Brent Cross Town is a newly built 662-room student accommodation building in a lively, forward-thinking community in the heart of North London.

Consisting of studio flats to three and four-bedroom apartments, this stylish property has been designed for students who wish to blend energy and relaxation for the full student experience.

Offering an on-site basketball court, boxing studio, cinema, coffee lounge and roof terrace for those looking to socialise and a co-working area, study space and zen meditation room for those keen to study or relax; Brent Cross Town caters to everyone.

In this Case Study, we will look at the fire safety issue faced by Fusion Group, the owners of the building, and how the Firechief Kitchen Stove Guard resolved the problem.

What was the need?

Opening in time for the 2024/25 academic year, Brent Cross Town was looking to become a future-proofed property conforming to all of the latest safety standards including BS 9991:2024 and EN:50615.

However, the cooking appliances in the open-plan were situated close to escape routes. To meet the safety requirements, the client (Fusion Group) required a device conforming to EN:50615 Cat B to be provided to all cooking appliances to ensure a high standard of life safety.

What was the solution?

To ensure that the safety standard requirements were met, the Firechief Kitchen Stove Guard was fitted in 554 of the 662 rooms at Brent Cross Town as standard.

Statistics have shown that around 50% of all accidental domestic fires originate in the kitchen, including student accommodation. This can be a worrying thought for students, their parents and/or guardians, and accommodation providers alike. However, the Firechief Kitchen Stove Guard provides a reliable approach to cooker safety without affecting the overall process of cooking.

The intelligent heat sensor tracks the rate of increasing temperature and, when it notices a steep increase, it identifies this as an indication of a developing fire hazard and alerts the user. If no action is taken, it immediately cuts power to the hob to bring temperatures back down to a safer level to create a safer home for the residents of not only the apartment but the entire building.

The Firechief Kitchen Stove Guard is a smart way to guard against kitchen fires in every sense of the word. It is even able to identify when the hob has been left on accidentally, such as when pans have been removed from the cooker, food is served, and the user has forgotten to switch it off – but the Stove Guard is always monitoring pre-fire conditions and will cut the power supply.

There is no need to call out specialist support once the Stove Guard has been used, either. The cooker is simply reactivated by resetting the system once the alert has been investigated and controlled.

The benefits of the Stove Guard for residents and the building owners

Installation of the Firechief Kitchen Stove Guard brings many benefits to the building and its residents.

These include:

• Quick, easy installation undertaken by contractors already on-site
• Continuous protection for complete peace of mind.
• The device monitors and even adapts to the occupier's cooking style
• No monthly testing is required (as with smoke alarms, for example)
• Sympathetic to the décor of the building, the Kitchen Stove Guard is small and stylish enough to go relatively unnoticed
• The intelligent fire safety solution costs half the price of a fire suppression system
• Fulfils the requirement of the EN:50615 standard
• No annual maintenance is required and comes with a two-year warranty

Additional Information

• Client: Fusion Group
• Architect: Howells
• Contractor: JJ Rhatigan
• Fire Engineer: Helios Fire & Construction Consultancy
• M&E Engineer: Amber Management and Engineering Services

To read more about the Kitchen Stove Guard or any of our innovative fire safety products, visit the Firechief® website where you can also read more of our Case Studies.