Brazil. Bosch installed a fire safety system at the Campinas Medical Center Hospital, one of the most recognized general practice hospitals located in Campinas, 100 km from São Paulo.
Fire safety measures included an on-site fire brigade and the installation of fire panels to be monitored and maintained in all hospital buildings.
The hospital was founded in 1973 and has been a key healthcare provider in this metropolitan region ever since. As constructions age and require upgrades, fire protection provisions should also be reviewed accordingly to ensure efficient and rapid responses to fire outbreaks.
Renovations
The success and need for the services the hospital provides meant that its facilities expanded to various buildings over the past five decades to meet demand. Building renovations included design changes. New unique fire control panels produced by different manufacturers were installed during each stage of building improvements or in newly constructed constructions. Eventually, there were 11 different fire alarm panels, all operating separately. Each required individual monitoring, cleaning and maintenance and some needed spare parts or service support that was not even available in Brazil. All these system conflicts and other incompatibilities between the older and newer systems resulted in a partially disconnected and therefore risk-laden fire alarm system.
Eduardo Riguetti, head of fire safety at the hospital complex, contacted Bosch project expert in Campinas, Renato Lima, to find a feasible solution. The main goal was to review and redevelop the entire complex fire alarm setup at the hospital to provide safety and peace of mind to all on-site staff, including staff and patients.
The main challenge the project team had to overcome was the integration and consolidation of all the data and configurations from the 11 separate fire control panels into a single panel. Fortunately, effective cooperation between all parties involved and Bosch's cutting-edge technology could solve this dilemma.
The fire control network features a modular 5000 series fire panel, which consolidates the details of all other detection devices, with improved operation and maintenance by the user. This makes system upgrades and incident reaction times much faster than before, greatly optimizing fire safety throughout the hospital. The new modular system could be configured with specific expandability as needed for the unique design of the facility.
Five loop modules were integrated to cover all areas of the Campinas Medical Center Hospital and thus guarantee reliability with detection. Loops include sensitive environments such as the ICU, operating room, patient wards, and hospital laboratory. The intelligent connectivity of the new network allows technicians to perform maintenance with minimal disturbance in these areas.
Remote keyboard
Three remote keyboards connected via ethernet to the fire control panel were configured for the hospital's three desktop areas, which are staffed 24/7, namely the main entrance reception, the on-site fire department, and the operation and control center. This interconnectivity and remote technology decentralize control of the entire fire alarm network and make it fully addressable. The fire department can now quickly identify the exact location of a fire outbreak or other emergency incident.
Lima explains, "This system is integrated with gas detection, sprinklers, and access control, so in the event of an event, all doors and gates would be unlocked, and now with just one fire control panel in place, evacuation times are much faster and safer."
Thanks to the close collaboration between Bosch experts, the installers of Brazcamp Tecnologia in Campinas and the hospital's end customers, the planning of the project and the installation of the product went smoothly. Eduardo Riguetti is satisfied and says: "The integrator and the Bosch engineering team carried out an excellent job of specification and design."
He and his colleagues can now assure hospital staff and patients that fire safety is well covered for instant response every day, 24 hours a day, when needed. Thanks to the flexibility of Bosch's new future-proof solution, there is even capacity for future integrations, such as access control and voice alarms.
