North Road Academy, an Islamic primary school in Stoke-on-Trent, initially considered replacing its fire system completely. After a site survey, electrical specialist W R Fire & Security identified a way to retain the existing conventional infrastructure and convert it to an addressable system using C-TEC's FastConvert conventional-to-addressable zone converter. According to the project account, this approach avoided the cost, labour and disruption associated with the alternatives.
Three upgrade routes assessed
- A new conventional panel would have allowed the zones to be separated and additional zones to be created, but it would have required extra cabling and still left the school with a conventional system capable only of reporting zonal fire and fault information.
- A full re-cable was ruled out on budget grounds. It was estimated to add £10,000 in materials and labour, along with greater disruption and a longer installation timetable.
- Converting the remaining six zones into loops would have added about a week of work for two engineers, plus additional cabling, materials and disruption, at an estimated extra cost of £3,000 to £4,000.
FastConvert was the only option that avoided all three drawbacks at once, the account states. It reused the existing wiring, delivered a genuine loop-based addressable system rather than a conventional one, and did so without the additional cost, labour or disruption. That combination made it the clear choice for the school.
From radials to a two-loop panel
Using the old system's wiring, FastConvert upgraded the school's legacy conventional system into an open-protocol CAST addressable system. The resulting platform is described as capable of lockdown alert functionality and internet connectivity, and able to accommodate C-TEC's CAST-PRO false-alarm-resistant combined fire detection and alarm devices. Two radials were combined into a single loop, with a dedicated two-loop panel installed for FastConvert.
Contractor cites time and cost savings
Wayne Riley, managing director of W R Fire & Security, said the company was very impressed with FastConvert and considered it extremely innovative in what it can do. He compared it with a full rewire, which he said would have added around £10,000 to the job, and with converting the remaining zones into loops, which would have cost an extra £3,000 to £4,000 and a week's extra labour for two engineers. In that comparison, FastConvert was the clear winner, he said.
Riley added that the product massively reduced installation time, site disruption and labour costs, and saved the contractor approximately £3,500 on the project. He also welcomed the new CAST-PRO devices, which he rated as far superior to other manufacturers' products because their sounder/VADs and multi-sensors are built into the heads, removing the need for separate sounder bases.
The project account presents FastConvert as a retrofit route that gives a school an addressable life-safety platform while retaining existing cabling. The reported result is a shorter, less disruptive installation than the assessed alternatives, with a saving of about £3,500 identified by the installing contractor.