Access hatches and smoke vents supplied by Bilco have been installed at one of the largest centres of health science and medical research in Europe.
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| Bilco supplies smoke vents for science centre |
A total of three roof access hatches that will act as smoke ventilators in the event of a fire are to be used by the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
They have been fitted in a new building built to house the laboratory, which is due for completion in 2012.
Managed by the University of Cambridge, the site is funded by organisations including Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council.
Suffolk-based Bilco supplied three REM units and associated equipment to roofing contractor T R Freeman, part of the Kershaw Group.
Neil Lyons, contracts manager at T R Freeman, said everything had gone to plan with each of the roofing installations.
“We were supplied with three access hatches that also double up in their application as smoke vents. We ordered them well in advance of when we actually needed them on site. All three products were brought in at the same time to save on delivery costs.
“They have been installed in three separate locations as there are three roofing areas for the molecular biology laboratory. We used tower cranes to install the hatches and ventilators over an area of 6,500 square metres.
With the automatic REM units in place on the laboratory roof, if fire breaks out they will automatically open to a full 140 degrees to rapidly disperse heat, smoke and noxious gases, Bilco said.
The REM units, each measuring 1,000mm x 1,500mm, were supplied with other fire safety equipment including dedicated back-up control panels, fireman’s switches and smoke detectors.
The vents have been designed to automatically raise to the fire open position if smoke is detected. They are operated by a fire control panel for opening and closing which is triggered by smoke detectors or the alarm being raised.
Bilco also supplied T R Freeman with three LadderUp Safety Posts made to provide safety ladder access through roof access hatches. A telescoping post is attached to the top two rungs of a fixed ladder to give secure hand-hold while enabling entry and exit from an opening in an upright and balanced position.
“We were delighted to supply a range of products for this important construction project at the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology,” said James Fisher, Bilco UK/Europe general manager.
“We have wide-ranging experience over many years of working with clients to provide products to meet their specification, sometimes supplying bespoke models tailored to their specific requirements.”
