The award was given for the installation of ADT’s MILS® (Modular Intelligent Lighting System) at the ODEON eight screen cinema complex in Belfast at the Victoria Square Shopping Centre. Held in Birmingham on 12th May as part of International Firex 2009, the Fire Excellence awards are widely recognised as the fire industry’s premier awards event.

Sheilagh Hannah, Marketing and Business Development Director for ADT in the UK, says: “This unique system provides the Belfast ODEON with evacuation route planning, detection and real time guidance to the appropriate exit route via phased evacuation. We are delighted that the Fire Excellence judges have recognised the unique benefit of this system in continually updating cinema users with real time exit route information in an emergency.”

The fire detection and alarm system boasts MILS® dynamic emergency evacuation way-lighting and human flow control, which is fully integrated with ADT’s MINERVA Mx fire controller. The MILS® stripes, light panels, signs and infoboards guide evacuation with continually updated real time information - with local and remote monitoring and reporting capabilities.

David Acheson, Project Manager for ADT Belfast, said: “Belfast ODEON has a complex fire-engineered means of escape that necessitates the control of people flows to ensure the available exit routes to safety are not compromised.”

The MILS® / MINERVA system allows faster human evacuation - phased in busy times to prevent escape routes from becoming congested. The system updates as the situation develops keeping the Duty Manager of the cinema fully aware of the progress and the current phase of the evacuation. For example, the way-lighting moves during an alarm, and the exit arrows change to control the evacuation as the evacuation develops. The MINERVA Mx is programmed with over 60 discrete evacuation scenarios.

David Acheson continues: “Ultimately the ADT MILS advanced evacuation system can aid the fast evacuation of a cinema like the Belfast ODEON theatre.”

Peter Ford, Risk Management Director at ODEON, said: “We are delighted with the system that ADT has installed. It has provided automatic detection, evacuation and way-lighting system that helps answer many of the key questions posed to a Duty Manager whilst managing the evacuation automatically. Although it does not remove the requirement for fully trained team members to control the evacuation, the system makes this process far easier to accomplish a safe evacuation. It was clear when the centre fire strategy was first reviewed that such a system would be required, and we believe that the system installed is the best available.”

The management strategy for the cinema was developed with the assistance of ODEON’s fire consultants, CS Todd & Associates Ltd, who specified the performance requirements for the way-lighting system, including the complex cause and effect, taking into account each and every fire scenario. 

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About ADT
ADT, a company of Tyco International, designs, installs and services fire and electronic security systems for residential, business and government customers. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, ADT's products include intruder alarms, closed circuit television, access control, electronic article surveillance, radio frequency identification, fire detection, fire suppression, integrated solutions and monitoring. They are used to deter thieves and protect people, goods and property. For more information visit www.adtemea.com.
ADT and the ADT logo are trademarks of ADT Services AG and are used under license.

About the awards
Held on 12th May 2009 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, the Fire Excellence Awards are a celebration and acknowledgement of excellence in fire safety engineering, product design and innovation.

For more information, please contact:
Porter Novelli
Chloe Joint/Neil Bayley
01295 224000
Email: firstname.lastname@porternovelli.co.uk