19 October 2022 
Project Outline
Willmott Dixon is growing its reputation as the UK’s leading constructor of blue-light facilities after securing a contract worth £21m to deliver a fire service training centre and fire station for the West Sussex Fire & Rescue service. Based in Horsham, just off the A24, the station will include a combined training tower and breathing apparatus facility, live-fire and traffic collision training areas, accommodation for recruits, incident command, and a digital simulation suite.
Adequate fire safety is essential on any building site. But on a project of this size, the client was looking for a flexible solution that could move with them and give them added peace of mind.
Project Challenges
The biggest challenge for Howler UK was procuring a wireless system and fire points that were lightweight but still robust enough to survive the project. The fire points were exposed and needed to be able to last for a long time unprotected from the elements. But they also had to be mobile enough to move up multiple floors as building works progressed. Luckily, we enjoyed the test!
The other consideration for this project was the site’s proximity to its neighbours. Highwood Mill is home to a busy residential development, meaning reliability, ease of operation, and fault monitoring were top of the client’s checklist. As the only product on the market with a dual power source, the ProLink® from Howler ticked all of Willmott Dixon’s boxes.
Howler Solution
ProLink®’s dual battery-power source delivers total peace of mind. It’s the only system of its kind currently available, and the client felt reassured knowing that, come what may, their alarms would continue to function. They were impressed by the ProLink®’s durability, mobility, and user-friendly design.
“It’s so easy and simple to use with nice clear buttons. That also gives us peace of mind, if there is a first aid emergency, you press the button, but then there is that visual recognition that someone at the other end has actually received the warning and that help is on the way” – Peggy Gilmour, Construction Management Trainee at Willmott Dixon.
The SafetyHub® is a unique and highly flexible mobile fire safety point with multiple applications, including as a PPE station, first aid point, safety information centre, and much more. Willmott Dixon installed a site-wide fire control system, complete with fire extinguishers and evacuation and fire safety signage, for this project.
The bright red lockers make it easy to spot on-site and protect the fire extinguishers from damage. 80% of construction site fires are put out using a functional fire extinguisher, so it is essential to keep this equipment safe. The durable casing is ultra-lightweight, making it easy to move around as the geography of the site changes – but it is also tough enough to be reused on multiple projects, which is perfect for construction companies watching their carbon footprint!
The Howler Fire Marshall App streamlined compliance for the client. Scanning the barcode on the fire point takes users to the three-point weekly check, and all the data gets summarised into a management report to make viewing and sharing the information more efficient. Willmott Dixon summed up the experience for us in six words: “Tick boxes, take pictures, easy peasy!”
Why not try it for yourself? Book your on-site demo today.
