Fireray Optical Beam Smoke Detectors Protect Serpentine Sackler Gallery
As part of its fire protection system, the landmark Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens has selected FFE’s Fireray beam smoke detectors. The gallery was designed by renowned British architect Zaha Hadid and combines a renovated 19th Century brick structure with a 21st Century ‘sail-like’ structure.
Four Fireray 3000 detectors were installed near the roof in the brick structure, which proved to be a challenging installation due to the narrow gap between roof skylights fitted with blinds and a row of steel girders just 15cm below.
Bright ambient light, such as from skylights, can affect the performance of conventional beam detectors, but FFE’s Fireray range features patented light cancellation technology that allows the detectors to work under the most difficult light conditions. The technology works by actively monitoring ambient light levels on the detector and ‘subtracting’ them away from the ‘real’ signal.
Fireray 3000 end-to-end beam detectors are ideal for this type of application, where the line of sight for the IR (infra-red) detection path is so narrow and where there are reflective or bright surfaces. The Fireray 3000 is also designed to be aesthetically pleasing and suits modern architectural buildings as well as heritage sites. In this particular application the detectors are actually hidden behind a plasterboard wall with a hole cut into it for the IR beam.
