GFE fire detection equipment protects KUMSmall, Europe’s largest mixed-use shopping mall

Fire detection solutions from Global Fire Equipment (GFE) have been installed in the KUMSmall Factory Shopping Mall, the largest mixed-use shopping mall in Europe. Located in the city of Kayseri in Central Anatolia, Turkey, KUMSmall comprises a shopping mall, business centre, hotel and entertainment centre. Bringing together some of the world’s leading fashion brands under one roof, KUMSmall covers an area of more than 302,000m² and boasts 400 stores, 6,000 car parking spaces and a vast range of restaurants and cafes.

Construction work on the mall was completed in 2019 under the leadership and control of TOKI, one of the largest construction companies in Turkey, while work on the hotel is still underway.

The design, installation and commissioning of the fire detection system for the mall was undertaken by GFE’s appointed distributor in Turkey, GFE Bina Kontrol Sistemleri, in partnership with Biges Safe Life Technology, GFE Bina’s main distributor in the security sector. Dogu Project Security Systems was appointed by Biges to install the chosen fire detection system for the mall. All system commissioning and tests were carried out in cooperation with GFE Bina, Biges and Dogu.

The chosen fire detection system for KUMSmall comprises nine Juno-Net series addressable control panels, 2,300 ZEOS AS-SI addressable smoke detectors, 29 AS-SHI combined heat and smoke addressable detectors, as well as other addressable devices. The addressable detectors are designed to isolate short circuits on the addressable detection loop of a GFE panel.

The system is supported by GFE’s ODYSSEY Graphics Display and Alarm Management System which allows up to 64 JUNO NET fire alarm panels to be connected to a PC. Each panel can be displayed on the screen as though the operator was standing in front of it, and each panel can be fully controlled from the computer. The system can also manage a number of fire scenarios, including escalators, elevators, automatic doors, ventilation systems, smoke evacuation and parking jet fans. All of these scenarios were tested before commissioning. In the event of a fire, the emergency announcement system activates.

Biges Senior Sales Support Specialist, Ms. Asli Celikkaleli, comments: ‘The installation of the fire detection system at Kumsmall Factory ran smoothly and was completed within the specified time. One of the main challenges we faced was the wiring, which is used both inside and outside the stores. The large number of potential fire scenarios was also a challenge as many of the mall’s stores are located in open/outdoor areas of the shopping mall. A lot of consideration had to be given to the calculations and loop separations as the loops cover both the interior and exterior of the stores. We continue to check the system regularly and provide ongoing maintenance.’

Kumsmall’s Technical Coordinator, Mehmet Ertürk, adds: ‘We chose GFE for this large and prestigious project because of the exceptionally high quality of its systems which are manufactured in Europe. Not only are the products reliable and user-friendly but we also benefit from GFE’s excellent customer and service support, as well as international approvals and certificates which are essential for projects of this scale. We are delighted to have worked with such a highly skilled team and will certainly choose GFE again as our partner in future projects.’

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