Does your business have a fire alarm maintenance contract in place?

Ensuring the highest level of fire safety for the occupants of your organisation’s premises is a legal, moral and financial necessity – that much should be clear for anyone who has spent a decent amount of time reading the Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) blog, or spoken to one of our technicians. However, it isn’t as simple a process as having the right fire alarm system in place, even with the lengthy assessments and subsequent installation and acceptance stages, perhaps followed by the occasional service. What you need is a more meaningful fire alarm maintenance contract.

It’s vital to meticulously maintain fire alarms, for the simple reason that it can easily be the difference between life and death in the event of a fire outbreak at your firm’s premises. In addition, if a fire does occur at your property, irrespective of whether you have a fire detection or protection system installed, the outcome of any insurance claim that you make will be judged by the insurer on the basis of whether or not the system was fully maintained and operational at the time the incident occurred. It therefore makes sense to invest a relatively small amount of money now to ensure ongoing maintenance and complete peace of mind.

Certainly, having your system regularly checked is also a legal requirement, so it makes complete business sense to invest in a contract for fire equipment maintenance. All work needs to be carried out in accordance with BS5839, which is the British Standard regulating the service and general upkeep of all of the UK’s fire systems. All in all, no fire protection strategy is complete unless arrangements are in place to ensure regular, consistent and up-to-date fire alarm maintenance – but you should contact a professional fire alarm specialist to carry out this work for you.

Here at Triple Star Fire, we take pride in offering the complete Service and Maintenance Contract, which enables maintenance visits on your fire alarm installations to be managed cost-effectively. Above all else, it’s about ensuring that your fire alarm actually works when you need it most – at the moment a fire breaks out. Benefits of our fire service and maintenance contract include support from our 24 hour customer service centre, with our engineers being available on a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year basis. The contract also includes routine inspections in accordance with British Standards, complete with any minor adjustments that may be required.

Other advantages of our contract for fire alarm maintenance include a 12 month warranty for additional fitted equipment, 4 hour response to all emergency callouts subject to contract, and False Alarm Management and advice against the latest standards. Such a comprehensive Service and Maintenance Contract is just one part of the professional and affordable fire protection services and equipment that Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) provides for all manner of UK businesses and organisations, helping your firm to avoid becoming a statistic.

Editor’s Note: Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

The bizarre background of one current fire safety law

As you might imagine of professionals in fire equipment maintenance like those of Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com), we're always keeping an eye on the latest headlines that relate to our specialism, and took a particular interest in an article in The Telegraph covering the views on fire safety legislation of Luke Bisby, Professor of Fire and Structures at Edinburgh University. He spoke in the article of how study in his engineering field changes people's lives - including his own.

"I always say to first-year engineering students if there's one thing your degree will give you, it's the ability to annoy your family ad nauseam," he reflected. "Everywhere you go, you will now see the world in a different way." He is further quoted as stating that his experiences as a fire engineer had made enjoyment of Edinburgh nightclubs impossible for him, given the widespread use of Georgian buildings with limited exits and many guests. He either couldn't bring himself to enter such nightclubs, he said, or would end up standing right by the door in readiness for something to happen.

An affable Canadian, Prof Bisby is one of just a few fire engineers in Britain concerned with designing buildings and cities in a way that prevents them burning down - so his views are well worth listening to for anyone undertaking a fire risk assessment on their building. His job might be amusing in many ways, given the hours spent in the lab designing model buildings before having been torched to the ground, but it's also one in which he has learned the rather bizarre basis on which certain modern fire safety regulations have come into being.

For example, nobody investing in fire extinguishers for business will be shocked to learn of the tight fire safety regulations surrounding modern offices, including the need for any employee to be able to reach a fire exit in no more than two and a half minutes. Given how fundamental this rule is to our modern built environment, one might have imagined good, solid reasoning behind it - but actually, that period of time is apparently the mean length of the British national anthem God Save The Queen, when played in full by a concert orchestra. Apparently, the history of this stipulation can be traced back to a 1911 fire at the Empire Palace Theatre in Edinburgh.

A French illusionist, The Great Lafayette, was performing the night's final illusion when the stage was set alight by a lamp at the back of the set. With the audience left watching the spectacle, presuming it to be part of the illusion, God Save The Queen needed to be played by the orchestra to rouse them to their feet. Most of the audience - although sadly not Lafayette himself or his body double - survived the fire. Here at fire alarm system providers Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com), it certainly made us wonder what other current fire safety laws may have rather curious origins!

Editor’s Note: Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

Why might EMS Fire provide the right fire safety products for your needs?

Here at Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com), we’re pleased to be able to say that we provide a vast range of fire safety solutions to the owners of various properties and business premises, assisted greatly by our many partnerships with manufacturers. We are, for example, official service agents and fire system product distributors for Ziton, and also distribute the fire alarm systems of Hyfire. This particular article, however, is about our relationship with the EMS Fire brand, for which we are also official service agents and fire system product distributors.

We are committed to ensuring that you have the right fire safety equipment in place in your own property, and there is naturally plenty of competition, so why might you invest in the products of EMS Fire? Well, for one thing, the company is definitely well-established and reputable. It can trace its history back to the foundation of EMS Security – now a group of companies of which EMS Radio Fire and Security Systems Ltd is a part – in 1967.

The founder remains the group’s Chairman today, and in the more than forty years since then, the company has developed an especially advanced appreciation of the complexity of fire and security issues that its products have the purpose of resolving. Whether the building that you need to protect against fire is a school, hotel, HMO, government office, retail outlet or even power station, EMS Fire can provide the best quality wireless solutions that you can actually depend on, time and time again. The firm researches, designs and manufactures all electronic components from its Kent factory and offices, ensuring compliance with ISO 9001 standards as well as relevant technical standards.

It’s difficult to think of a more sophisticated fire alarm system on the market than EMS Fire’s FireCell comprehensive analogue addressable fire detection solution. There’s no need for cable with this solution for safeguarding your premises against one of the greatest dangers to both business and employees, with industry standard sensors being used and power provided by an alkaline battery pack. Secure, fully compliant, dual frequency signalling is used by the devices in their communications with the CIE. In January 2013, FireCell Fusion was launched, giving customers the option of a hybrid fire system based on the award winning FireCell system.

You can wirelessly network both FireCell and FireCell Fusion, supporting as many as eight control panels as well as more than 4,000 wired or wireless devices. This gives you maximum choice and flexibility. Turn to Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) for more information on the products of EMS Fire, including such components as ancillaries, call points, control panels, radio cluster communicators and sounders and beacons. It doesn’t matter whether you need to protect an office, retail store, industrial premises, military site or historic building, among others. We’ll provide you with the best fire products as well as the highest standards of fire equipment maintenance.

Editor’s Note: Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

Fire Safety – A Brief History

At Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com/) we pride ourselves on supplying state-of-the-art fire safety equipment including the latest technology in fire alarm systems, all expertly installed and maintained by our industry leading engineers.

But fire safety wasn’t always cutting edge, in fact the early days of fire prevention and detection was, at best, rudimentary. Two hundred years ago fire alarms were very much do-it-yourself affairs. Communities sounded the alarm when a fire was spotted by blowing whistles, ringing church bells, shooting guns and just by shouting “fire”. You’d be hard pushed to call this a fire alarm system as such, it was more a natural human response to danger - that of panicking, shouting and making a noise! Somewhat effective but clearly a better, more systematic approach was needed.

The fire brigade in its earliest form was put together by a wealthy Roman family in 115BC - a team of 500 people that rushed to a fire at the first cry of alarm - but it wasn’t adopted in the UK until after the great fire of London, when insurance companies had private teams of fire fighters protecting their client’s homes. They would only tackle blazes at homes displaying the relevant mark to show they were paying the insurance company for fire protection. Fire fighting became wider spread in the 17^th century when the first fire engines appeared. As fire fighting was a commercial activity many people waited until the last minute to raise the alarm, to avoid paying the fee, leading to many fires raging out of control before a free fire brigade came into effect.

Having a fire brigade is one thing but detecting a fire and raising the alarm is quite another. With the advent of the telegraph came the possibility of communication and it was quickly adopted by communities to sound and send the alarm when a fire broke out. To report a fire in the neighbourhood a person would crank a handle on a fire alarm box that would send a message with the box´s number to a central headquarters who would relay the corresponding address of the box location to the fire brigade.

Detection devices came much later. The first electrical heat detector and smoke detector was patented in Birmingham in 1902 but the first “modern” smoke detector wasn’t operational until the 1930s. Until the mid 1960s, when solid state electronics made a cheap sensor possible, smoke detectors were the preserve of big businesses as they were the only people that could afford them.

So we’ve come a very long way over the years: not only have the technological advances made protecting your premises, your business and your staff possible, it has become affordable too. And to find the best value, highest quality fire alarm systems you need only contact us at Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com/) for access to the latest and best fire safety equipment, managed by the best engineers in the industry.

Editor’s Note: Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com/) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

Why you’ll be thankful for our fire system monitoring services

The highest standards of fire safety for your domestic or business property are not just a legal obligation – they’re a moral one, too. That’s why here at Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) we take such pride in supplying, installing and maintaining fire safety equipment such as fire alarm systems and fire extinguishers. Such measures have long helped to save lives when fire breaks out, whatever the exact time and circumstances.

However, our fire safety equipment and services are not just aimed at averting tragedy in your domestic or business property, giving human occupants plenty of notice and opportunity to escape a fire before they are placed in mortal danger. That’s because if fire strikes your business, even if nobody is killed or injured, you still stand to lose much of what you have spent years working for... and with so many businesses never fully recovering from a fire, it really pays to be properly prepared.

If your property is affected by fire during business working hours or another time when you are personally present, you’ll hopefully be able to raise the alarm yourself so that the emergency services can be rapidly sent to put the fire out and minimise the damage. This isn’t a luxury that you would have, however, if the fire occurred ‘out of hours’... which is why you may choose to have our DualCom fire system monitoring added to your fire alarm system.

This system means that as soon as possible after a fire breaks out, the fire brigade will be alerted so that they can promptly get to your premises – potentially making all the difference between the ‘life’ and ‘death’ of your business. Clients of our DualCom fire system monitoring can also benefit from dual path signalling that uses both a landline and a mobile phone network to send a fire signal to the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). This means that with the triggering of the alarm, the ARC is also immediately alerted, which allows the emergency services to act.

Having been around since 2006, Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) is staffed by people who know their way around the fire safety industry, using their huge level of experience and expertise to supply, install and maintain fire alarms in the most appropriate fashion. This also includes choosing only the products of the most trustworthy brands. Our specialists are easy to contact and can advise you on the best Redcare systems for the protection of your own business premises.  

Editor’s Note: Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

What’s the beauty of wireless radio fire alarm systems?

Let’s imagine the scenario: you know full well how important fire alarm installations are, but the right one for your organisation’s needs doesn’t seem to be possible in an environment that makes conventional installation challenging. That’s why you may be interested in the wireless radio fire alarm systems of Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com), which our trained engineers can install for you both quickly and easily.

These kind of fire alarm systems more than match the “hard wired” alternatives, with all of the features that you could require to ensure optimum levels of safety against fire in your workplace. Not only do they offer true addressable information, but as a user, you also benefit from complete control over set-up and operation. Although each of our wireless radio fire alarm systems comes with a 10 year warranty, you also have three different manufacturers to choose from, including:

• Cooper Fire Radio System – the CW9000 is a proven fire detection system that makes good use of Cooper wireless protocol, with secure wireless connections between the control panel and field devices. This system is fully featured, intelligent and addressable, with highly reliable sensors, sounders, callpoints and beacons that are based on well-proven components.
• Hyfire Radio System – you won’t find a more innovative and technologically sophisticated range of hybrid fire products anywhere in the UK, than those from the Hyfire brand. Nor is there an EN54 compliant hybrid system that boasts a longer list of references, and there are many good reasons for that. Blue chip clients throughout industry and commerce have consistently appreciated this cost-effective and versatile solution.
• Apollo Fire xPander System – there are many settings, such as stately homes and other structures that are architecturally sensitive, where fire cables may not be either practical or desirable. The individual detectors, alarm devices and call points of the XPander system use radio signals for communication with the Apollo addressable loop, with an address being assigned to each device. They are renowned for their minimisation of disruption, elimination of cabling difficulties and preservation of aesthetics.

Our 10 year parts warranty covers all equipment for your purchased fire alarm system, with the exception of the control panel, batteries and cabling. For the warranty to apply, the system must also be maintained by Triple Star Fire in accordance with the manufacturers’ recommendations and relevant British standards. Visit our page on wireless radio fire alarm systems for more information on the terms of a Triple Star Fire warranty.

For more information on fire safety equipment and to receive a free quote from the friendly, capable and professional Triple Star Fire customer service team, simply call us or pay a visit to http://www.triplestarfire.com.

Editor’s Note: Triple Star Fire (http://www.triplestarfire.com/) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.