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Argus Fire Protection Case Study

Thursday 27 November 2014, 11:57AM

By Beckie Wright

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Argus Fire Protection is a privately managed and independent full service provider of all fire protection systems and equipment and have earned a reputation second to none for the service, quality and competitiveness through hard work and emphasis on high levels of service, which is why Auckland Art Gallery chose them to design, supply and install a comprehensive fire protection solution for their $113 development plan. This included earthquake proofing and heritage restoration of the main buildings, combined with the construction of contemporary additions to interconnect the two heritage buildings.
Argus Fire has demonstrated a strong track record of working on heritage sites, including the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and proven attention to detail in the design and installation of fire protection solutions that incorporate the most advanced technology and systems.

Working closely with Hawkins Construction, building engineers and other service providers, Argus developed innovative and creative solutions to meet the challenges of vaulted ceilings, limited ceiling to floor cavity space, heritage specifications and the knowledge that the contents of the building were irreplaceable. The protection of irreplaceable works of art required an advanced and intelligent fire protection system that would reduce the risk of damage associated with fire and mitigate the risk of damage associated with false alarm and discharge of sprinklers.

Argus installed a highly reliable pre-activation system operating on a dual pipe system, providing an additional safety and risk minimisation feature. The main pipe feeding each of the integrated heat and fire detectors/sprinkler heads contain compressed air. A pressure valve at the intersection of the primary and secondary pipes holds the water in the second pipe. If fire or heat is detected by an individual detector, this will raise an alarm at the control centre and subsequently trigger the discharge of the compressed air. This in turn releases the pressure activated valve and allows the pipe feeding the sprinkler to prime with water. If the fire or heat signal continues to be activated, the continuous communication interface between the sensor and the control panel is able to determine the presence of fire and discharge the sprinkler.

To complement and support the pre-activation fire protection system, Argus installed manual call points, Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus (VESDA), gas flood systems and the associated infrastructure such as fire extinguishers, hose reels and hydrants. The entire fire protection system is controlled by an intelligent analogue addressable system and Pertronic F120A control panel. Master control panels and brigade mimic panels are installed at key locations across the Auckland Art Gallery, facilitating immediate alarm and evacuation response and fire service access. The Auckland Art Gallery restoration and extension project was completed in September 2011.

Please go to http://www.argusfire.co.nz for more information.