The installation of fire detection systems in hotels in Latin America is increasing, but the lack of regulations on this issue limits the market's ability to grow.
by Alejandra García Vélez
A more demanding regulation by the authorities of each country is needed to achieve a greater use of fire systems in hotels in the region, however, the absence of developments of this type in mid-level properties make hotels an attractive niche market.
While it is true that fire detection systems have the same components regardless of the property where they are installed, in hotels special care must be taken in the design, installation, maintenance and operation of the detectors, since having a temporary population is more likely to have failures due to abuse, obstruction or even vandalism, according to Salvador Gómez, vice president of NFPA Mexico Chapter.
Another factor to take into account in this type of property is the fact that there is a heterogeneous population, which can contemplate more vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly or disabled, as well as high-risk groups that are more difficult to manage in an accident.
Considerations
There are other factors that determine the type of system to be installed, on the one hand, if the hotel is new the first step is that the builder or investor is convinced of the need to have an installation of this type, while if the hotel belongs to a chain, these usually have their own policies in that sense to which the installer must adapt.
In that sense, fire engineering must be involved from the conception of the architectural project in an integral way. Systems should not be conceived in isolation, on the contrary, their interaction with elements such as interior design, evacuation routes, compartmentalization of areas to confine fumes in adequate spaces, coordination with HVAC systems and smoke extraction must be taken into account.
Likewise, it is necessary to think about the adequate electrical supply of the control panel and the devices, from a reliable power source that has backup in terms of voltage variations, interruptions of the electrical service, noise and distortion in the lines.
Finally, Gómez explains that he considers it essential that the hotel's infrastructure considers the firefighting system as a priority system over any architectural concept or finishes of the hotel.
Likewise, the training of the personnel in charge of supervising and operating the system plays an important role. "Staff should know what actions to take, what points they should monitor periodically and know in depth the functions of the control panel; many times you have the guards or janitors in charge of this system, without proper training," Gomez explained.
As for the equipment, the most recommended for an installation of this type are the
intelligent and targeted smoke detectors, which indicate on the control panel the exact location of the room where the presence of smoke is occurring.
It is important, according to Gómez, to use only those brands whose products are listed by UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and approved by FM (Factory Mutual), which have several distributors in the region, in addition to having a good stock of spare parts, technical support to address failures immediately to avoid that the system is out of operation and count as much as possible with labor for installation or maintenance certified by the manufacturer.
"In no way do I recommend 'spells' brands or copies of prestigious brands, which do not have UL/FM seals, and never stand-alone devices that work with batteries, and that do not have a central control panel," Gomez said.
For his part, Manuel Hernández, vice president for South America of LRG International, recommends the use of class A or priority class wiring that has redundancy in the signal, or in the worst scenario recommends using pilot lights for each of the guest rooms, to be able to detect more easily the origin of the fire in case of emergency.
It also specifies that in the case of vertical hotels the wiring process is easy to execute and maintain, so the important thing is to take the precaution that there is a pipe that allows to reach all the rooms, although this usually already exists and is included from the construction process of the property.
In contrast, if the hotel is a large resort-type property, additional considerations are generated, since the distribution of the rooms causes a modularity of the system that forces to group each module of the hotel in a small central and, depending on the products that the installer chooses, it can be complicated to achieve a unique signal.
The region
Faced with the general panorama of the region, in terms of the level of use of this type of systems and the existing regulations in this regard, Salvador Gómez spoke of the specific case of Mexico, highlighting both the strengths and the shortcomings currently existing in fire protection.
In the particular case of Mexico, hotels belonging to international and 5-star chains have, at least, alarm notification systems and smoke detectors in rooms and common areas. However, in the case of local or lower category hotels, there are few that have the systems mentioned above.
"This implies that there is a potential business opportunity in this hotel market, which could be detonated if the application of NFPA regulations by the competent authorities were required," Gomez said.
Manuel Hernández, agrees by pointing out the influence that the regulations of each country have on the decision of the companies compared to the type of system they decide to install. "The main problem is that hoteliers see fire detection systems as an expense and not as an investment," Hernandez said.
He added that "the standards for fire detection systems in hotels are defined by two variables, the first is the country and the second the guidelines of the hotel company. In the event that the country has regulations, companies are usually hired to do the installation in the most economical way possible within the country's standard," he explained.
Despite the above, there is a positive note in terms of the evolution of the region towards a greater presence of these systems in its hotels. On the one hand, the sustained increase in the levels of tourism and hotel occupancy is giving properties of this type greater investment possibilities, which is reflected in a greater demand for technological improvements by them.
Likewise, an environment of greater competitiveness among hotels and an increase in the demand from customers has led buildings to seek to offer more modern facilities and with all the guarantees of security.
Hernández commented that this has led to the growth of the adoption of fire detection systems in Latin America even in countries where this market traditionally did not move so much; In addition, destinations in which there are no regulations in this regard have also increased their level of implementation of this type of solutions because they see a real need beyond regulation.
Finally, Gómez concluded that "as long as there is no true culture of safety and prevention, as long as investors do not value the true value of human life and the conservation of material goods, nor do they perceive that minimizing risks maximizes profits, but above all, as long as the authority does not enforce this type of preventive systems in any building of common use, we will continue to have unfortunate incidents in which there will undoubtedly be loss of human life and considerable material damage."
