St Jude's Hospital

Hospitals deliver life-saving care to thousands of patients every day, often serving the most vulnerable and providing the most complex treatments. To ensure the highest level of protection at St Judes Hospital following its reconstruction and expansion, Hochiki partnered with Rayneau, part of the RG Group, to deliver an easy-to-use, enhanced life safety system requested by the Government of St Lucia. Hochiki's Latitude panel, networked with ESP devices, was installed across the varied sections of this two-storey medical facility.

Following a devasting fire in 2009 which resulted in the destruction of critical facilities such as surgical theatres and hospital wards, medical treatment had to be moved to a nearby stadium as a temporary measure, to continue serving the local community. The circumstances of this project made the installation of a new comprehensive fire protection system paramount, to reduce the likelihood of this ever happening again in the future.

The St Judes site includes various, specialised wings for 24/7 medical treatment. The east wing consists of orthopaedic services, ophthalmology, dental operations and a pharmacy.

Other areas within the hospital include two volunteer spaces, a gym, a church, warehouses, and maintenance rooms. 

Expanding from its previous infrastructure, additional services were also added to the existing wings to enhance the quality of healthcare services for the local area. This included new operating theatres, a physiotherapy centre and a dialysis support unit to help accommodate and treat complex conditions. With this extensive number of services available, a high level of protection was crucial to ensure all-round safety for staff and patients.

The new fire detection system not only needed to be tailored to each room's environmental conditions, but also needed to be centrally monitored and controlled to ensure all sections of the hospital were protected 24/7.  

Minimising operational disruption and unnecessary evacuation on this very busy site was also an essential requirement, given the large volumes of vulnerable individuals who would  require assistance during an incident.

The partnership between Hochiki, Jendee and Rayneau on this project guaranteed a high level of technical support, the supply of products, and assistance through the design and installation phases.

'The entire system was designed to meet the requirements of BS 5839-1, including the placement of the most suitbale sensor types throughout the hospital as well as appropriate sounder coverage levels. All devices within the system complied with EN 54 standards across their respective categories. Complying to national and international regulations in this way was an essential requirement to comprehensively safeguard the hospital's premises and personnel.’

Described Richard Wharram, Hochiki’s Export Sales Manager, around the project’s compliance requirements and how they influenced the system’s design.

Hochiki’s ESP intelligent fire detection range was chosen as the main technology for this new system, with each device able to be tailored to its unique location and environmental conditions, to reduce the susceptibility to false alarms.

An open protocol system, Hochiki's ESP was deemed the best possible solution for the hospital, providing future-proof protection for its facilities as the site continues to expand.  Cost-effective and flexible, an open protocol system can help reduce costs in the long-term, ensuring sites like St Judes can direct more funding towards essential research and development.

Hochiki's ESP addressable range provides pinpoint identification, enabling both emergency services and building occupants to quickly locate the activated device, ensuring swift and appropriate action. A particularly crucial consideration for the number of bed-bound individuals who would require assisted evacuation away from this two-storey building.

Smoke sensors, such as the ALN-EN, were used throughout the hospital to provide a high level of false alarm immunity, its high-performance chamber being able to easily distinguish between actual fire fumes and dust particles, reducing any unnecessary disruption.   Each indivuidual sensor's sensitivity was also adjusted to minimise the susceptibility of nuisance alarms based on its location.

The ATJ-EN heat sensor, incorporating both a Rate of Rise and Fixed Temperature element to make comprehensive fire decisions, was specified for the maintenance rooms. In this type of location, where substantial amounts of cabling and materials are present that could contribute to the rapid spread a fire, heat sensors are crucial.

Hochiki's addressable base sounders and wall sounders were also installed to provide an audible alert to all building occupants in any emergency.  Each device can produce 51 selectable tones with a maximum output of 98dB(A), to assist in instant notification and efficient evacuation.

In the hospital’s open plan warehouse areas, Hochiki's ESP FIREbeam Xtra, a beam smoke detector fully approved to EN54-12, ensured each aisle was comprehensively protected. In the event of a fire, smoke particles rise and obscure the infrared beam, resulting in an alarm activation.  An effective solution to protect open plan applications with high ceilings.

All of the intelligent ESP devices were connected to five networked 6-loop Hochiki Latitude panels, the heart of the application.  The network was further enhanced with 11 Latitude Vision repeaters panels, strategically located at entrances and nursing stations, allowing the system to be easily monitored or controlled in the event of emergencies.  With Latitude's intuitive interface, all staff are able to operate the panel confidently during an emergency. The Latitude's networking capabilities can ensure that 127 nodes (panels or repeaters) in total can be networked, so as the hospital expands, its fire detection system can also continue to evolve.

Latitude provides a comprehensive, long-term life safety solution for complex applications. Its seamless compatibility with existing systems ensures the panel is fully customisable to each application's individual needs. Supporting over 10,000 entry event log records, the panel provides secure memory storage, ensuring all events are saved for maintenance purposes, even when the power is disconnected.

The whole system was connected through a combination of new fibre optic cable and the existing copper fire cable which was already in-situ. The fibre optic was integrated to enhance network transmission across the large site, allowing faster system responses. 

A Jendee spokesperson commented on the installation:

"The end-user was highly satisfied with the product quality and reliability of Hochiki's systems. The installation proceeded very smoothly, from the initial design and supply through to the technical support provided during the final installation, which is a testament to the long-term partnership we have with Hochiki. We are confident that, with the support of both Hochiki and Rayneau, St Jude's Hospital is comprehensively and securely protected once it opens to the public."

Utilising the combination of Hochiki's ESP intelligent fire detection devices and its Latitude fire control panel has ensured that St Jude's Hospital benefits from the highest quality of fire protection, now and well into the future, safeguarding not only the infrastructure, but all patients, visitors and staff for years to come.

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