The £38 million conversion of the former Terry’s chocolate factory in York into ‘The Residence’, a development of 173 luxury apartments, is using SE Controls’ SHEVTEC® smoke control systems to help keep residents safe in the event of a fire.

As the 1 - 3 bedroom apartments, together with penthouses, are located over five storeys, it was therefore essential that a smoke ventilation system was installed within the building to comply with building regulations and other key legislation, including BS7346, BS9991. This ensures that escape routes can be kept clear of smoke in the event of a fire and residents could evacuate safely.

‘The Residence’, which utilises four individual smoke shaft systems and staircase ventilation to ensure smoke can be vented effectively from escape routes, including corridors, the main lobby and communal spaces.

At the head of each smoke shaft, a SHEVTEC automatic opening vent (AOV) louvre allows smoke to escape when triggered by the smoke and fire system sensors. A similar approach is used in each stairwell where the end staircases use AOV windows, and central staircases are vented using roof access doors fitted with automatic actuators.

Designed to operate on a floor-by-floor basis, the detection of smoke within any of the protected corridors or lobbies directly triggers the system, which automatically opens smoke doors and AOVs to allow smoke to be removed from the affected area and keep escape routes clear. The system is controlled by a series of SE Controls OSLoop smoke vent zone controllers together with OSLoop Co-ordinators and alarm monitoring modules, dedicated to each smoke shaft.

The tamper proof manual control points (MCPs) on every floor allow the system to remain active with the head of shaft and head of stair vents staying open until fire service personnel reset the activated floor via the MCP. A full back up battery system is also incorporated to ensure that it can operate, even in the event of a power failure.