Technology expands fire-safety options

Hoteliers need to use various fire-safety equipment--smoke alarms, smoke detectors, automatic sprinklers, fire extinguishers and control panels--to keep their guests and properties safe from fire. While hotels are safer than ever, fire still is a threat that kills guests every year.

The combination of automatic sprinkler systems and smoke alarms in each guestroom to give early warnings are effective safety devices, according to Robert Solomon, assistant v.p. for building and life safety codes for the National Fire Protection Assn.

"From 1994 to 1998, there were 152 deaths from fires in hotels and motels, but none of those occurred in hotels with sprinkler systems," Solomon said.

Automatic sprinklers are mandated in all hotels that are seven stories or taller, and smoke detectors are required in all new-build hotels and motels, except those protected by automatic sprinklers.

"The biggest proponents of these changes have been the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. and major hotel chains," Solomon said. "The major chains stepped up and required sprinklers in all new hotels before the codes required it. They want to protect guests and their brands. It was a very good business decision."

Michael Fee, co-owner of The Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., said 90 percent to 100 percent of new hotels built nowadays have automatic sprinklers, even if they aren't required by fire codes.

"Hoteliers can't afford the insurance without fire-sprinkler systems," Fee said. "Quick-response sprinklers will go off and put out a fire before smoke toxicity reaches levels that will harm guests."

It costs about $1.50 to $2 per square foot to install automatic sprinklers in new-build hotels, Fee said. The threat of lawsuits also encourages hoteliers to install them.

"About 80 percent of all properties are fully sprinkled," said Ray Ellis Jr., director of the Loss Prevention Management Institute at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel & Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. "Hotels install sprinklers because they are expected to and because they can't afford the large punitive damages that might result from a lawsuit in a non-sprinkled property."

Monitoring extinguishers

The fire extinguisher is one of the first lines of defense against a fire. Unfortunately, they aren't always available and working when needed. Fire codes mandate that hoteliers visually inspect fire extinguishers every 30 days. Even if hoteliers are diligent with these inspections, it doesn't guarantee fire extinguishers will be working and available when needed.

MIJA, a manufacturer of fire-extinguisher pressure gauges, developed during February a smart gauge that can be monitored electronically by the hotel's fire-control panel. All aspects of fire prevention are monitored electronically except fire extinguishers, according to John McSheffrey, v.p. of business development for MIJA.

"Some large Las Vegas casino hotels have 2,200 fire extinguishers that they have to monitor every 30 days," McSheffrey said. "Our gauge allows the fire-control panel to monitor the fire extinguishers to provide a safer building and help hotels with inventory management."

The gauge, called En-gauge, tells the panel the location, position and pressure of the fire extinguisher, if it's positioned correctly and if it's being blocked by another object. The gauges are being installed on some new fire extinguishers manufactured by Amerex.

"The end user wants to make sure that fire extinguishers are in service, operable and accessible," said Andy Halasz, v.p. of sales for Amerex. "They are looking for a comfort zone and for protection from liability. This will reduce liability, which is good for the consumer and the guest."

Fire extinguishers equipped with En-gauge will cost about 2.5 times the cost of standard fire extinguishers because they need to have a sensor-interface module to send a signal back to the control panel, Halasz said.

Control panels

Hoteliers can choose addressable or conventional control panels--devices that monitor smoke detectors and other equipment.

"Addressable panels offer more capability and pinpoint information," said Jeff Hendrickson, director of marketing for Silent Knight, a Honeywell company that manufactures fire-alarm systems. "They are efficient to maintain and offer advanced reporting features.

"A conventional system is basically a switch that is on or off," Hendrickson said. "It works fine if you don't have a big facility and you're not worried about which smoke detector went off." A conventional panel can report that a smoke detector is not working, but can't identify which one. With addressable control panels, a hotelier would know immediately which smoke detector wasn't working.

It's easier to maintain addressable systems because hotel engineers know where to go when there's a problem.

"You don't have to go through 100 rooms and do the same maintenance on each smoke detector," Hendrickson said.

Addressable systems cost about 10 percent to 15 percent more than conventional systems, he said. "The trend is to install addressable systems that typically are monitored by a third-party central station that monitors smoke, fire and security alarms," he said.

Sobering statistics.

Fire departments responded to about 4,600 fires in U.S. hotels and motels during 1999, according to Robert Solomon, assistant v.p. for building and life safety codes for the National Fire Protection Assn.

The fires caused 24 civilian deaths, 249 injuries and about $115 million of property damage. While that's an average of more than 12 fires per day, Solomon wasn't alarmed.

"In context with the number of facilities, that is proportional to office buildings or hospitals," he said. "Fortunately, most of those are small, and are not the type you hear about in the national news."

There are about 50,000 lodging properties comprising about 4.4 million guestrooms in the United States, according to Smith Travel Research.

Solomon said it's unusual to have a significant fire in a hotel equipped with sprinklers. Hotels and motels have more injury claims from false fire alarms than actual fires, according to Michael Fee of The Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co.

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