Member Article

State of the art watermist suppression system provides perfect solution for luxury Safari Lodges

Leading tourist attraction West Midland Safari Park has increased fire protection for its visitors with the installation of innovative watermist suppression system Automist.

The Safari Park has created new exclusive accommodation overlooking the Park’s cheetahs, red pandas, and African elephants, designed to give guests an unforgettable overnight wildlife experience.

The themed lodges have been built with thatched roofs and a large, open-plan living area as well as a downstairs and upstairs bedroom. The layout and construction of the lodges presented fire safety challenges that meant the installation of traditional fire safety systems, such as sprinklers, was not practical.

To provide ultimate protection for its visitors, West Midland Safari Park approached approved Automist installer BCK Fire Sprinklers to discuss the specification.

Yusuf Muhammad, chief design officer at Plumis, said: “This project had some very specific requirements. With each room in the lodge connecting to the main living area, the Safari Park needed a system that would provide increased protection to the lodges’ means of escape in the event of a fire.

“In addition, it would not have been possible to install a large water tank in the wooden prefab structure, and traditional sprinklers would not have suited the authentic design of the lodges. A more innovative solution was required and Automist was the perfect product for this situation.”

Plumis’ watermist fire suppression system, Automist, was designed to be easily retrofitted. Consuming 90 per cent less water than a traditional sprinkler, the system can be seamlessly connected to the normal, existing water supply.

Automist is a dry pipe system, with the system remaining free from water until a fire is detected. This removes the risk of leaking pipes.

When activated, a pump drives mains water through the unique wall-mounted nozzle unit, targeting the fire with a dense fog of watermist. This removes heat and displaces oxygen from the fire zone, resulting in fire control, suppression, or extinguishment. In extensive testing, Automist addresses a fire up to two minutes before traditional sprinklers.

After considering the fire safety solutions available it was agreed with the Park’s fire safety officers that Plumis’ watermist fire suppression system could be installed sensitively and quickly, whilst also providing suitable protection to overnight guests.

To date, BCK has carried out eight installations across West Midland Safari Park’s lodges – taking just two days each – with plans to carry out more installations in the coming months.

Neil James, Project Manager at West Midland Safari Park, said: “The safety of our guests is of upmost importance. Finding a solution which was effective and in keeping with our unique themed design was no easy feat. We are pleased with the final result and delighted to be working with BCK on the next phase of our accommodation development.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sara-Anne Mills-Bricknell .