the right fire system to cover this block, including kitchens, dining rooms, teaching spaces and communal areas, and, after working with PA Fire, MxPro seemed the ideal solution.”

Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease of use of its products sees Advanced specified in locations all over the world, from single panel installations to large, multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management systems. More details can be found on the website at www.advancedco.com

Kentec on-board Red Funnel Ferries

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Kentec fire safety control panels have been chosen for the refurbishment of fire systems on the Red Funnel Ferry Group’s vehicle ferries that operate out of Southampton to the Isle of Wight.


The refitting of the MV Red Osprey, following that of MV Red Falcon back in 2015, now leaves just the MV Red Eagle to be completed as part of Red Funnel Group’s multi-million pound refurbishment of its three vehicle ferries. This major project has seen the interior design and facilities of each ship replaced with a bright, modern and stylish new look which has set a high level of passenger facilities and comfort on board this popular Isle of Wight ferry route for both pleasure and business commuters.

Refurbishment of the three vehicle ferries’ fire systems has also been an important part of this project, in order to ensure the safety of passengers and crew. The fire safety system, designed by leading marine fire suppression and protection experts Fireboy-Xintex UK Operations Ltd., has been engineered using Kentec Syncro ASM 2 Loop Control panels and Apollo Devices. The Syncro ASM systems are also Red Funnel Ferries’ choice on the newly built fast passenger ferry ‘Red Jet 6’ and soon to be ‘Red Jet 7’.

Syncro ASM analogue addressable fire control panels are available with Germanischer Lloyd, Det Norske Veritas, Korean Register, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai and China Classification type approval for a wide range of marine fire alarm system applications that now includes Marine Equipment Directive Approval MED. Compatible with Apollo or Hochiki marine approved detection devices, Syncro ASM fire control panels can be networked to provide scalable fire alarm systems, suitable for many types of vessel.
For product information Kentec +44 (0)1322 222121 or visit www.kentec.co.uk

Kentec’s new Taktis in the spotlight at SICUR 2018

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Feria de Madrid stand 8B01, Hall 8 Leading Life Safety System Specialists Kentec Electronics’ all-new Taktis Fire fire alarm control equipment range will be centre stage at this year’s SICUR 2018 International Security Safety & Fire Exhibition from 20 to 23 February 2018 at Feria de Madrid – the leading international benchmark show for the fire and security sector in Spain. 

Kentec will be exhibiting their exciting new Taktis Life Safety System and other products from their sector leading ranges of ULAnalogue Addressable, and Extinguishant Fire Control ranges alongside leading Spanish Fire and Security installers Activi Seguridad y Sistemas SL – Spain’s distributor for Kentec products. 
Kentec sees this biannual event as ‘a great opportunity to demonstrate the capacity and versatility of Kentec’s products and how their partnership with Activi is delivering a wide range of fire safety solutions in some of the region’s most prestigious developments.’ 
For product information Kentec +44 (0)1322 222121 or visit www.kentec.co.uk 

Bespoke Fire Panels With Advanced’s AdSpecials Service

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Bespoke Fire Panels With Advanced. For customers requiring custom fire panels, Advanced’s AdSpecials team will work with them to design and manufacture unique panels and control interfaces for its fire systems, whatever the installation challenge.

Advanced has been building the easiest-to-use fire panels for nearly 20 years and has supplied AdSpecials all over the world. The company is highly skilled in meeting even the most complex of requests.

“We offer a full turnkey service and will work with you to develop your brief into a finished special panel, covering just about any requirement. We make the complicated easy, within budget. When you work with our AdSpecials team you’re talking to vastly experienced engineers,” says Advanced’s Head of Marketing Aston Bowles.

The AdSpecials process is as follows:

Specification and Quote The specification stage is critical to ensuring that the company thoroughly understand the customer’s needs. Advanced takes great care to get to the heart of user requirements and will work closely with customers to develop a comprehensive brief.

Preparation Advanced works with the customer to develop a watertight, achievable spec to budget and deadline.

Confirmation to Manufacturing Once the order is approved, Advanced’s highly experienced engineers work up full manufacturing designs. On final approval, the company’s end-to-end manufacturing team build and test the product to the highest quality levels, so the final installation and config are fault-free.

Every AdSpecial is different, but some recent examples include geographical mimics, sprinkler indication, fireman’s/fan and damper controls and evacuation control.

To obtain a brochure about the AdSpecials service please contact[email protected].

New Extinguishant Release Control Panel from Haes now available to pre-order

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The latest control panel from the UK’s leading conventional fire control panel manufacturer, its flexibility, intuitiveness and reliability is unparallelled.

Leading conventional control panel manufacturer Haes have successfully launched their new and innovative fire extinguishant release control panels at Intersec 2018. With the ability to release an extinguishant gas to single or dual flooding areas, these control panels are fully configurable to control automatic extinguishant release in multiple scenarios within different industries and businesses. Now available to pre-order, shipping from 1st Feb 2018.

Intuitiveness is paramount to this product, which exhibits the largest graphical backlit display of any extinguishant panel on the market and is quick to set-up with its unique remote display autolearn feature. Alert zones are quickly seen on this industry leading display panel, the easy to interpret icons, graphical representation of each stage and simple menu-style navigation creating an intuitive and attractive interface. It is also possible to customise the interface with your business logo.

Reliability and compliance come hand-in-hand with this UK manufactured control panel. With 3 or 6 zones available (depending on the respective panel), it offers fully configurable zone voting for gas release and displays programmable countdown timers at each stage of the alarm to suit the exact requirements of the site. Quality assured with Haes’ unique triple testing process, it complies with the latest approval standards; EN12094-1, EN54-2 and EN54-4 and includes integral battery back-up. The panels provide support for both metron and solenoid type actuators.

The control panel really does go the extra mile in its inherent reliability and convenience features. Time and date stamped event logs are integrated for false alarm management or use for insurance claims, ensuring you can have complete peace of mind in the event of an unexpected incident. Large Hold Off & Abort remote buttons can be mounted in pertinent places for increased flexibility and assurance.

Rashid Ahmed – Manufacturing Operations Manager said, “The development of this extinguishant panel has been a fantastic project for our whole R&D department to work on.  From the start our objective was to design and manufacture a panel that would stand out in the market place via it’s simplicity and power and we’ve certainly achieved that with features such as the largest display on the market and the auto-learn feature.  The initial feedback from clients is extremely positive and this is a great addition to our leading range of conventional control panels.”

Haes is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of fire detection and alarm products, manufacturing a renowned range of control and indicating equipment, power supplies, relays and other system peripherals. The Haes Extinguishant Release Control Panel is an incredible addition to their range, complementing their current alarm system technology. 

Browse what Haes have to offer at haes-systems.com or get in touch with Haes’ expert team on 01895 422066 or [email protected] to find out more on their range of fire detection and alarm systems.

Life Is Sweeter with Advanced Protection

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The Chocolate Quarter, one of the UK’s most stylish retirement complexes, is now protected by industry-leading Advanced fire panels from Advanced. 

Originally the home of Fry’s chocolate, the iconic collection of 1920s buildings has been sympathetically developed by KWL Architects and Andrew Wilson Developments for Bristol-based charity, the St Monica Trust. The result is an impressive complex of high-spec apartments, elegant living spaces and a range of leisure facilities. As well as protecting the multi-tenant retirement apartments and care home, the Advanced system also covers a doctors’ surgery, offices, spa, retail space and car park.

MFS designed, installed and commissioned the Advanced system, which comprises a network of 19 MxPro 5 single-loop, four-loop and repeater panels with Hochiki smoke and heat detectors, multi-sensors and heat detection cable.

The installation of MxPro 5 means that the fire system is also linked to the site’s DECT using an ESPA interface, which allows live fire system status information to be passed to staff pagers.

Speaking about the installation, Rick Coles, Managing Director at MFS, said: “The project required complicated cause and effect because of the buildings’ wide variety of uses. The sheltered accommodation and extra care areas needed a completely different approach to the communal areas, shops and restaurants. The complex also has a spa and hydro pool, so we faced an entirely different set of challenges in those areas.

“We chose Advanced panels because of their reliability and the high level of flexibility and ease they offer when programming cause and effect. Although useful for any project, this versatility really comes into its own on large multi-use sites with many different demands. We also had to link the fire system with the site’s DECT, which is very straightforward to do using Advanced equipment and an ESPA interface.”

Phil Calvey, Advanced Sales Manager for the South West, commented: “Advanced’s MxPro 5 panels are particularly suited for use in residential and care home settings. The Chocolate Quarter is a demanding site with a wide range of uses. Many of its residents are elderly and false alarms can cause considerable confusion and distress, so the installation had to offer the highest levels of protection and peace of mind.”

The MxPro 5 is the leading multiprotocol fire panel range available and offers high-performance fire detection and alarm control across multi-panel networks and multiple sites. MxPro 5 panels are EN54 parts 2, 4 and 13 approved. They can be used in single loop, single panel format or easily configured into high-speed, 200-panel networks covering huge areas.

MxPro offers customers a choice of two panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, backed up by free training and support. Advanced’s ease of installation and configuration make MxPro customisable to almost any application.

Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The legendary performance, quality and ease of use of its products sees Advanced specified in locations all over the world, from single-panel installations to large, multi-site networks. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, multi-protocol fire panels, extinguishing control, fire paging and false alarm management systems. More details can be found on the website at www.advancedco.com