User Manual

Introduction
7
Building Technologies 049_Archives_and_Libraries_A6
V10271399_a_en.doc
Fire Safety & Security Products 03.2009
1 Introduction
Archives and libraries are repositories for some of our most precious, delicate and
usually irreplaceable documents and cultural assets. They have the task to collect,
develop and keep available the information for the present and future generations.
The focus of this document is to analyze prevention and fighting measures, to
avoid the most prevalent threat faced by all cultural institution: FIRE.
Fires in archives and libraries can cause much damage up to major losses. Typical
causes of a fire include:
– inappropriate electro-technical installations in old buildings (e.g. short-circuits)
– external sources of danger (e.g. petrol station or transformer)
– risks directly caused by man (e.g. heating devices, vandalism)
Fires in archives and libraries often cause tremendous damage due to smoke, wa-
ter and the fire itself. Irreplaceable items stored and historic buildings can some-
times never be recovered.
In most the archives and libraries items are not insured and reconstruction after a
fire is only possible after several years, through limited state contributions and pri-
vate donations.
The Siemens solution comprises of the complete spectrum of fire safety systems
for the overall building environment and the archives and libraries. Siemens en-
sures that the fire safety system fulfills all requirements based on individual risk
level, regulations and customer requirements independent of the type of items
stored. This includes state of the art fire detection technology (chapter.4.2), clear
alarming and evacuation systems (chapter 4.3), and highly responsive extinguish-
ing systems (chapter 4.4). In addition regular system service ensures that the fire
safety system is always at the highest possible level of reliability and availability
during its system life cycle (chapter 4.6).
Integrated, automated and tailored fire safety solutions for the entire life cycle of the building
Life Cycle Management
from consulting to services (e.g. maintenance services, modernization)
e.g.
consulting,
planning
e.g.
detection,
control
e.g.
alarming & evacuation /
voice alarm, extinguishing
Respond
e.g.
recovery of system functionality,
lessons learnt
Prevent
Detect Recover
Fig. 1 Siemens life cycle integrated solution