Kentec Electronics has installed its K-Mesh and Taktis systems at five residential tower blocks in Wapping, central London, providing residents with a highly sophisticated fire detection and alarm system.

The fire safety system was installed at 21 Wapping Lane by DPJ Fire and Security after the firm won a competitive tender issued by property developers, Ballymore. The system protects five mixed-use luxury and affordable housing residential complexes, including an 18-storey tower near St Katherine’s Dock. There are more than 380 dwellings over an area of 7,500 square metres.

A wireless solution was proposed due to the ease and speed of installation, less disruption to site occupants and aesthetics. The number of floors meant running cables was impractical, and so the wireless solution avoided costly builders’ work and fire stopping.

K-Mesh’s SmartGuide technology also supports safe and strategic building evacuation, meaning the fire detection system can be converted to an EVAC evacuation system easily as and when desired or practical.

The system, networked to K-Mesh, features five of Kentec’s 4-loop Taktis control panels and over 750 devices, including wireless heat sensors and sounders, and optical smoke detectors. K-Mesh was chosen for its impressive wireless network performance using a self-healing dynamic mesh network, making it easy to use, install and commission.

Reliable detection

Ultimately, the network provides a highly redundant and robust wireless network, providing assurance that fire incidents are detected and communicated immediately. A wireless translator module, which sits at the centre of the K-Mesh system, is hard-wired to the fire alarm control panel loop and communicates continuously with the wireless devices.

The detection range provides the highest reliability for automatic detection and includes Optical, Thermal and combined Optical and Thermal detectors that can respond to a wide spectrum of fire phenomena, while minimising false and unwanted activations.

Paul Fitzsimmons, Account Director of DPJ Fire and Security, said K-Mesh’s unique SmartGuide technology is a considerable benefit: “It wirelessly utilises sound, light and voice command functionality to provide clear evacuation instructions. And because it can be easily converted to an EVAC evacuation system it provides a future-proofed solution,” he says. “It was without doubt the best solution for this development.”

A complex installation

Lauryn Amara, Senior FM/Projects Manager of Ballymore, says the project was delivered on time and to budget: “A complex installation went well, and DPJ Fire and Security provided excellent communication throughout. Overall, we are very pleased to have furthered the safety of our residents.”

Derrick Hall, Director of Sales at Kentec Electronics, says K-Mesh overcomes all the traditional barriers to using wireless systems: “It has a seven-to-ten-year battery life, which is approximately twice that of the industry standard,” he explains. “The advanced technology is also fully expandable and configurable from anything from two to 2,000 devices, so even the largest, most disparate, and complex sites can now be protected wirelessly. It provides an easy-to-install and highly practical wireless solution, ideal for residential complexes.”

Ballymore is an independently-owned property developer responsible for some of Europe’s largest regeneration projects. 21 Wapping Lane provides a modern living space in one of London’s oldest maritime neighbourhoods.