Hyfire Wireless partnership with Clear Safety saves £3m for leading housing association

Wireless fire detection and alarms brand Hyfire has partnered with Clear Safety, the specialist safety and compliance consultancy, to fit 1,400 wireless devices in residential properties owned by Notting Hill Genesis (NHG), allowing the housing association to save more than £250,000 per month on waking-watch provision. 

NHG, which owns 65,000 properties around London, asked Clear Safety to identify a fast and sustainable solution to provide temporary fire systems across four sites involving 700 flats, while minimising disruption for residents. After careful consultation and extensive research, Clear Safety selected Hyfire as preferred supplier for wireless devices and engaged with four installation partners to facilitate the project, which was completed in just 35 days.

Colin Bygraves, Head of Technical Services at Clear Safety, commented: ‘The brief from NHG was to specify temporary systems with a lifespan of around one year. These were installed in just over a month at a cost in the region of £584,141 saving around £3 million in waking-watch costs over 12 months. The rapid installation could not have been completed without Hyfire wireless devices, which can be pre-programmed offsite and fitted in minutes, with no need for complex wiring installation and no impact on the fabric of the building.’ 

Hyfire offers the widest range of commercial-standard wireless fire devices on the market, ranging from optical, multi-criteria and heat detectors to notification, alarm, interface and control units, all fully certified to EN54. All products offer the highest performance and quality in the industry, and are also fully compliant with BS5839 Part 1. Fire panels are wired via a loop to translators, from which wireless devices can be used on their own to build fully wireless systems of virtually any size, or mixed with Hyfire wired products to provide seamless hybrid solutions, offering total flexibility to specifiers and installers. 

Tom Crane, Hyfire Business Unit Director for the UK and Ireland, said: ‘This is exactly the sort of project where wireless comes into its own, offering rapid and efficient solutions to urgent requirements. In the Covid-19 era, it’s even more advantageous, as it allows us to minimise time on site and contact with building residents. The systems installed on behalf of NHG will not only save around £250,000 a month in waking-watch costs, they can also be adapted to a new BS5839-compliant fire system in the longer term, or used as part of a BS8629 evacuation system.’

Clear Safety is an independent consultancy specialising in safety, compliance and risk management. The company has extensive experience of working with UK Landlords including social-housing providers, private landlords, the education sector and housing developers. Clear helps its clients to understand and prioritise key compliance management responsibilities, whilst also delivering a financial oversight service to monitor contractor performance, ensure the satisfactory completion of works and protect client budgets. This includes the design, specification and commissioning of fully compliant fire systems, facilitated by an established network of suppliers, such as Hyfire, and installation partners. 

Hyfire was launched as Sterling Safety Systems in 2007, bringing to market some of the first commercial wireless detection and alarm devices fully certified to EN54. Since then, the Hyfire brand has become synonymous with quality, reliability and innovation in the commercial fire sector. Hyfire devices come with a five-year warranty, backed up by a dedicated partner programme to ensure the best survey, installation, commissioning, after-sales service and exceptional technical support. 

For more information: www.sterlingsafety.co.uk