Current Building Regulations insist all new non-domestic buildings with more than one storey provide ‘refuge’ areas – relatively safe places where people who cannot easily use fire escapes and evacuation lifts can call for assistance and wait until help arrives. Simple, effective two-way communication in these areas is essential, firstly to assist rescue teams in determining where assistance is required and secondly to reassure people help is on the way. C-TEC’s SigTEL Emergency Voice Communication (EVC) System has been specifically designed to meet the rising demand for fully compliant BS 5839 Part 9 disabled refuge systems.
The range comprises two wall-mounting master controllers (the ECU-4, pictured above right, and ECU-8 which can handle 4 and 8 lines respectively) and an eight line expansion unit, the ECU-8S. Typically located in a building’s control room or fire services access point, the ECU-4 and ECU-8 allow management and/or the fire services to communicate via a telephone-style handset with the system’s ‘outstations’.Two types of outstation are available (Type A and Type B). Disabled refuge systems use ‘Type B’ intercom style outstations. Our EVC302GF Type B outstation offers true hands-free duplex speech and allows anyone in a refuge area to communicate with building control at the touch of a button.
