Hospitality Fire Alarm Systems: The Intelligence Behind Safer Environments

Why standard hospitality fire safety is no longer enough

The hidden costs of manual and reactive fire safety

While manual checks of fire safety equipment may seem economical, its inefficient nature can actually end up costing you more. This is because equipment faults can take longer to identify and lead to more costly reactive maintenance. Emergency callouts, rushed shipping for parts, and after hours labour increase the costs of hotel fire safety compliance and are considerably more commonplace when performing manual checks across multiple sites.

The monetary costs of manual and reactive fire safety are not the only costs that can occur due to a fire event though. If there are any signs of negligence (which is more common with manual checks) an insurance claim may not fully cover the cost of losses. Fires and repeated false alarms also cause damage to company reputation and employee morale, and can even lead to criminal liability where negligence is proven. 

Compliance gaps from siloed data and outdated software

Keeping track of hotel fire safety compliance is difficult due to the ever-changing number of occupants within a hotel. Add to that the lack of real-time information during a fire event, and the amount of compliance gaps that are exposed can be worrying. By relying on software that can only provide siloed data available locally on site, you run the risk of compliance gaps emerging between scheduled maintenance checks. This can result in non-compliance, false alarms, and fire risks going undetected. 

Avoiding staff complacency from false and noisy alarms

Repeated false fire alarms in hotels can lead to ‘alarm fatigue’ among staff. This means that they can become complacent and not take a genuine fire alert seriously. This has a knock-on effect that increases the length of time it takes to evacuate, causes inefficient communication between staff and guests in a fire event, and can ultimately lead to an increase in the chances of fatal incidents.

The unique fire and life safety challenges of hotels

Hotels have several unique fire and life safety challenges that can be classed under 2 broad segments. Occupant unfamiliarity and building design/environment.

Managing transient occupancy and guest unfamiliarity

The majority of hotel guests are unfamiliar with the layout and on-site procedures. They are less likely to know the locations of fire exits, the assembly point, and fire extinguishers, and will not have had fire safety training for the specific building in which they are staying. This makes evacuation in the event of a fire much harder. Especially if it is dark or there is an element of panic.

Some guests may have a delayed response to a fire alarm too. If they are sleeping or inebriated, guests will take longer to respond to an alarm they are not familiar with. Many guests will prioritise getting dressed over evacuating too, increasing the length of their evacuation time and the risk of being involved in an incident.

Vulnerable guests such as the elderly, children, and people with disabilities may require extra help with their evacuation during a fire. This can slow down the overall evacuation effort and increase risk too.

The sheer number of guests and how diverse their needs may be can place a big burden on staff during a fire.

Complex layouts and varied fire hazards in amenities

Hotels present various fire safety problems due to their complex layout and the furnishings within each guest room. The internal layout of most hotels consists of winding corridors, multiple guest rooms, conference rooms, restaurants, kitchens and laundries. This makes the communication and spread of information throughout a site very difficult, in the event of a fire.

Guest rooms contain multiple items and furnishings that can cause fire risks and produce thick, toxic smoke when burned. Mattresses, upholstered furniture and bedding will burn easily and could increase the rate at which a fire spreads.

The verticality of hotels can cause fires to spread more rapidly too. Stairways, utility shafts such as dumb waiters, and lifts can cause a chimney effect which allows a fire to spread across floors more quickly. Add to this air conditioning ducting, and a fire is able to travel throughout an entire hotel very quickly.

Our advantage over part solutions and manual systems

Predictive risk engine: Anticipating threats before they escalate

Instead of reacting to fire events and focusing on fast evacuation and emergency alerts, our intelligent platform focuses on anticipating and avoiding fire risks altogether. Through ‘always on’ real-time monitoring and early detection of potential faults, our intelligent fire safety system enables you to predict a potential fire risk and assign targeted maintenance to resolve the issue before it can become a substantial problem.

Moving beyond reactive alert tools

Reactive alert tools only notify site managers of a fire event that is in process. Even if this is simply a false alarm it still impacts guests and staff members, and largely interrupts the everyday processes that help to keep a hotel running smoothly. This can result in lost revenue, bad revues and reputation, alarm fatigue, and ultimately a higher chance of fatal incidents in the event of a fire.

Moving beyond reactive tools allows you to be proactive with your hotel fire safety compliance, reducing the likelihood of fire risks, and remaining compliant without the need for time-consuming on-site maintenance checks.

Full-stack automation and integrated design

Our integrated approach connects every fire safety asset across all of your sites to our intelligent software. This allows you to automate fire safety compliance checks, view the status of every piece of fire equipment quickly and easily in one place, and schedule maintenance based on in-depth real-time alarm data.

What is the "Responsible Person" required to do in a hotel regarding fire safety?

When it comes to fire safety in a hotel the ‘responsible person’ is required to:

• Conduct a fire risk assessment

• Implement fire safety measures and provisions

• Develop emergency procedures and provide fire safety training

• Establish systems for ongoing fire safety maintenance

• Create and save documentation for fire safety compliance reporting

How can Drax Technology help reduce false fire alarms in a hotel?

Drax Technology can help to reduce false fire alarms in a hotel by proactively monitoring all fire safety assets and identifying device faults early. This enables you to remedy device faults quickly, before they are able to trigger a false alarm.

Can Drax's system integrate with my existing fire alarm panels?

Yes, our intelligent system is compatible with fire safety assets from over 50 fire alarm manufacturers.

Does Drax Technology offer solutions beyond just fire alarms for hospitality?

Yes, our critical alarm management platform is compatible with multiple sectors other than hospitality. It can be used effectively to improve alarm systems for wind farms, factories, warehouses, airports, data centres, hospitals and more.

What is a RAG rating in Asset Management and how does it help hotels?

The RAG rating in asset management is the use of 3 main statuses: red amber and green. This enables you to identify which assets need the most attention (red), which need some kind of routine maintenance (amber), and which are working well with no need for intervention (green). This can help hotels to identify devices that may cause a false alarm and resolve minor faults before they can cause a more serious issue. It also helps to budget in an informed and proactive way.