Quenchfire use Innovative Solution for Fire Protection in Historic inn

Quenchfire use innovative solution for fire protection in historic inn

Plumis Automist provided an innovative fire safety solution for a listed 17^th century inn in Oxfordshire, owned by Marston’s.  The traditional, stone-built property contained 2 inner rooms in the upstairs living space, which meant that in the event of a fire, escape would have been through a bedroom and lounge area and down a central staircase to the ground floor bar. Since 2006, landlords have had legal responsibilities under the Fire Safety Order and the Housing Act to tackle inner room problems like this as far as is reasonably practicable. The alternative of constructing corridors was not acceptable to the listed buildings officer and the use of sprinklers was deemed unsatisfactory as they would drench the property in the event of a fire, causing considerable water damage.  Furthermore, accidental discharge could cause a costly interruption to business and possibly adversely affect the fabric of the building. Marston’s worked with local fire officers who recommended that they contact Quenchfire, who provide fire protection solutions in the Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Oxfordshire areas and asked them to recommend a solution. Quenchfire (www.quenchfire.co.uk) are the Automist accredited resellers and installers in the region and they had no hesitation in suggesting the installation of this highly innovative and very cost effective product from Plumis (www.plumis.co.uk ), which uses a high pressure pump to generate a fine water mist from nozzles to suppress any fire.

Quenchfire fitted 4 Automist pumps on the ground floor which are activated by five wireless heat detection units and 1 pump with split emitters to protect the 2 inner rooms upstairs. This completely protected the building at a much more affordable cost, with much less disruption and in a considerably shorter timeframe than fitting sprinklers. It also has the benefit of using only 5 litres of water per minute per head compared with 65 litres per head generated by sprinklers. Because Automist uses a wireless system, installation was brief, it did not affect the historic fabric of the inn and there were no ugly wires to mar the decor. It is aesthetically pleasing and, unlike smoke alarms not only alerts residents to the fire but also suppresses it.

Ruth Partington, Marston’s Regional Property Surveyor is delighted with the solution. “The use of Automist means the inn would suffer greatly reduced water damage to the fabric of the property, fixtures and fittings in the event of a discharge. This was vital for a busy business which is open to the public 365 days a year. It is neat and installation was very economical because no pipework was needed.” Automist is ideal for use in similar buildings where the layout would be compromised by the fitting of corridors.

For further information on this project or the Plumis Automist range of water-mist suppression solutions call Plumis on 020 7871 3899, visit www.plumis.co.uk or email info@plumis.co.uk