Česky
It's eight o'clock in the morning on a weekday in November. The voice of Michal Hylas, a technician from Tesim, the company that installs and manages security systems for the Beroun hospital, is coming through the speakers of the Centre for Mental Rehabilitation (CDR). Those present, wherever they are in the building, are just learning about the planned test run.
The suspected fire originated somewhere in the lift area near the entrance to the ambulance. Here, Michal Hylas activated the emergency fire alarm using a special key, which immediately put the entire building on standby. At the same time, an alarm went off in the concierge's control room and the activated alarm icon turned red on the ESSER monitor.
"One doorman remains on site and the other is tasked with quickly locating the detector and assessing the situation. He or she then immediately informs a colleague at the gatehouse and, if necessary, the fire brigade is summoned from there via the 150 line. The security personnel are thoroughly trained and must also take care of their own safety," says Hylas.
During the alarm, emergency lighting was switched on throughout the CDR building and in a very short time it can also be felt how the "climate has changed" in the escape route areas. The phenomenon is caused by a fan that, so to speak, "inflates" the evacuation corridors with overpressure.
"The principle is that the air pressure drives possible fumes into the exit with a damper located at the highest point of the building. This is so that people don't inhale the smoke. At the same time, the fire dampers, which divide the centre's building into fire compartments, close to prevent further possible spread of the fire. You can find evacuation route plans all over the centre," adds his colleague, technician Lukáš Bázler, adding that the operation of the technology is evaluated by a computerised measurement and control system.
Another modern measure is a mode that deactivates electromagnetic door locks. The reason for this is to allow people to get out of individual rooms easily. At the beginning of the fire test, Michal Hylas instructed his team of colleagues where to go to select parts of the centre to check that everything had gone well in this case.
"You must not return to the areas where there is a ball on the door instead of a handle. Unless you are authorised to do so with both your access card and key. Usually it's selected staff, the intervening firefighters or the fire engineer," Hylas points out, adding that staff are also thoroughly trained for this situation so that everyone knows how to behave.
There are a total of eight elevators in the CDR that will descend to base stations during a fire alarm where they can be easily exited - for example, on floor 1. "For each elevator, it's programmed so that people who may be inside can safely proceed to the evacuation corridor. At the same time, the entrance roller shutter to the garages, including the external barriers, is opened," says technician Stanislav Tichánek.
In less than an hour, the test is over and Michal Hylas judges it a success. As he summarises, the basic function of the technologies in place is to ensure that evacuees have the easiest and safest possible escape route from the fire. He also took the opportunity to express his appreciation and thanks to the other staff members who were involved in the installation and maintenance of the Mental Rehabilitation Center's state-of-the-art fire suppression system.
