Xtralis
700 Longwater Drive
Norwell, Massachusetts  02061

www.xtralis.com | 800-229-4434

Xtralis is the leading global provider of powerful solutions for the early detection of fire, gas and security threats. The sooner your organization is alerted to a safety hazard or security breach, the more time you have to respond intelligently.

College and university campuses face a variety of fire safety and security challenges and require the best in
early threat detection to enable a safe and efficient evacuation if required. When it comes to fire detection, challenges include the costs associated with false alarms and maintenance and testing – especially in areas that are difficult to access, poor reliability in large, open spaces, and minimal aesthetic impacts. Combustible gases and chemicals in laboratories and storage facilities further complicate fire detection. In terms of security, these institutions share the responsibilities of controlling access, preventing theft and vandalism, and
securing such areas as staff offices and parking areas especially late at night.

Xtralis’ solutions prevent disasters by giving users time to respond before life, critical infrastructure or
business continuity is compromised.

We protect high-value and irreplaceable assets belonging to the world’s top governments and businesses.

Our solutions include  VESDA® by Xtralis – the world’s No.1 brand of very early warning aspirating smoke
detection (ASD) systems,  VESDA ECO by Xtralis – ASD plus gas detection and environmental monitoring,
ICAM by Xtralis – flexible ASD, ICAM ECO by Xtralis – ASD plus gas detection and environmental monitoring, OSID™ by Xtralis – standard- sensitivity smoke detection for open areas, ADPRO® by Xtralis – perimeter, multi-site and enterprise security, and ASIM™ by Xtralis – intelligent traffic detection. To learn more, please visit us at www.xtralis.com.

Technology Presentation for Campus Fire Forum 2011
FIRE DETECTION IN LARGE OPEN SPACES
by Tom Stillwell, VESDA Regional Manager

Fire detection in large open spaces presents unique challenges for fire detection systems. Buildings such as sports arenas, student centers, performing arts centers, chapels and libraries have large spaces and atria that demand a fire detection solution that is sensitive to diluted smoke, is non-intrusive on the space and operates reliably without frequency of nuisance alarms.

Optical beam smoke detection systems have commonly been applied in these applications due to their cost effectiveness and simplicity. However, the perceived issues with traditional beam detectors primarily have been their difficulty to maintain in alignment and proneness to nuisance alarms.

The industry strives to improve methods to reliably and economically identify false stimuli such as dust,
steam, obstructions and to overcome misalignment problems while ensuring a safe response to real
threats.

A technological innovation known as Open-area Smoke Imaging Detection (OSID) has emerged which improves on the fundamental basis of optical beam detection and overcomes misalignment and nuisance alarm issues.
 

Tom Stillwell
VESDA Regional Manager - Great Lakes
Xtralis
26900 Wolf Road, Bay Village, OH 44140 USA

tstilwell@xtralis.com | www.xtralis.com | 440-250-9670

Tom Stilwell serves as the Regional Manager for the Great Lakes region at Xtralis, and also is responsible
for identifying and developing early warning fire and gas detection applications. He has 27 years of experience in fire detection and alarm systems, and worked with Xtralis for 7 years.

Tom is NICET certified and serves on 2 NFPA technical committees. Tom also is an active participant in 2 local chapters of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.