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Aritech smokes KZN

The Aritech range of fire detection panels and peripherals has been the preferred choice of equipment for some of the major new developments in KwaZulu-Natal. Most notably, the Golden Horse Casino in Pietermaritzburg and Unilever's new head office in Umhlanga.

Unique features of the analog addressable equipment include the electronics-free address and the global repeater. The electronics-free address of the detector is set by the installer by means of a coded plastic card fitted to the detector base. This ensures the address of a base remains undisturbed and unchanged by the removal or replacement of a detector. The Global repeater panel allows for full emulation and control of all the control panels on the network at a central point, or even from a remote location by the simple addition of modems and our remote maintenance software. The remote maintenance software can also be used as a central station, which the fire panels dial out to, in the case of a fire alarm or fault on the system.

The Golden Horse Casino presented C&V Consulting Engineers with a number of challenges due to the complexity of the requirements as well as the implementation of the new bylaws regarding smoking in public places. The fire detection for the entire casino complex comprises several hundred smoke detectors monitored by four FP2000 analog-addressable fire panels and two global repeaters networked together via RS485.

The gaming area of the casino is protected by high-sensitivity aspirating detectors, namely VESDA, that enable both the nonsmoking and smoking areas of the casino to be monitored in the event of a fire. An emphasis on the safety of lives necessitated the use of the VESDA products. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the VESDA product and its flexibility allows it to be used to switch on air condition/ smoke extract fans if the level of smoke build up in the smoking section of the casino is too great.

In addition, Aritech fire detection equipment is also being installed in numerous government buildings that are currently being upgraded in Durban and in Pietermaritzburg. These include, the Natalia Buildings, the Education Building as well as numerous telecommunications sites.

For details contact Brett Birch, Aritech on tel: (011) 805 1590, fax: (011) 805 0910.

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