North Road Academy, an Islamic primary school in Stoke-on-Trent, had initially considered replacing its fire system outright. After a site survey, specialist electrical contractor W R Fire & Security concluded that the existing conventional system could instead be enhanced by converting it to an addressable system using C-TEC’s FastConvert zone converter.
Three upgrade routes assessed
Before selecting FastConvert, the project team examined three alternatives, each with a different cost and operational penalty.
- New conventional panel: This would have allowed zones to be separated and additional zones created, but it required extra cabling and would still have left the school with a conventional system able to report only zonal fire and fault information.
- Full re-cable: A complete rewiring was ruled out on budget grounds. It was estimated to add £10,000 in materials and labour, along with greater disruption and a longer installation period.
- Converting remaining zones into loops: This option would have added about a week to the installation for two engineers, plus extra cabling, materials and disruption, at an estimated additional cost of £3,000 to £4,000.
According to the account, FastConvert was the only route that avoided all three drawbacks at once. It reused the existing wiring, produced a genuine loop-based addressable system rather than a conventional one, and did so without the added cost, labour or disruption associated with the alternatives.
Loop conversion and system capabilities
Two existing radials were combined into a single loop, and a dedicated two-loop panel was installed for FastConvert. The converted system is described as an open-protocol CAST addressable system capable of lockdown alert functionality and internet connectivity, and able to accommodate C-TEC’s CAST-PRO combined fire detection and alarm devices. Those devices are presented as false-alarm resistant and as incorporating sounders, visual alarm devices and multi-sensors within the detector heads.
Wayne Riley, managing director of W R Fire & Security, said the converter was highly innovative. He compared it with a full rewire, estimated to add around £10,000, and with converting the remaining zones into loops, estimated at £3,000 to £4,000 plus a week’s extra labour for two engineers. In his assessment, FastConvert was the clear choice because it reduced installation time, site disruption and labour costs, and saved approximately £3,500 on the project.
Riley also said the CAST-PRO devices were superior to other manufacturers’ products in the installer’s view because the sounder/VAD and multi-sensor functions are built into the heads, removing the need for separate sounder bases.
The project therefore centred on retaining existing cabling and changing the system architecture rather than replacing the cable infrastructure. The cost and disruption figures cited are the installer’s estimates; no independent audit is provided.