Published on 1st June 2022, the updated Part B of the Building Regulations has now made it mandatory for all new build residential buildings over 18m to have an evacuation alert system. An evacuation alert system is vital to help fire and rescue services inform residents of a change in evacuation strategy during an incident. This gives fire and rescue services an additional tool to use on the ground, alongside existing methods of evacuation, improving safety for residents.

To comply with the amended Part B, an evacuation alert system should be provided in accordance with BS 8629 Code of Practice for the design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of evacuation alert systems for use by fire and rescue services in England. Advanced’s EvacGo evacuation alert system offers peace of mind as it was designed alongside fire industry leaders specifically to meet the recommendations of BS 8629.

EvacGo has been developed to support any evacuation strategy chosen by the fire and rescue service and operates completely independently of fire detection systems. The panel combines EN54-2 and 4 approved MxPro 5 technology with clear, easy-to-use manual controls to ensure firefighters can quickly and effectively identify and operate alert sounders to support the safe evacuation of tall residential buildings.

EvacGo provides a simple, at-a-glance overview of a building’s evacuation alert zones, along with LED indication and manual toggle-switch controls for operating evacuation alert devices in each zone. The panels are available in 8, 16, 24 or 32 ‘fire fighter evacuation alert area’ variants and are expandable from 1 to 4 loops – or even further, when using Advanced’s highly robust, fault-tolerant network.

Ken Bullock, Business Development Manager for Evacuation Alert Systems at Advanced, said: “With the amended Part B of the Building Regulations coming into effect from 1st December, our EvacGo gives fire and rescue services a valuable tool for evacuating residents at risk in a safer, managed way. EvacGo ensures compliance and so offers peace of mind to those responsible for a building that by choosing this system they are complying with Building Regulations.

“We appreciate that new Regulations can be confusing, so we’ve carefully designed EvacGo to take away the hard work for building owners, end users and, importantly, frontline fire and rescue services. Our system provides a robust, effective and reliable evacuation management system that can be trusted to work as intended at all times.”

Advanced evacuation alert panels feature manual controls that are easy for fire and rescue service personnel to operate. Toggle switches and LED indication make viewing evacuation zone status and implementing evacuation strategies quick, simple and straightforward, even when wearing PPE. EvacGo also has slide-in labels for clear, easy naming of evacuation zones to avoid confusion.

Furthermore, the EvacGo panel is housed inside a robust, security-rated enclosure meeting the STS 205 class BR2 security rating with patented BS EN 1303-compliant lock. This minimises tampering and restricts access to fire and rescue service personnel only, who are able to access the controls using a patented key, as stipulated in the BS 8629 code of practice.

The evacuation alert panel works equally well within hard-wired, radio and/or hybrid systems. Commissioning and servicing are quick and easy using Advanced’s virtual PC tool. EvacGo also features built-in battery back-up options of up to 17 ampere-hours, to meet the BS 8629 Code of Practice recommendations: 72-hours, plus 30 minutes in alarm, or where an on-site generator is present, 24-hours plus 30 minutes in alarm.

Amended Part B is designed to meet recommendations from Phase One of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Currently the Part B requirement for an evacuation alert system only covers new build high-rise residential buildings. However, since the Grenfell Tower Inquiry also recommends evacuation alert systems for high-rise residential buildings “already in existence”1, further regulation may follow.

As a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems, Advanced is committed to creating a safer future. A reputation for performance, quality and ease of use see Advanced products specified in locations around the world, from single-panel installations to large, multi-site networks. The Advanced product portfolio includes complete fire detection systems, multiprotocol fire panels, extinguishing control, false alarm management and reduction solutions as well as emergency lighting.

Advanced is owned by FTSE 100 company Halma PLC – a global group of life-saving technology companies with a clear purpose to grow a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day.

For further information on the EvacGo Evacuation Alert System, please get in touch.