Evacuation in the hospital is fundamentally different from other structures: a significant proportion of patients cannot be evacuated on their own. For this reason, horizontal (safe area on the same floor) evacuation is taken as a basis and the system has to direct the personnel to the right area with the right announcement.
Fire risks in this environment
- Group of patients who cannot evacuate on their own (intensive care, surgery)
- Rapid combustion in oxygen-enriched environments
- Panic and misdirection
- Critical locations that need to work without interruption
- False alarm stopping the operation
Regulations and standards
According to BYKHY, fire detection and audible warning system is required in hospitals; voice evacuation components must be EN 54-16/EN 54-24 certified. Horizontal evacuation scenario and fire compartments are the basis of the design.
Recommended technologies
Hospital Fire Safety — the right solution combination and the reasons behind it.
Addressable Fire Detection
Shows in seconds which room/corridor the alarm is coming from — essential for intervention and routing.
Related products →Multisensor Detector
The combination of smoke + heat (+ CO) lowers the false alarm; it is preferred in patient rooms.
Related products →Voice Announcement (VA/PAVA)
Regional, understandable and scripted evacuation announcement; prevents panic.
Related products →Sprinkler (Water Extinguishing)
It saves the time required for automatic extinguishing-horizontal evacuation in corridor, patient rooms and general areas.
Related products →Gas Extinguishing
Water cannot be used in imaging (MRI/CT), system room and archive; clean gas extinguishes without damaging the device.
Related products →Kitchen Hood Extinguishing
Wet chemical quenching + gas cutting for hospital kitchen cooking line.
Related products →Duct Smoke Detector
Prevents the spread of smoke between floors with ventilation.
Related products →Typical system architecture
Addressed cycles are planned according to the compartment boundaries and an isolator is used between each compartment. The fire panel works integrated with the voice announcement system; the scenario is programmed to give different messages to the alarm zone and neighboring areas (horizontal evacuation). Pre-alarm and alarm verification are active in critical locations.
Common field mistakes
- Using only sirens instead of voice announcements
- Making an evacuation announcement at the same time in the whole building (no horizontal evacuation setup)
- Using a false alarm open single sensor detector in the patient room
- Skipping compartment insulators
- Operating the system without a maintenance contract
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the address system mandatory in the hospital?
BYKHY makes the addressable system mandatory in high-rise buildings; in the hospital, the addressable system is actually the only reasonable option due to the number of devices and the criticality of the alarm location.
Why do I need a voice announcement (PAVA)?
In the hospital, the evacuation should be directed; the siren says "there is something", the voice announcement says "what to do". Components must be EN 54-16/24 certified.
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