The VESDA-E VEA Fire Alarm System

• Assured Detection - Active sampling and full supervision of microbore tubes and sampling points including automated cleaning ensure total system availability and minimum false alarms.
• Flexible and Fast Installation - Flexible microbore tubes are easy to install with push-fit connections and passive sampling points hence no compliance requirements to electrical codes. Unique tube serial numbers and tube length markings allow pre-engineered and faster installation.
• Reduced Maintenance and TCO - Centralized test and maintenance feature in VEA reduces service time by up to 90% and saves up to 60% in TCO. Full supervision allows centralized smoke test allowing servicing of up to 500 address a day. Field replaceable components reduces service and maintenance time and cost. 
• Interruption Free Operation - VEA remote maintenance testing is ideally suited to applications where interruption free business operation and restricted access are of paramount importance, such as in healthcare, government buildings, businesses with highly confidential assets, prison and hotels.
• Efficient and Effective Response - VEA provides best in class connectivity including WAN and Wireless. iVESDA application provides real time and remote access to VEA allowing advance service preparation saving time and money and avoiding multiples service visits.

The VESDA-E VEA Fire Alarm / Smoke Detector

Correctional facilities face unique challenges when it comes to protecting inmates, correctional officers and other personnel from the danger of smoke and fire. Although smoke detectors are required for every inmate sleeping area, including housing and treatment center cells, traditional fire detection technology installed in the return air chase or ductwork can become compromised by an accumulation of dirt and grime.

In an effort to reverse wasted time and money for correctional facilities maintaining older detection technologies and keep these systems fully operational, facilities such as Corcoran State and Kern Valley prisons with the guidance of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) are installing alternative smoke detector technology from Xtrailis that is self-cleaning, requires minimal maintenance and eliminates the nuisance alarms.

The company has already installed standard duct smoke detector systems in several correctional facilities, including Kern Valley State Prison. In the past year, Building Electronic Controls (BEC) completed an entire fire system upgrade at Corcoran State Prison for the hospital treatment area cells.

These systems work by aspirating – or drawing in – air through small, flexible tubes located in ductwork or return air chase. The sample travels through the tubes and is analyzed using sophisticated laser-based technology at a central unit located in a restricted area within 300’.

A single system supports up to 40 sample points and can be extended to 120. As a multi-channel, addressable system, the VEA central unit can pinpoint the exact location of the alarm. The system also offers earlier detection than photoelectric technology detectors. It is able to detect minor particles in the air much faster, even before a fire begins to flame and burn. In many cases, early warnings can speed evacuation and prevent fire from spreading to other areas. This aspirating technology has already proven successful in reducing the maintenance required. Each tube is self-cleaning and the system detects any blockages or breaks in the tubing.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) annual inspections are also simplified. Unlike traditional smoke alarms, systems like VEA do not require testing of each sample point annually at its location in the duct. Instead, the tests can be conducted at the central unit.