Caring for our community: Midland Fire provides fire alarm system for Lavender Lodge Nursing Home
When Lavender Lodge got in touch this year needing a replacement fire alarm system, we were happy to help. Despite the challenges of working in a live care home environment, we started work within four weeks of their request, to ensure their systems were fully compliant with the latest standards as soon as possible.
Helping protect our local community is at the heart of what we do, so Lavender Lodge was a project our fire alarm engineers were keen to get stuck into. During an 8-week contract, we installed a completely new Category L1 fire alarm system at the care home, handling everything from initial design through to commissioning and handover, to ensure optimum safety for staff and residents.
Category L1 fire safety systems are chosen for maximum protection to life, and this project stands out due to the inclusion of new Honeywell Gent Self-Test detectors. These detectors are the first EN-approved detectors that can test themselves using real smoke and heat. We wanted Lavender Lodge to benefit from this market-leading technology without delay.
“Working in a live environment has its challenges, but our team showed their versatility and experience to get the job done safely and with minimal disruption. Helping protect people in our community has been really rewarding.”
Chris Eley, Midland Fire
Lavender Lodge Nursing Home, Derby
Lavender Lodge is an independent nursing home based in Derby with the capacity to house 44 residents with a range of needs. Their dedicated staff are specialised in providing care for people with physical disabilities through to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The nursing home has been registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) since April 2011, and prides itself on providing safety and companionship for those who need it most.
The nursing home itself is based in a large residential building, with 44 separate bedrooms as well as several communal areas, a kitchen and bathrooms. This was all taken into consideration by our team when designing the fire safety system, and we chose only the most reliable fire safety technology to protect our community’s most experienced citizens and their carers.
The latest fire safety regulations for care homes
Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs)
As fire safety professionals, we are pleased to see these essential updates, which are an important step towards improving fire safety in care homes. At Midland Fire, we offer all the required fire safety solutions, and we’re dedicated to helping care homes reach these new standards, just like we’ve done at Lavender Lodge.
Installing fire alarm systems at Lavender Lodge
The project
- L1 addressable fire alarm system
- New cabling and devices
- Gent Vigilon Plus 4 and 6 loop panels
- Gent S-Quad Self-Test detectors (S4T series) with a CLSS link
- EN54 monitoring unit for brigade response
We also installed three repeater panels so that staff are all able to locally interrogate the main control panel. All devices were fully networked and integrated to one main system within the care home.
The challenges
The biggest challenge of this project was that our engineers were working in a live environment, meaning we had to work around residents and their routines, including meal times and activities. Through diligent project management we ensured that we were able to finish the work on time with minimal disruption to the lives of the residents. We also had regular progress meetings on site in which we made sure we were up to date on events at the care home.
Next steps
At Midland Fire, we offer a complete design, installation and maintenance service to all our clients. For Lavender Lodge, we will be providing user training for the new fire alarm system, as well as servicing. A regular service will reduce long term costs for the client, as well as keeping their system compliant and in good working order for increased safety.
The lowdown on Gent’s new Self-Test detectors
Honeywell Gent fire alarm systems are the most advanced systems available on the market. At Midland Fire, we are approved Gent 24 System Integrators. This means we are part of the approved network that Gent supplies to, selected for our ability to deliver the highest quality of service.
We have access to all Gent resources and products, and based on needs and budget, our team felt that the Self-Test detectors would serve well at Lavender Lodge.
The innovative Honeywell Gent Self-Test range of detectors are S-Quad devices equipped with additional advanced technology including self-testing capabilities. To self test, the device introduces real heat and smoke into the detector and ensures that smoke entry points are clear from blockages.
Here are some of the benefits of the Self-Test detectors (S4T series):
- A realistic fire testing method through generating real heat and smoke.
- Multi-sensor devices with additional Sounder, Voice & VAD variants.
- Fast and discreet testing allowing an engineer to test using their phone.
- Connected Life Safety Services (CLSS) app for remote monitoring.
