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Innovations by LST protect cultural institutions all over the world

Museo del Prado, Madrid © Fotolia

Museo del Prado, Madrid © Fotolia

Labor Strauss (LST) meets the challenge of fire protection in historic and modern cultural institutions and has special solutions for that in the portfolio. The continuous further development of the products and the extensive expertise contribute to the fact that, where the topic fire protection is concerned, international cultural institutions such as the Albertina in Vienna and the Prado in Madrid trust in LST.

For cultural institutions, there are many threat scenarios – one of them is a fire. The causes are manifold – carelessness during construction work, defective heating or electrical systems, as well as arson are among the most common reasons. Within a few minutes, large parts of collections and buildings can fall victim to the flames. Secondary damage caused by soot, extinguishing agent or inexpert evacuation of the art objects do the rest. If a fire really gets out of control, the cultural assets are often irretrievably lost.

Therefore preventive fire protection in museums, galleries, libraries and archives is a central concern to the Labor Strauss Group (LST), the specialist for fire detection systems and extinguishing control systems. Initially, many buildings were not intended for cultural use and their structural fabric can not be easily adapted to the guidelines of fire protection. Especially the structural fabric of historic cultural institutions favours the development of a fire, and installations which in some cases are no longer up-to-date considerably increase the risk.

„Comprehensive planning that considers the special local conditions, which are also reflected in the coherent overall concept, is the essential ingredient of fire protection in cultural institutions," stresses Andreas Kurzweil, the Marketing Manager of Labor Strauss. „None of the projects resembles the others, which makes it necessary to carry out an object-specific risk analysis that must consider all parameters. Here we can score with our advisory approach and our extensive range of solutions." This is also underlined by the huge number of LST's national and international references in the area of cultural institutions.

Surely the Museo del Prado in Madrid is one of the most renowned international showpiece projects. Here a control panel network with eight sectional control panels was installed. The ring-shaped and thus redundant cabling ensures a high degree of failure safety. Altogether, the Museo del Prado has been equipped with more than 1,000 fire detectors. The Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest and the Déri Museum in Debrecen also trust in LST's fire detection systems. In Germany, the Orangerie Gera, the Botanical Museum Berlin as well as the Municipal Theatre Freiberg are among the long-standing customers of the Labor Strauss Group. In Austria, the Natural History Museum Vienna, the Klosterneuburg Abbey, the Albertina, the Monastery Admont and the Kunsthaus Graz, among others, rely on the solutions and expertise of the Viennese specialist for fire detection and automatic extinguishing control systems.

Wide technical range
For early fire detection, LST has different systems, such as beam smoke detectors, wireless fire detectors or smoke aspiration systems. Especially in cultural institutions, laying cables often is hardly possible. In this environment, wireless fire detectors are an optimum solution. For large and high rooms, beam smoke detectors with ranges of up to 100 metres are suitable. The room is monitored for smoke by means of an infrared light beam. If the intensity of the light beam is attenuated, the smoke detector raises an alarm. As a result, even domes or naves can be monitored specifically over the entire area.

Smoke aspiration systems are another perfected solution for early fire detection. They are active systems which allow you to monitor several fire areas. Air samples are drawn through a pipe network and are analysed by a detector. If the smoke concentration exceeds a certain value, an alarm is raised.

Structural measures prevent spread of fire
In addition to the early detection, it is also possible to take some structural measures which delay the spread of a fire. Fire doors allow the relatively easy creation of fire areas, by means of which individual areas can be separated, which, in turn, prevents the fire from spreading. Further important fire protection components are smoke escape lids which help keep escape routes clear.

All information of the fire detectors is collected by the fire detection control panel, which then activates an alarm and notifies the fire brigade, the fire prevention officer or the security service. LST offers an extensive portfolio of fire detection control panels which can also expand with ease as the requirements grow. Furthermore, different extinguishing systems can also be actuated through the fire detection control panel. As a result, the fire fighting can be initiated before the fire brigade arrives. In museums, libraries or archives, usually gaseous extinguishing agents are used in order not to affect the structural fabric or the works of art in any way.

LST takes overall responsibility
But the Labor Strauss Group is not only a system supplier; together with its partners it also assists customers in the conception, planning and realisation of complex projects. „We take responsibility for the entire fire prevention system up to the acceptance by a certified inspection authority, and ensure regular maintenance," stresses Andreas Kurzweil.

Innovation for the protection of people and property
The Labor Strauss Group is a leading European manufacturer of professional building security technology. With more than 200 employees and eleven locations in Austria and Germany, the specialist in the areas fire detection and extinguishing control systems as well as burglar and hold up alarm technology, manufactures innovative high-quality products for worldwide use. Emergency and emergency escape lighting systems have been added to the product portfolio. Manufacturing at locations in Austria and Germany, a high R&D share, customer-specific solutions as well as complete and quick service distinguish the old-established family business with headquarters in Austria.


Attached photos, reprint free of charge:
Caption 1: Museo del Prado, Madrid © Fotolia
Caption 2: Natural History Museum, Vienna © miles_around / Fotolia
Caption 3: Orangerie Gera, Thüringen © Gibleho / Fotolia
Caption 4: Kunsthaus Graz © Eduardo Martinez
Caption 5: Innovations by LST protect cultural institutions all over the world © Labor Strauss

Information for inquiries by the press: 
comm:unications, Agentur für PR, Events und Marketing 
Sabine Pöhacker, Tel. +43/1/315 14 11-0
sabine.poehacker@communications.co.at
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Innovationen von LST schützen Kultureinrichtungen in aller Welt (PDF)

Innovations by LST protect cultural institutions all over the world © Labor Strauss

Innovations by LST protect cultural institutions all over the world © Labor Strauss

Kunsthaus Graz © Eduardo Martinez

Kunsthaus Graz © Eduardo Martinez

Natural History Museum, Vienna © miles_around / Fotolia

Natural History Museum, Vienna © miles_around / Fotolia

Orangerie Gera, Thüringen © Gibleho / Fotolia

Orangerie Gera, Thüringen © Gibleho / Fotolia