User Manual

25
Siemens Switzerland Ltd
Building Technologies Division
In one- or two-story buildings the danger of panic may be considered to be
relatively small.
However, even here a simple voice system could be of great assistance in helping
people grasp the situation more quickly. The infrastructure already available in
many hotels to provide background music in public areas (e.g. lobby, bar,
restaurant, fitness room, etc.) may include a personal address function, which
could also be utilized for voice alarms.
Other considerations
Escape routes in such buildings are usually straightforward and firefighter access
via the parking lots is uncomplicated. In general, staircases are fully exposed and
smoke can escape fairly easily, so the danger of suffocation is limited.
Escape routes
3.5.2. Regional hotels
Characteristics Low-rise buildings up to 5 stories high, with parking lots at the front or rear of
the main building.
Alarm and evacuation For buildings of up to 3 floors a general alarm and simultaneous evacuation
could be considered an acceptable solution. This should be complemented with a
basic voice alarm system to improve the response of the hotel guests. For
buildings of 4 or 5 floors, however, a phased evacuation is recommended, with a
voice alarm system capable of automatically transmitting different warning and
evacuation messages to the relevant areas.
Typically evacuation signals are sounded in the area in which the fire has been
detected, as hotel guests in this area are considered to be at most risk. For the
adjacent areas, warning signals are transmitted to alert the occupants to prepare
for possible evacuation. The ability to manually select any combination of zones
for spoken messages is an important feature, permitting a fire chief to react
quickly and easily to the changing situation and transmit his messages precisely
to people in specific areas according to the circumstances.
Other consideration
Escape routes are slightly more complex than in roadside hotels/motels, since
guest rooms may only be accessible via a main lobby.
Escape routes
In case of a fire alarm, the fire detection system should control the air
Smoke control
3.5.2-1 Regional hotel