United States
Client
Municipality of Ostrava
Safe Home is the largest distributor of security systems in Czechia. The company was founded in 2009 and offers security solutions for homes and businesses. In 2020, with the support of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic (FRS CR) and the Czech Association of Fire Officers (CAFO), Safe Home initiated a non-profit project to protect residential buildings in Ostrava.
Challenge
Protect apartment buildings from fires, without installing security equipment in each apartment
Czechia is among the top twenty countries in terms of the number of fires in the world, with the largest share being fires in buildings. Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic, the industrial center and the “steel heart” of the country. Most residential neighborhoods in Czechia, and in Ostrava in particular, consist mainly of apartment buildings.
«Some of our employees, family members, friends, and acquaintances live in these or similar buildings. For this reason, we have been looking for a 100% solution that we will be able to stand up for; a technology that will meet all our demanding requirements without any compromises»
Why Ajax
- Ease of implementation. Installing a wired alarm in each apartment is difficult and expensive. A wireless system could be installed in the stairways and other common spaces.
- Instant notifications. The system can instantly notify the building residents about danger — by sending messages, raising an alarm. This requires a convenient app and loud sirens.
- Reliability. The system provides reliable communication, a long-range radio technology to transmit alarm signals.
- Low-maintenance. The system runs on batteries for years and reports malfunctions.
Solution
Wireless security systems with fire detectors that are installed in stairways
There are 214 FireProtect fire detectors installed in the Ostrava buildings. The Hub Plus control panel, “the brain” of the system, controls all the devices. The ReX range extender increases radio coverage, making it possible to install detectors in stairways.
In case of an alarm, built-in sirens are activated, and residents are notified on their smartphones
When the detector identifies smoke or a temperature jump, it triggers a built-in siren. In case of fire, residents will instantly receive a notification on their smartphones via Ajax mobile app. If the cause of fire is not eliminated within one minute, the sirens of each FireProtect detector in the building are activated.
The whole installation took two weeks
Ajax security systems are installed in 14 multi-floor buildings in the city. The smallest house has 4 floors and 8 apartments, and the largest one has 11 floors and 77 apartments.
Professional engineers installed the equipment without noise and construction works. The residents spent 10 minutes on installing the Ajax mobile app and a short briefing on how to use it. The project idea and mechanisms were coordinated with the Czech Association of Fire Officers (CAFO).
Full protection in case of emergency
Each Ajax fire detector is an independent device with a 85 dB siren. Even if the house loses electricity and Internet connection, all detectors will be triggered in case of danger as a unified system thanks to the Interconnected Fire Detectors Alarm function.
The detector is always supervised — the hub polls it with a frequency of 12 seconds or more. In the app, the user can monitor the parameters of the detector, its settings, the status of the smoke chamber, as well as the charge level of the main and backup batteries.
And finally, there is no need to worry about how often a user has to call for battery replacement. The battery life is up to 4 years.
Going national
In cooperation with national firefighting organizations, Safe Home conducts seminars and presentations in many Czech cities. The purpose of the information campaign is to explain the importance of fire safety and to offer effective security options. Other cities will be able to learn from Ostrava’s experience by installing the Ajax systems in apartment buildings across the country.
Products
Gallery
