User Manual

36
Siemens Switzerland Ltd
Building Technologies Division
4.4.1. General recommendations
Fire extinguishers As a hotel is a commercial building fire extinguishers must always be provided:
National fire codes (e.g. BGR 133) specify the type, size and quantity of
extinguishers required with regard to the floor area and danger level of each
location. It is important to provide an adequate number of fire extinguishers,
which should be installed throughout the building. They should be mounted
where they are clearly visible, easily accessible and at a convenient height.
Typically the extinguisher handle should be between 0.8 and 1.2 m from the
floor.
Foam extinguishers are the most suitable type for general hotel applications:
Their use does not create any visibility problems and they can deal with the most
common types of fires in a hotel environment. Whenever possible, foam should
be given preference over other extinguishing agents. The weight of the
extinguishers is also a factor that should be taken into consideration during the
selection process: the 6 liter extinguishers are recommended.
Other types of extinguisher that need to be provided for special risk areas
include, for example, wet chemical extinguishers in the kitchens (for cooking oil
fires) and CO
2 extinguishers in plant rooms (for electrical fires).
Wall hydrants Wall hydrants should be provided when the hotel size and layout could affect the
access time of fire service personnel or where trained staff (who are capable of
using the hydrants) are normally present. If wall hydrants are installed, care
should be taken to ensure that the hoses are long enough to reach all areas.
Sprinkler systems When planning a sprinkler system, a choice must be made between the two
different concepts: partial coverage and blanket coverage. Partial coverage is
designed to protect specific areas of the premises only, for example: store rooms,
underground car parks and escape routes. In the case of blanket coverage, on the
other hand, the sprinkler network is installed in all areas of the building with only
a few exceptions (e.g. plant rooms and wet rooms).
4.4.2. Areas requiring special attention
When planning the extinguishing concept for a hotel the following areas should be given special attention:
• Underground car parks
• Plant rooms
• Kitchens
Underground car parks In many European countries underground car parks exceeding 1000 m
2
must be
protected with an automatic sprinkler system. Unless the danger of frost can be
excluded, then a dry-pipe system would be the most appropriate solution. Wall
hydrants should also be installed in the neighborhood of each stairwell access
point.
Plant rooms A gas extinguishing system provides efficient fire protection for electrical and
electronic installations. This would be an appropriate solution for the protection
of plant rooms, particularly as no residues are left behind as a consequence of an
extinguishing incident and fire damage can be restricted to an individual piece of
equipment. Such systems are very effective in putting out fires and preventing
any reignition, allowing normal operation to be resumed as quickly and smoothly
as possible.
Standard applications include centralized systems and modular systems. In a
centralized system, all gas cylinders are installed in a central location outside the
protected zone and preferably in a dedicated storage room. Centralized systems