A long standing Aico customer, Fife Council, has engaged in a rolling programme to upgrade all of its 32,000 properties with Aico 3000 Series of alarms. The Scottish council has been installing alarms to the LD2 category of protection for years, so a change in Scottish law, early in 2019, which raises the minimum level of fire safety, did not affect the council.
Jim Macdonald, Fife Council Compliance Manager, says: “We have been installing alarms to LD2 for a number of years as the safety of our tenants is paramount. We take into account social and health issues when conducting risk assessments. We still have a number of smokers who continue to smoke in their bedrooms despite the health and safety warnings we are all familiar with. In these instances we go beyond LD2 by putting alarms in bedrooms; LD2 Plus, if you like!
“You can’t put a cost on someone’s life, but you can put a cost on the potential damage and the resulting costs and that cost can be over £1 million. That’s a direct cost to the Council. If we can avoid just one fire by fitting the best level of protection possible, we have actually saved money and, more importantly, protected lives. Using the 3000 Series alarms provides us with the best possible protection and helps us future proof our fire alarm systems.”
Fife is fitting Aico’s latest 3000 Series across its properties, including the Ei3024 Multi-Sensor; and the Ei3028 Heat/Carbon Monoxide alarm, pictured. The Ei3024 features Optical and Heat Sensors which monitor and analyse smoke and heat levels providing response to all fire types. The Ei3028 has been designed for use in kitchens and garages and provides protection from fire and Carbon Monoxide in one unit. All alarms are interconnected using Aico SmartLINK wireless for minimising disruption in properties by removing the need for unsightly cabling between alarms and also provides greater flexibility to match the needs of tenants. Fife used this when it was first introduced under the RadioLINK over 15 years ago.
Fife is making use of Aico’s range of alarm accessories, including the Ei450 Alarm Control Switch which enables remote test, locate and silence facilities across all alarms on a system from one device; relays; and the Ei414 interface between Aico alarms third party systems such as telecare/warden call devices and sprinkler systems.
Fife has installed Aico alarms for 15 years. Jim Macdonald says it goes further: “The product is excellent and highly reliable but what’s more, Aico is willing to listen to what we want and work with us to develop solutions.” The Ei414 product for example was developed as a result of working with the council to find a method to integrate alarms with warden call. The product has been taken up by the social housing sector and has been further developed to interconnect to panel based fire alarms.
Fife has also had from Aico’s Expert Installer training, which has been provided free to relevant people, such as Direct Labour Organisations (DLO) and external contractors, sheltered housing officers, call centre staff and even tenant association groups. The training is very good, Jim adds: “and makes us feel like we are in a safe pair of hands.”
The training is modular, allowing customers to choose appropriate topics. Many of the modules are CPD accredited, allowing up to five hours 15 minutes to be earned of CPD time.
The upgrade to the Aico 3000 Series alarms started in Fife Council’s sheltered housing and is now being rolled out to all housing stock, including new builds.
