To comply with the requirements of BS8629 C-Tec have announced a range of 1 to 4 loop, up to 48 zone BS 8629-compliant evacuation alert panels ideal for use by firefighters in high-rise residential buildings to evacuate all or part of the building in an emergency.

Not to be confused with fire detection and alarm systems, evacuation alert systems are for use by the fire and rescue service only, which may, in the course of managing a fire incident, want residents to evacuate sections of a floor (in a large building), individual floors, or the entire building. Using an evacuation alert system, residents can be directed to evacuate via alarms sounded in each flat.

Typically these systems are for high-rise blocks of flats, but the scope of this British Standard includes systems installed in any building containing flats, regardless of height. Both single-storey flats and maisonettes are described by the generic term “flats”, other than when, for the purpose of a specific recommendation, the term maisonette is used.

The evacuation alert systems covered comprise evacuation alert control and indicating equipment (EACIE), incorporating manual controls by which evacuation alert sounders within each flat can be operated by the fire and rescue service.

With the C-Tec system further panels can be connected for larger installations.  They are housed in robust vandal-resistant locked cabinets to STS 205 and EN 1303 and features include bright LED indicators, easy-to-operate evacuation toggle switches and a concealed but intuitive maintenance interface.

They have the ability to be connected to evacuation alert sounders, visual alert devices, vibrating alert pads and radio pagers.

Based on C-TEC's powerful 'CAST' protocol and compatible with C-Tec's ENVISION data management software.