New regulations mean that demand for fully BS 5839 Part 9 compliant disabled refuge systems has never been higher. Here Andrew Foster, Managing Director of C-TEC, explains how a disabled refuge system works.

For most people, a simple instruction like ‘please leave the building by the nearest available exit’ can be acted upon quickly and easily. But for wheelchair users, the disabled and infirm, this isn’t always the case.

Current Building Regulations insist that all new non-domestic buildings with more than one storey provide ‘refuge’ areas – relatively safe places where people who cannot easily use fire escapes and evacuation lifts can call for assistance and wait until help arrives.

Refuges are separated from a fire by fire-resisting construction and provided with a safe route to a staircase or other fire exit. An example of a suitable refuge is a landing at the top of a staircase that is large enough for a wheelchair user to wait without obstructing the route of escape for those people that can use the stairs unaided.

Evacuation procedures for disabled people should start immediately if fire is detected in the building. However, in buildings where a two-stage fire alarm system is used in conjunction with a phased or partial evacuation, consideration should be given to the evacuation of disabled people in the building on the sounding of the initial alert. The first phase of evacuation may initially be confined to the movement to a suitable refuge of those immediately at risk.

Members of the building management organising the evacuation of the building need to know how many disabled people there are, the nature of their disabilities and the refuge or refuges in which they are located.

Simple, effective two-way communication between building management and people located in refuge areas is therefore essential, firstly to assist rescue teams in determining where assistance is required and, secondly, to reassure people help is on the way. The disabled people need to be kept informed of the situation and told about the action being taken to secure their safe evacuation.

Communication systems in refuge areas are known as Emergency Voice Communication (EVC) Systems. Their design and installation is governed by BS 5839 part 9 (Fire detection and alarm systems for buildings; the code of practice for the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of emergency voice communication systems).

C-TEC’s new SigTEL system can be used in all types of EVC application – be it a disabled refuge, fire telephone or stadium marshalling system. Not only is the system incredibly easy to use, it is hugely cost-effective in comparison to others on the market and is ideal for hotels, leisure centres, theatres, cinemas, galleries, shopping centres and any other non-domestic building with more than one storey.

How SigTEL works
SigTEL’s central control equipment consists of a single low-cost wall-mounting compact unit. The ECU-8 can handle up to 8 lines (easily expandable to 16 using an ECU-8/S slave unit). Typically located in a building’s control room, the unit allows management to communicate via a telephone-style handset with the system’s ‘outstations’.

Two types of SigTEL outstation are available - Type A and Type B - the requirements for which are set out in BS 5839 part 9.

Disabled Refuge Outstations
Disabled refuge systems use ‘Type B’ intercom style outstations.

SigTEL’s new EVC302 Type B outstations offer true hands-free duplex speech and allow anyone in a refuge area to communicate with building control at the touch of a button and vice versa.  Attractively finished in brushed stainless steel, they include connections for an optional induction loop system for the hard of hearing and a general purpose output that closes on activation of the unit for the optional connection of strobes, CCTV activation relays, etc. Flush, surface and weatherproof versions are available.

Fire Telephone Outstations
Fire telephone and stadium marshal systems use ‘Type A’ telephone-style outstations.

SigTEL’s THS1-E Type A outstations comprise a telephone handset in a lockable red steel cabinet.  They are typically located at entrances and fire-fighting lobbies to allow fire marshals to communicate with building control during an emergency.  Their housings have openings which allow the phones to be heard and they are designed to be surface or semi-flush mounted using the T-BEZ bezel. A Type A outstation with a non-locking handle (the THS1-EH) is also available.

Both types of outstation connect to SigTEL’s central control equipment using two cores of 1.5mm2 enhanced fire rated cable of up to 1km in length.

All of the system’s wiring, hardware and software is monitored for faults and SigTEL’s unique ‘auto-learn’ facility makes system setup, installation and commissioning a breeze. SigTEL can be easily interfaced to induction loop and disabled persons’ toilet alarm systems.

A 16-128 line modular wall/desk-mounting version for larger buildings is also available.

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