Installation of a customized, cutting-edge Bosch fire detection system for minimal false alarms and efficient evacuations from accommodation and dining areas.
Project: Hotel Van der Valk, Venlo, Netherlands
Van der Valk is a Dutch multi-generation, family-run chain of hotels and restaurants. It was first established in the late 1920s and has since grown to over 100 venues across the Netherlands, with further hotels in other European countries in more recent years. The concept of the hotels is to feel like a comfortable home away from home for all staff and guests. This includes keeping up with modern interior designs and innovative systems and devices – but also safety provisions.
Hotels offering high standards of hospitality services need to ensure that any false fire alerts are kept to an absolute minimum. A triggered fire alarm, where the precise source cannot be identified, would require a complete evacuation of all personnel from rooms and suites, restaurants, conference rooms, fitness and spa areas through fire escape stairways and exits to the outdoors, regardless of the time, day or night.
Hotel van der Valk underwent a complete, but gradual, renovation at their 4-star Venlo site. Therefore, guests would be able to stay in some of the 168 rooms at the hotel in sections where installation was already complete. A major part of the renovation plan was to upgrade all spaces with the latest, most reliable technology in fire detection systems to ensure all personnel, premises and possessions are kept safe from an outbreak of real fire. However, this added a further concern that the installation work itself could create a disturbance to the existing fire alarm system and the new one being fitted. Both interruptions to fire safety monitoring and false alarms had to be avoided.
When the refurbishments began, the safety management team at Van der Valk considered the supply and installation of a system to suit their precise needs. As the hotel may be subject to expansion, fire safety coverage needed to be scalable, too. They sent a request for a quotation for a public address and fire alarm system to the firm Perfect Preventie, a system integrator based in Hoensbroek. The managing director Hub Janssen received the request and consulted with Bosch experts on innovative product solutions and with ARAS Security as a possible distributor and partner for the project. Based on this, Janssen sent the hotel chain a quotation for an integrated, networked and scalable system by Bosch to address all requirements for the Venlo hotel. The Van der Valk family were happy with all the compatible components proposed and demonstrated. Installation could start!
The new fire safety system now consists of three fire panels comprising more than 350 AVENAR fire detectors. Most are for optical detection, but six were integrated for thermal detection in case of excessive heat or spikes in temperature in particular areas, such as the hotel kitchens.
Configuration and maintenance are made easy with a highly intuitive interface on the fire alarm panels. Alerts are only triggered in case of real fire, with minimal risk of nuisance alarms thanks to the intelligent functionality of AVENAR and isolator modules placed within the loops. As the fire detectors are connected to the public address system via Smart Safety Link, any necessary evacuation is a highly efficient event.
In addition to the required components and functionality, the speakers, when not in use for the purpose of alerts, transmit pleasant background music across public areas, such as the restaurants. Plus, voice alerts can be adjusted for certain zones within the hotel. The restrooms are connected to the system, so anyone with mobility issues can alert hotel staff if they need assistance. All in all, the new fire monitoring system went above and beyond the expectations of the Van der Valk family and their staff – who are now very happy Bosch customers!
Benefits of Bosch Solution
- Reassurance of reliable fire safety for all hotel guests and staff
- Uninterrupted monitoring during renovations
- Improved efficiency for instant public address and voice alerts, and smooth evacuations
- Intuitive system with a clear user interface
Bosch Product solutions deployed in the project
- AVENAR 4000 optical and thermal detectors
- AVENAR 8000 fire alarm panels
- Aspirating smoke detectors
- Manual callpoints
- PRAESIDEO public address system with isolator modules
- Remote keypad
- Smart Safety Link