Main Business Activity - An innovative company which creates products and services for property & life protection.

Project Outline - To partially fund BRE Global to perform a detailed and comprehensive fire test assessment of the Automist system. Without which Plumis would only be able to do the minimum required to launch the product.

Fire extinguishers in residential blocks are increasingly regarded by risk assessors as fire risks, as they can delay evacuation and encourage untrained people to fight dangerous fires. In response to this Plumis developed an innovative domestic fire suppression system called Automist. This is an automatic fire suppression system which mounts discreetly under the sink. It is designed for the kitchen, where 60% of domestic fires originate.

By targeting the kitchen, Automist, which utilises “water-mist”, addresses over half of all domestic fires, and allows complete coverage of small bedsit and studio apartments

Automist has won numerous awards including the “Design for our Future Selves” Snowdon Award for Disability Projects in 2008, the James Dyson Award 2009 and was recently recognised by BBC Focus Magazine as one of the Best British Innovations of 2009.

Plumis is currently gearing up to launch their first product ‘Automist’, and are now excepting pre-orders via their online shop.

The aim of the collaborative project was to partially fund BRE Global to perform a detailed and comprehensive fire test assessment of the Automist system, without which Plumis would only be able to do the minimum required to launch the product. This is a mandatory requirement for the stakeholders who might purchase the system.

The fire testing is part of the commercialisation strategy of the Automist system and a test date was identified at the earliest possible date where the test schedule could be accommodated by the BRE. Third party testing will give Plumis independent validation of the scope Automist can provide. The video and data will also provide evidence and documented information for marketing.

Finally, the test data can enable Plumis to initiate some complimentary research using Firedass (Fire Detection and Suppression Simulation Full Scale Fire Testing) Software and build a robust computer model to allow further optimisation of the system.

The research report will provide a reputable account of what our system does and form the basis of installation recommendations for the system. This report will directly influence our credibility and our ability to promote our system to building control and our fire safety specifiers.

BRE successfully conducted nine tests including 2 free burns in a variety of different fire scenarios. The tests were able to demonstrate that Automist can significantly increase survivability in a variety of different fire scenarios.

‘Throughout this project BRE has found the business to be highly professional, communicative and willing to engage in open discussion about the test programme. This has lead to the most appropriate tests possible being performed within the confines of time and funding, and thus one of the most complete sets of data BRE has been able to produce in recent years.’