Creating a fire-safe future, with Advanced

Matt Jones, Head of UK Sales for Advanced, discusses fire systems and the importance of seamless integration 

The scale and nature of today’s fire risks are rapidly changing, fuelled by factors including urbanisation, climate change and increased use of battery-powered equipment. The need to meet these challenges is driving a wave of technological advancements among fire safety equipment manufacturers. 

A wide range of the latest solutions will be on display at The Fire Safety Event 2025, taking place from 8-10 April at the NEC in Birmingham, England. 

Advanced will be at the exhibition (Stand D85, Hall 4) showcasing the future of fire safety through its AdvancedLive smart monitoring and management platform available on the next-generation, multiprotocol MxPro 5 panels. The team will also be explaining the importance of the EvacGo evacuation alert system for high-rise residential buildings.  

The role of digital fire system management 

Recent updates to fire safety legislation, including the Building Safety Act 2022, have placed increased duties on facilities managers (FMs) and Responsible Persons.  

A report by health, safety, and property compliance firm William Martin found a 53% rise in fire safety actions between April 2023 and March 2024 (1), highlighting the growing need for smarter, more efficient fire safety management tools that support compliance while simplifying daily operations. 

AdvancedLive – Smart fire safety  

Available exclusively in the UK and Ireland, AdvancedLive is a cloud-based fire system monitoring and control platform. It provides real-time oversight of fire alarm systems, allowing users to verify status, receive instant alerts about events needing attention, and review historical data, using any internet-enabled device.

Designed with an intuitive interface, AdvancedLive makes the fire system easier to understand and supports facilities staff in responding to incidents swiftly and efficiently. 

AdvancedLive offers both list and map-based views, enabling rapid identification of fire alarms, faults, or disabled devices whatever the scale and complexity of site.

Bringing entire fire systems together in one platform is a game-changer.

Matt Jones

It improves safety by allowing faster response times, reduces manual reporting tasks, enhances compliance tracking, and minimises unnecessary callouts. Additionally, its ability to store historical data supports predictive maintenance, helping to prevent issues before they escalate. 

A key advantage of AdvancedLive is the ease with which it can be set up on next-generation MxPro 5 fire panels via the in-built Ethernet port. This connectivity ensures that users can check system status, identify faults and take action remotely.

The ability to monitor live data from multiple locations simultaneously makes AdvancedLive ideal for managing large estates or multi-building sites. By reducing unnecessary site visits and streamlining fault resolution, AdvancedLive can lower operational costs too.  

The platform is also secure, featuring multi-level user access controls so that only authorised personnel can view and manage critical fire system information. Every action is logged and traceable, providing full accountability and supporting compliance with fire safety regulations. 

Blists Hill Victorian Town

Blists Hill Victorian Town Museum in Ironbridge Gorge has modernised its fire safety management with AdvancedLive, providing real-time monitoring and simplified control across its extensive historical site. 

The museum, which features buildings moved brick by brick from across the region, needed a solution that would enhance fire safety without disrupting daily operations.

Matt Jones

Seven separate Advanced MxPro 5 panels, connected via AdvancedLive, create a virtual network that allows the museum’s security and facilities teams to monitor the entire site from any internet-enabled device. 

Ross Davidson, Visitor Engagement Manager at Blists Hill, said: “The new system allows us to locate and identify the source of any activation much quicker, meaning we can minimise disruption to our visitor experience.” 

Next-Gen MxPro 5: Power, flexibility and seamless integration 

Advanced’s next-generation MxPro 5 fire panel is powerful, adaptable and allows AdvancedLive connectivity via its in-built Ethernet port. With eight times more processing power than previous models, MxPro 5 offers faster response times, enhanced configuration capabilities and improved power efficiency. As an open-protocol panel, it supports a wide range of detector protocols, including Apollo Core, for greater system design flexibility. 

Additionally, MxPro 5 includes false alarm management capabilities that help prevent unnecessary evacuations, a valuable feature for buildings where unwanted alarms can be costly and highly disruptive, such as hotels, educational institutions and office complexes.  

EvacGo: Supporting safe high-rise evacuations 

With increased concern around high-rise fire safety, particularly in response to updated regulations in England and Scotland, EvacGo provides a critical solution for controlled evacuations in residential buildings. Fully compliant with BS 8629, this evacuation alert system is designed for use by fire and rescue services to facilitate phased evacuations in emergencies. 

Each EvacGo panel is custom-built according to a building’s evacuation zones, featuring clear toggle switches and LED indicators for easy operation by firefighters. The system’s design ensures that evacuation strategies can be implemented quickly and effectively, helping to protect residents in the event of a fire.  

The benefits of remote fire system management 

Investing in smart fire safety solutions pays: 

• Improved safety – Real-time notifications enable quicker response times, minimising risks to people and property. 

• Time savings – Remote access allows users to check system status without the need for on-site visits. 

• Cost reduction – Advance warning of issues reduces false alarms, unnecessary callouts, and manual compliance reporting costs. 

• User-friendly interface – Designed for non-technical users, ensuring facilities teams can operate the system with ease. 

• Data security & integrity – Role-based access controls and audit logs support regulatory compliance and system security. 

• Sustainability – Reducing unnecessary site visits lowers carbon emissions and overall environmental impact. 

Learn more at The Fire Safety Event 2025 

Visitors to Stand D85 at The Fire Safety Event will have the chance to see AdvancedLive, MxPro 5, and EvacGo in action.  

This article was originally published in the April 2025 Edition of International Fire & Safety Journal. To read your FREE copy, click here.