Apollo Protects the University of Herfordshire

2 Dec 2013

The Fisk Fire Group installs Apollo’s XP95 range across the campus

The University of Hertfordshire houses more than 3,400 of its students in University owned and managed accommodation. The College Lane Campus is based at the heart of the University, giving students access to the Students’ Union, its entertainment venue – The Forum – as well as teaching rooms and the University’s largest Learning Resources Centre. The Fisk Fire Group was tasked with installing Apollo's XP95 range across the campus’ communal areas and more than 650 bedrooms.

The Fisk Fire Group is part of Apollo's Partner Plus programme and has worked with Apollo for more than 20 years. The Partner Plus programme enables Apollo and its customers to work in true partnership, ensuring that end users, such as the University of Hertfordshire, receive both a seamless and efficient service, as well as reliable and robust products.

Mark Fisk, director at Fisk Fire, explains more about the University project: “Overall, we were onsite for around nine months, during which time the University was fully operational. Student accommodation is a very unique and fluid environment: in term time the accommodation is a thriving social environment, whereas during holidays the number of residents reduces significantly. In addition, the communal areas, usually kitchens, can present the risk of false fire alarms, with a host of 'delicacies' being prepared – some more successful than others! The detectors need to compensate for excess steam and smoke, while still providing appropriate fire detection.

"Having worked with Apollo for more than two decades, we knew that its XP95 range was a good fit for this environment. Like all of Apollo's products, XP95 is an open protocol solution, which means we had full flexibility with regards to the other detection equipment we were installing. Approximately 800 Apollo analogue addressable XP95 detectors were installed throughout the campus. Having addressable detectors allows for quick identification of the alarm’s location, which is a necessity in a large site such as the campus. The detectors were easily installed, which meant minimum disruption for students who were on the campus at the time.”

The University of Hertfordshire already carries Apollo products in its student accommodation and this 650+ room open protocol refit was undertaken as part of an upgrade to the existing system. In addition to the new detectors, 16 Morley Zxse fire panels were installed and the visual package that monitors the equipment was also upgraded. After a successful installation, Fisk Fire hopes to continue its relationship with the University and install further systems over the next few years.