Bull Products’ Cygnus wireless fire alarm system has been selected for use during the re-development of one of London’s major landmarks, Battersea Power Station.
The Grade II listed building designed in the 1930s by Sir Giles Gilbert-Scott was decommissioned in 1983 and is now subject to an £8 billion re-development within 42 acres of former industrial land.
Phase 2 of the development involves the iconic power station building itself, where no less than 150 Cygnus wireless alarm systems are installed to ensure a safe environment for construction workers on site. With the project at groundwork stage and nearly all of the internals demolished, the Cygnus wireless alarm system is there to protect workers in the old wash towers, on ground levels and around all the pedestrian walkways.
The Bull Products’ Cygnus system provides a comprehensive network of fire alarm call points, first aid alerts, combined call points and first aid alerts, smoke detectors and heat detectors which are linked together in different zones on a construction site. As many as 480 alarm and detector units can be linked in this way in different zones.
Darren O’Brien, Security and Fire Systems Manager for Woodlands Site Services, which is working for Skanska UK on the project, was keen to specify the Cygnus wireless alarm system commenting: “We have had much experience of using the Cygnus system on other projects and had no hesitation in using this for Battersea Power Station. It is absolutely perfect, is very solid and robust and does the job extremely well”.
Intended purely for use on construction sites, the CE marked Cygnus system has been specifically designed for use in dense concrete and steel structured buildings and areas where there are many other radio frequencies in operation, and so particular attention has been given to achieving an impressive connection range. Where there are multiple sites within range of each other, the Cygnus system has been designed to operate on different site addresses in order to keep each system separate and free from interference.
A major feature of the Cygnus system is the optional control panel which provides a very sophisticated capability with an event log function which records any events such as an alarm activation, low battery warning, and signal faults, all of which can be viewed if necessary in the history folder held on the panel. The system also has the ability to test all units and has an evacuate function which will act as a call point to the rest of the alarm units.
