Traditional Fire Extinguisher Case Studies

Case Study – An International Recruitment Company

The Customer

This customer is a leading global specialist recruitment group and the market leader in a number of countries. It has expertise in recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people across a wide range of specialised industries and professions. It operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.

The Challenge

The company has over 100 offices in the UK. To safeguard staff and clients and comply with fire regulations, each has undertaken a fire risk assessment and taken the required precautions. These have included the installation of fire extinguishers, fire alarms and fire doors.

Having installed these, it is important that they are regularly serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Companies have a legal obligation to maintain their firefighting and detection equipment.

The Solution

The company needed to outsource all their servicing requirements in a manner that would be reliable and cost-effective. It was happy to engage Safelincs who make servicing fire extinguishers effortless and affordable with a clear pricing structure and no hidden costs. BAFE certified service technicians will carry out annual servicing in accordance with BS 5306 and provide all relevant documentation.

In addition, Safelincs will carry out checks on the emergency lights and fire alarm systems across all sites twice a year.

The Benefit

“Safelincs were very professional and provided very competitive costings,” commented a company representative. “They supplied us with good plan of how the service would be implemented, leaving us confident in the knowledge that our fire safety requirements were fully managed.”

Case Study – A Housebuilder in Eastern England

The Customer

This company enjoys a reputation for constructing high quality new homes in Eastern England. It builds houses and apartments suitable for first time buyers through to five bedroom executive homes. Great emphasis is placed on structural integrity and finishing properties to a high standard.

The Challenge

The HSE's (Health and Safety Executive) comprehensive document 'Fire Safety in Construction' states that: risk assessments for building sites should consider fire precautions that would include 'fire-fighting equipment and raising the alarm'. The company normally has about six active building sites at any time. As well as a duty of care to its workers, there is the financial imperative of ensuring that work can continue unimpaired by unnecessary incidents or accidents. To achieve this it requires the best available fire detection and management appliances.

The Solution

Safelincs offers construction companies a wide range of site alarms and extinguishers specifically for building sites and were able to advise and make recommendations for the most suitable devices and appliances.

Safelincs has supplied the company with wheeled site stands with foam, powder and CO2 extinguishers to tackle any type of fire that might occur on a building site. These can be easily transported from one site to another as new projects commence.

Safelincs also supplied and set up Evacuator Synergy RF combined sounder/strobe site alarms which are sited around each construction area and are wirelessly linked to a master unit located in the site office. This forms part of an addressable manual alarm system with up to 40 site alarms to be wirelessly interlinked. Upon system activation, the sounder/strobe emits a 110dB alarm and provides visual warning from its xenon strobe.

The Benefit

The knowledge and support offered by Safelincs staff enable the company's management to invest in equipment most appropriate to its needs.

"Representatives are on hand to advise and provide a helpful, friendly service," commented the company’s purchase manager. “And prices are very competitive.”

Safelincs offer a bespoke site trolley for each application with options for defibrillators, site plans, warning signs and further equipment. Our sales team is happy to advise you on the customisation options.

Case Study – 3D Printer Fire Detection and Suppression System

The Customer

customer is a keen 3D printer hobbyist with aspirations to create a revenue stream from his 3D printers. He currently has four 3D printers on which he prints a variety of items for customers around the world. The printers are located in a small workshop attached to his house.

The Challenge

The customer fits running his printers around his day job and would like to run the printers for longer. The obvious time would be overnight, this way he would still be on site if there were any issues during printing. There is a fire risk with 3D printers that needs to be adequately addressed when leaving printers running unattended. As part of the project the customer reviewed his printer setup to minimise the potential for a fire starting.

The Solution

The solution required three distinct functions:

• Alert the user in the event of smoke being detected so he can manually intervene.
• Shut down power to the system if smoke is detected (electricity may be fuelling the fire and the system fans may encourage the fire)
• If the temperature continues to increase, automatically extinguish the fire with a clean agent extinguisher

The Ei Electronics range of Ei3105 smoke detectors with Radiolink are ideal for the application. When one alarm triggers other alarms are also triggered via a wireless link. The Ei428 RadioLINK Relay Module also picks up the RF signal and shuts down power to the printers.

If the fire escalates, the FE36 Automatic Fire Extinguisher (residue-free) will automatically trigger when the temperature rises above 79degC. The use of a residue-free extinguisher ensures that the unaffected printers in the enclosure can be returned to operation as quickly as possible.

The Benefit

The installation of a fire detection, alert and suppression system means that our customer can run his printers overnight with the confidence that there is a robust fire detection and suppression system in place. The use of a residue-free automatic extinguisher ensures minimal damage to equipment even if the worst is to happen.

The 3D printers with the Ei3105RF smoke alarm and the FE36 automatic extinguisher

The setup of the electrics

The wiring diagram

Case Study – Educational Academy

The Customer

This academy is a mixed school catering for pupils aged from 4 to 18. Located in the south of England it has over 1500 students and 200 staff.

The Challenge

In Autumn 2016 a new spacious, modern and contemporary two-storey primary school building was opened. Purpose-built, with extensive outdoor green space and soft and hard play areas accessible directly from the individual large classrooms, the new building has a multi-function main hall, state- of-the-art kitchen facilities, a library resource centre and space for a new nursery.

As with any public building, particularly those occupied by children, safety is paramount. A major aspect of this is fire safety, including the provision of suitable fire extinguishers and evacuation equipment.

The Solution

During the planning stages, the facilities team at the academy consulted with a representative from Safelincs to assess where the appropriate appliances should be located. Together they worked through the architect's drawings and allocated extinguishers to all areas.

As a result the academy purchased a mix of foam, powder, CO2 and wet chemical extinguishers from Safelincs. In addition they also acquired fire blankets, extinguisher cabinets, emergency exit alarms and an evacuation chair.

The Benefit

Safelincs was able to offer pertinent advice on the necessary fire precautions at an early phase in the project. The company has gained a reputation for integrity and will always look to provide the most cost effective solution for its customers and will not 'over-sell'.

The academy has benefitted from having the right extinguishers installed in the most appropriate places.

As with all fire fighting devices purchased from Safelincs, they will be replaced free of charge should they be called into use.

"I believe working so closely with Safelincs at the outset helped enabled us to make the right choices," commented the academy's procurement manager.

Case Study – Goldsborough Hall

The customer

Goldsborough Hall is a private royal stately home, near Harrogate in North Yorkshire, which was saved from dereliction and developers by its current owners in 2005. It now hosts weddings and functions as well as providing luxurious accommodation in five-star suites and rooms. Visitors can indulge in a stately overnight stay or book a table to dine for lunch, afternoon tea or AA rosette dinning.

Built in the early seventeenth century, Goldsborough Hall became HRH Princess Mary's first family home in the 1920s and stands in 12 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds boasting unspoilt elevated views over the historic gardens and tranquil parkland, making it one of the most private, exclusive and beautiful places to visit in Yorkshire.

The Challenge

The building had been equipped with powder filled fire extinguishers which can be used on class A, B and C type fires and are safe on electrical equipment. However, one of the concerns the owners had was that, in areas of irreplaceable cultural heritage such as the Jacobean library with its oak panelling, any unfortunate fire damage could be compounded by the action of the powder.

The Solution

Safelincs introduced the owners to extinguishers that employ the latest water mist technology. These produce over 22 billion water droplets from only 1 litre of water. They create an ultra-fine mist which has superior fire-fighting capabilities. The unique nozzle creates water droplets that produce a mist that leaves almost no trace and no collateral damage.

The extinguishers are capable of tackling almost all common fires including fires involving live electrical equipment of up to 1000V. The water mist has the cooling effect of water and creates a "mist curtain" cutting off the oxygen supply.

Goldsborough Hall has now installed six-litre water mist extinguishers in key areas of the building.

The Benefit

The Hall’s owner Mark Oglesby was very impressed when the devices were demonstrated and is now pleased to have them installed in the heritage areas. “We also have them in the kitchen space where the risk of fire is probably the greatest. Even a small fire that is easily put out could be extremely problematic if food became contaminated. With these extinguishers, that would never be a problem.”

Case Study – Property Management Company

The Customer

A property management company specialising in providing property guardians for empty properties in the UK. Property guardians are short term tenants who, in exchange for a reduced rent, look after an otherwise empty property. There are thousands of empty properties in the UK, including flats, houses, churches, libraries and offices. They may be empty for many reasons – waiting to be sold, waiting for planning permission or while the owners are overseas. Property guardians put these buildings back into use, helping both the property owner and people looking for short-term, low cost accommodation.

The Challenge

For some time, Safelincs had been providing bespoke fire safety equipment kits which the company issued to its live-in guardians. These consisted of a fire blanket, a fire extinguisher, smoke alarms, a CO alarm, a wind-up torch and a bespoke fire action sign.

The company recently decided to take its fire safety provisions to an even higher level and approached Safelincs to work out a solution.

The Solution

The property management company carries out risk assessments on all properties where it is installing guardians. This assessment identifies the fire safety equipment required for each individual property.

Safelincs then supplies the appropriate fire safety services and equipment including fire extinguishers, appropriate signage, smoke and CO alarms (usually radio-interlinked), door closers, fire door accessories and other fire safety equipment.

The Benefit

By working with Safelincs, the company is able to create a more bespoke fire safety plan for each property. Safelincs offers sensible and practical advice for the safety equipment required for each location. By providing a reliable and efficient service Safelincs has become more of a partner than a supplier.

Case Study – High-class London Apartments

The Customer

An exclusive apartment complex in the heart of London

The Challenge

The complex consists of apartments that are amongst the most expensive in the capital. The impressive atrium and communal areas are equipped with stylish stainless steel fire extinguishers that reflect the sophisticated character of the building.

Due to the exclusive nature of the apartments, and the expectations of the owners, the annual servicing of the appliances needs to be undertaken discretely and 'invisibly'.

The Solution

Safelincs undertakes all servicing from its vehicle parked in the underground car park below the main building. Water containers are carried in the van to refill the water based extinguishers and waste water tanks in the van are utilised for storing the redundant extinguishing foam rather than pouring it into the drains.

In the operational rooms of the complex, which the distinguished owners do not see, service-free P50s have been installed. These more traditional-looking (red) extinguishers are manufactured from materials that will not rust or corrode so that the in-house maintenance staff can check them annually without recourse to external engineers. Unlike other extinguishers they do not need refilling after five years, and after ten can be refurbished and safely utilised for a further ten years.

The Benefit

All the servicing work is carried out without any inconvenience to the residents of the building. In fact they aren’t aware it is going on. Servicing costs for the back office extinguishers have been eliminated.

The Director of Engineering for the building commented: "Your technicians were excellent, a real credit and I would have no hesitation in recommending Safelincs in the future."

Case Study - Villa Plus

The Customer

Villa Plus has been providing memorable holidays since 1986. It operates over 1250 villas, with pools, across 14 destinations.

The Challenge

Organisations that provide holiday accommodation have a duty of care to ensure that their visitors have a pleasurable, safe and risk-free vacation. With an operation covering a significant number of locations, Villa Plus needed to ensure all its properties were kitted out with the correct level of safety equipment.

The Solution

In 2005 Safelincs began working with Villa Plus to arrange sending fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms and domestic first aid kits to a shipping company in the UK for distribution to Villa Plus properties around Europe. The goods are packaged separately in line with each region’s requirement and labelled accordingly.

The Benefit

Having its safety requirements catered for leaves Villa Plus free to concentrate on its core business.

“Safelincs extensive range of safety products and their ability to meet our specific shipping requirements to different regions makes them an ideal partner to work with. As we grow and launch villas in new and existing destinations Safelincs will be a valuable provider,” says Nick Cooper, Villa Plus director and founder.

Case Study - General Hospital

The Customer

A new general hospital in Southern England. The maternity unit now sees nearly 100 babies born every week and the A&E department treats 50,000 patients every year. Inpatients have their own room with en-suite facilities.

The Challenge

When the hospital was being built it required fire extinguishers to be installed while the building works were ongoing. Some installations were on reinforced concrete requiring special tools and generators, as the power supply of the hospital was not working yet. Specialist extinguishers as non-magnetic units for the scanner areas were required.

The Solution

Over a period of six months Safelincs supplied 632 extinguishers, 72 fire blankets and numerous extinguisher cabinets. These were installed in stages as the hospital wings were nearing completions at different times.

Two engineers would attend the site to either wall hang the extinguishers or to place them in cabinets depending on their location. The cabinets in the parking area were fixed to steel-reinforced concrete which was challenging and involved using a generator and specialist tools.

Safelincs also sourced anti-magnetic extinguishers which are specially designed for use in areas of high magnetic activity, such as the hospital’s MRI scanning rooms.

Also provided were panoramic safety signs to highlight the location of first aid kits, emergency eye wash, stretchers, hand washing facilities, safe areas and defibrillators etc. These signs are made from a high quality photo luminescent plastic which makes them glow in the dark for night-time visibility.

The relationship has continued beyond the supply and installation as Safelincs carries out the annual servicing of the extinguishers in conjunction with the facilities management company that looks after the hospital.

The Benefit

The hospital benefited from competitive prices coupled with expert installation advice and fulfilment.

Safelincs provide fire extinguisher servicing that is 100% transparent with clear pricing, no hidden charges and a one-off call out charge. All work is carried out in accordance to BS5306 and certified by BAFE approved engineers.

Case Study - Rhodes @ The Dome Restaurant, Plymouth

The Customer

Rhodes @ The Dome restaurant and bar is perched on Plymouth Hoe overlooking Plymouth Sound. It is celebrity chef Gary Rhodes’ only restaurant outside London.

The restaurant opened at the beginning of 2013 and its fire extinguishers were supplied by Safelincs.

The Challenge

Shortly after it opened there was a fire in the kitchen that closed the restaurant for the evening.

The fire was brought under control using the fire extinguishers which meant that they had to be replaced quickly before the restaurant could reopen.

The Solution

Because the fire extinguishers used to extinguish the fire were purchased from Safelincs they were replaced free of charge. Customers who purchase fire safety equipment from Safelincs will have them replaced for free if they were located near, or used on, a fire.

In all, five extinguishers were used and each has been replaced, free of charge, by an engineer from Safelincs.

The restaurant manager praised the support provided by Safelincs. “As soon as we contacted them they were on the case and arranged for an engineer to install replacement extinguishers.”

The Benefit

The restaurant was immediately supplied with new extinguishers to allow it to operate again quickly. It also benefited from the very latest in fire safety technology as Safelincs upgraded the fire extinguishers from Foam and CO2 extinguishers to water mist extinguishers. Water mist extinguishers are receiving considerable interest from the hotel and catering industry at the moment.

Safelincs’ water mist fire extinguishers will put out just about any type of fire without leaving harmful residues. Its supersonic nozzle disperses microscopic ‘dry’ water mist particles to suppress fires and extinguish burning materials quickly and easily. Smoke particles are absorbed by the mist and the user is protected from the heat of the fire by the cloud of mist.

Case Study – E.ON

The Customer

E.ON is one of the UK's leading power companies - generating electricity, and retailing power and gas.

The Challenge

E.ON had initially 525 fire extinguishers installed by Safelincs at one of its oil-fired power stations in Kent. The site was later decommissioned and a new gas turbine station with a total generation capacity of 1,380MW came into service. This increased the total extinguisher requirement on the site to over 750 extinguishers. As the extinguishers from the first plant had not reached the end of their serviceable life, a solution was needed to stop the waste of perfectly good extinguishers, especially since the Safelincs extinguishers had been supplied with a 10 year warranty!

The Solution

Safelincs and e.on identified surplus extinguishers and, after careful assessment and servicing, these extinguishers were re-deployed on the new site. Where required, new extinguishers were installed.

The Benefit

A large proportion of the existing extinguisher stock could be re-deployed successfully, saving e.on substantial amounts.

Safelincs worked closely with the team at E.ON to set up new fire points and install the necessary signage as well as offering professional advice on their location

E.ON also benefitted from Safelincs transparent service without hidden charges.

All work was carried out in accordance to BS5306 and certified by BAFE approved engineers.

Case Study - SnoozeBox, Transportable, temporary, hotel accommodation

The Customer

Snoozebox offers flexible hotel configurations from 40 to 400 rooms which can be fully operational and ready to welcome guests within 48 hours of arriving at almost any event or location around the world. Self-contained and with no need for mains services or flat terrain to be sited, they can be used at major sporting events, music festivals or by film and TV crews, military personnel and for emergency or disaster relief.

The Challenge

The customer required fire extinguishers that were easy to operate, suitable for most types of fire and, if utilised, would not leave a mess.

The Solution

Safelincs provided and installed the latest water mist extinguishers. These appliances have a supersonic nozzle that disperses microscopic ‘dry’ water mist particles to suppress fires and extinguish burning materials quickly and easily. They can be used on just about every type of fire, including electrical fires, and are 100% environmentally friendly, so there are no nasty fumes or residues to contend with and the water mist protects the user from heat

The Benefit

When fire broke out in The Snoozebox Marquee, a trained member of staff was able to quickly and safely put it out using a water mist fire extinguisher.

The fire started when the guest put a croissant inside a toaster. “It was really too big for the toaster and soon caught fire,” explained Tom Dodson, Project Manager, Snoozebox.

“Fortunately we had equipped the marquee with a water mist fire extinguisher that safely smothered the flames without causing any damage to the room, which may have been the case if we had installed a foam or powder extinguisher. And amazingly, after we had it inspected and PAT tested, the toaster was put back into service!”

Furthermore, Snoozebox were eligible for a free replacement extinguisher. Any customer who purchases fire safety equipment from Safelincs that is effected by a fire is entitled to have it replaced or repaired free of charge.*

*Subject to us receiving fire report from the fire service or other evidence of the fire as well as a documentation of the fire safety products affected.

Case Study - Holy Trinity and St Mary's Parish, Guildford

The Customer

This parish consists of two churches. Built in 1763 the Holy Trinity Church is a Grade 1 listed building. It is the largest Georgian church in Surrey. St Mary’s is the oldest church in Guildford dating back to around 950.

The Challenge

Parish administrator Michèle Lyon had become frustrated with the fire extinguisher service she was receiving for the Holy Trinity and St Marys churches in Guildford. Having cancelled one contract when it became too expensive four years ago, she decided to use a local company. They came in at a lower cost initially but then prices started to rise and she found that she was being charged for unexpected ‘extras’. One example was an invoice charge for CO2 extinguisher horns, despite this being an integral part of any CO2 fire extinguisher.

The Solution

Michèle put the contract out to tender and invited Safelincs to quote as it is an approved supplier on the Parish Buying* website.

A Safelincs service engineer attended the two churches and found that the incumbent supplier wanted to replace equipment that didn’t need replacing and had been completely missing servicing of other extinguishers in the past. Furthermore, the company had issued fire extinguisher certificates for items that had not been inspected.

Safelincs was able to advise that certain extinguishers were superfluous and the equipment and servicing it now provides, through the Parish Buying website, is costing Michèle around half the cost of any other quote.

The Benefit

“Safelincs is providing a positive, swift, reliable and, above all, honest service,” says Michèle. “The prices are clearly published on the Parish Buying website and there are no hidden charges. Everything is transparent and I feel that I am in control of my costs now. Money is very tight everywhere at the moment and I am sure many other churches would benefit from the service they provide. I shall continue to use them and am about to buy a carbon monoxide alarm for the boiler room.”

*Parish Buying is the central purchasing organisation of the Church of England and Safelincs is the fire safety and H+S supplier for Parish Buying. Parishes and church organisations achieve significant cost savings when purchasing Safelincs services and products through Parish Buying.

Case Study – Metroline

The Customer

Metroline has a fleet of 1,682 buses and operates across 99 routes, mostly in London. It employs 5,000 people and in 2012 carried over 250 million passengers.

The Challenge

Metroline needed to replace and service the fire extinguishers in hundreds of its buses within a tight time frame. The challenge arose as most of these buses were out on the road for the majority of the time. The company also needed to establish a process to guarantee that in the future appliances on its entire fleet were serviced in a timely and logical manner.

The Solution

To ensure that all buses had the installation and servicing carried out on time, Safelincs engineers worked through the night for several weeks.

Now Safelincs has taken on the annual servicing of all extinguishers on the company’s buses. As extinguishers come to the end of their useful life, Safelincs provides replacements.

“Each time a bus has its MOT, one of our engineers will ensure that that the on-board extinguisher is serviced and, if necessary, replaced,” explained Stuart Baxter, Business Development Manager at Safelincs.

All of Safelincs’ work is carried out in accordance with BS5306 and certified by BAFE approved engineers.

The Benefit

Metroline is being supplied with specialist extinguishers to suit the needs of its fleet and now has a structured, cost-effective process for ensuring that they are regularly serviced and replaced when necessary.

“We have a duty of care to ensure that our passengers remain safe,” said Nik Phiniefs, Head Buyer for Metroline. “We selected Safelincs because they were very professional and totally transparent in their dealings. There are no hidden charges so we can accurately forecast our expenditure.”