A wireless fire security system is being fitted to protect the wooden centre of the city of Bergen, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Norway. Wireless Ajax detectors will provide an opportunity to protect the city center without disturbing the interior of the buildings.
The products are from the manufacturer Ajax Systems. The company’s CMO, Valentine Hrytsenko, says: “We are lucky that our distributor in Norway, Elotec, has an in-depth expertise in fire security. Being also a manufacturer of wired fire alarm systems with almost 30 years of experience, they chose Ajax as their wireless partner to protect the important historical site. This further proves that wireless fire solutions are becoming a trend in the industry.
And Kristian Kleven, product and quality manager at Elotec said: “This project is a big win, and securing UNESCO World Heritage buildings is our responsibility. The development we have done with Ajax to make this solution was crucial, and making the system perfect for these kinds of projects.”
Bergen remains one of Europe’s largest historical centres with wooden buildings. The city has 12 districts with old wooden buildings close to each other, and about 11,000 residents. Hence the project, funded by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage. The work is supervised by Elotec in cooperation with the Bergen Fire Department. Every resident or business owner in the protected area of Bergen could apply for the installation of a fire alarm system and to connect to the fire monitoring station free. Some 13 street fire detection cameras and 640 Ajax security kits (Hub control panels, FireProtect fire detectors, and Button panic buttons) will be used.
The fire detectors have a synchronous alarm function. That means when one detector is triggered, all fire detectors within the system are activated. Ajax’s research and product development staff had to implement a delay in distribution and transmitting alarms to the fire monitoring station to minimise false calls to the local fire brigade. If the owner of the premises simply overcooks a meal on the stove, they can press the Button within two minutes from the moment when smoke was detected, thus postponing alarm transmission. In this way, they will have another ten minutes to air the premises out and prevent the alarm from spreading to other detectors, and so prevent false calls to the fire brigade.
