Integrated fire protection concept for hotels
Evacuation possibilities become increasingly more important
When hotel fires are reported on in the media, deaths of victims are usually being mourned. This
type of terrible news illustrates how important it is to take preventive measures in order to avoid
such disasters. From the small privately-run hotel up to the major hotel, the operator would like to
offer his guests not only a pleasant ambience but also the necessary safety. That’s why a well
thought-out safety concept now belongs to the standard high-quality features of a hotel. Studies
have particularly proven the ability for a fast evacuation has become increasingly more important
in this context.
When implementing a security concept in large hotels, it must be taken into consideration that in the case
of a fire, the personnel can often not give the proper instructions necessary for an optimal evacuation.
The hotel guest, who is the primary concern of protection, is almost exclusively dependent on a controlled
evacuation through the rescue teams on site. The spatial factors with their different safety concerns often
differ considerably and thus require elaborate fire protection concepts which are customised to the object.
It is not often that such an elaborate alarm reaction is triggered during a fire. The basis for such a
conception is mostly implemented with an installation tailored especially to the different safety concerns,
based on a modern loop which – if possible – facilitates the authorized and certified operation of
addressable and bus-supplied alarm signalling devices together with fire detectors and other bus devices.
Aside from the safety aspects, these fire detectors display their advantages, which offer easy installation
during mounting and which stand out by keeping installation and maintenance costs as low as possible.
Minimal operating costs of the entire fire alarm system are an additional advantage for the operator.
Fire detection and evacuation at the same time
With 4000 hotels in more than 100 countries, the French ACCOR Group is of one of the largest hotel
enterprises worldwide and has trusted new technology of the IQ8Quad detector from ESSER as a fire
protection system since 2006. The criterion for their choice was the detecting process used by the
detector. According to Franck Freitag, the head of the hotel technology department, an essential
requirement for the fire detectors is a false alarm rate as low as possible: they must be able to reliably
distinguish disturbance variables from fire smoke. Statistical results prove that half of the fire brigade
deployments registered in Germany are ordered due to false alarms. If one thinks of the follow-up costs
that arise e.g. during the evacuation of a hotel, it quickly becomes clear that a hotel operator who has
previously lived through such a scenario due to a false alarm can therefore value an investment in
technical fire protection.
Disturbance variables such as vapour from shower cubicles will no longer lead to unnecessary fire
brigade deployments in the hotels of the ACCOR Group. Another decisive factor in addition to the low
false alarm rate is the fulfilment of international standards. Especially guests from the USA frequently
make inquiries before they start their travels as to whether the selected hotel has adequate safety devices
(according to the EU standards and sometimes their booking is dependent on that. In emergency
situations, the fire detectors used should support an evacuation with special multilingual voice
announcements, as it is known that signalling to the guests using only sirens does not generally evoke
any reaction. There are tailor-made solutions for this area of application as well. The patented IQ8Quad
multisensor detector is not only a fire detector, it is an optical and acoustic signaller as well as a
supporting aid for a faster evacuation – thanks to its speech function. It is equipped with four functions in
one single housing and does not occupy more space than common fire detectors. Only one device need
now be installed where up to three used to be necessary. Being the first detector with integrated acoustic
signalling device, flasher, and speech output worldwide, it offers the optional advantage of initiating the
evacuation simultaneously with the alarm.
The O²T detector model is able to generate five different multilingual speech announcements. This can be
of utmost importance for hotels accommodating international guests. Triggered through certain events
(e.g. fire alarm), messages can be announced either in the entire building or only in certain areas. This
not only allows for a large amount of flexibility but also for controlling a systematic evacuation within a
given time. The architectural variety of some hotels additionally demands flexible system components
which can also be used wirelessly, if structural or aesthetic reasons necessitate this. Since the IQ8Quad
O2T can be installed without cable feed in the building as a wireless detector in accordance with the
current norms and guidelines, it fulfils all the aesthetic demands even in historically-protected buildings. A
wireless detector model was used in the Brunswick Mercure Hotel on an elaborate ceiling construction
made out of wood and glass during the hall installation; this enabled structural interventions to be
avoided. Currently, a large number of hotels all over the world trust in this proven product by the
technology leaders, among them such renowned names as Hilton, Interkonti, Savoy and Ritz-Carlton.
Speech instructions speed up evacuation
It is the purpose of an emergency alarm to draw people’s attention to dangerous situations and to
evacuate the danger zone as quickly as possible. Both the alarm as well as the information about
potential dangers are more effective via spoken text than through the production of a defined tone. While
people often react only hesitantly to abstract alarm sounds or to solely optical alarm signals in an
emergency, they act quickly and correctly if they can follow clear speech instructions.
However, speech-capable fire detectors also have their limits, particularly when a speech alarm system
(SAS) is required by construction law guidelines or the possibility of live announcements is required.
Through new and changed standards, SAS will gain significantly in quality in the near future. A strong
integration with fire detection technology can already be seen. Future developments will change the
traditional properties of SAS in this field and drive forward their integration.
Aside from the sometimes quite complex project planning of fire protection technical installations, special
limiting conditions often need to be considered as well. Thus design wishes must frequently be taken into
consideration, as for example in the Schlosshotel Münchhausen in Hameln, where colour-adjusted
detectors were needed in the historical knight hall in order to guarantee the discreetness of the
installation. In many hotels, further security relevant disciplines exist additionally to fire detection
technology. In the Herriot's in Frankfurt/Main, for example, the intrusion alarm technology, admission
control and video technology are centrally visualized on a superordinate management system. In this
way, Physically disabled persons, for example the seeing or walking-impaired, could already be
registered while checking in, in order to have the appropriate help provided in an emergency situation.
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Rich in tradition, Novar GmbH’s ESSER and Ackermann clino brands make Novar GmbH one of the
market leader in the areas of fire detection technology, voice alarm systems as well as in hospital and
health care communication.
Honeywell International is a $38 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving
customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes
and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township,
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additional information, please visit www.honeywell.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements as defined in Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, including statements about future business operations, financial performance
and market conditions. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties inherent
in business forecasts as further described in our filings under the Securities Exchange Act.
Telephone contact: Marketing/Communication +49-2137-17-527, info@esser-systems.com