At Turin’s Choco-Story Museum, Hochiki’s ESP intelligent addressable fire detection devices were selected to help safeguard visitors, historic exhibits and interactive chocolate-making displays, supporting a safe environment while preserving the museum’s unique cultural and educational experience.
With over 14 locations across the world, the Choco-Story Museum delivers personalised, educational experiences on the origins of chocolate for children and adults alike. Its venue situated in Turin, Italy, needed invisible fire protection to ensure their guided tours were not disrupted, and that all occupants were comprehensively safeguarded in the event of a potential fire. Installation experts, ELE.CO SRL, chose Hochiki’s range of black ESP devices to meet the project’s stringent requirements.
The museum consists of multiple rooms with distinct displays, including historic machinery, cabinet displays of chocolate eggs, and timelines, designed to deliver a seamless experience from start to finish. With the high frequency of visitor tours, especially during peak holiday times, and school visits, intelligent fire detection was essential to ensure the prompt evacuation of all museum occupants in the event of a fire.
Taking all these points into account, installation experts, ELE.CO SRL took full accountability for the project, deciding that Hochiki met all the requirements necessary.
‘We have a long-lasting relationship with Hochiki Italia, having worked with them on a number of projects in various sectors, including leisure sites. Hochiki's ESP range met all the requirements for the project, particularly the sensor's integration with the décor, in which I specified Hochiki's range of black products as the ideal solution to blend into the dark ceilings and the dim rooms.’
Commented Mr Erzvin Peza, owner of ELE.CO SRL
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The ALN-EN, Hochiki’s addressable intelligent smoke sensor, was used throughout the museum. Its signal to noise ratio is improved by its unique High-Performance Chamber, which helps to reduce false alarms; a key requirement throughout the project. Minimising false alarms in applications like museums is essential; they cause costly disruption and lead to complex, large-scale evacuations, which can negatively impact customer satisfaction.
Hochiki's loop-powered, black base sounders were also used. Fitted below the black smoke sensors, saving space, cabling and loop addresses, they deliver clear audio alerts to visitors during an incident. All 51 tones are approved to EN54-3, and the devices offer 13 volume levels, ensuring all parts of the building can alerted at an appropriate volume, in the event of a fire, even within the busiest/nosiest areas of the building. This ensures reliable alerts will reach the diverse range of individuals who pass through the museum's doors.
The Hochiki ESP fire detection devices were complemented by a range of addressable input/output modules. The CHQ range of I/O modules enables the fire detection system to integrate with third-party equipment within the building to shut fire-rated doors and activate emergency lighting in the event of a power outage for example. Together, these operations streamline the fire system, providing an automatic response for a comprehensive and speedy reaction to fire, to ensure occupants can leave the building via the quickest and safest route.
Choco-Story remarked on the final installation:
‘We are very satisfied with the installation at Choco-Story. The whole installation met all the requirements, especially regarding aesthetics of the building, providing complete protection. Hochiki’s products perfectly aligned with our expectations and with the inclusion of the I/O modules, we are sure that the entire fire system will protect the growing number of tourists visiting our museum.’