Hazard: During a loss of communication in the system, there may be delayed fire detection and alarm activation in the case of a fire, increasing the risk of injury or loss of life.

Corrective action: Affected products have been withdrawn from the market, and Bull Products and Cygnus Group have commenced a replacement programme to replace all affected units.

Hazard

A manufacturing defect in the network control unit (NCU) may cause a loss of communication between devices within the fire alarm system and the control and indicating equipment (CIE).

During an outage, the system may fail to process or respond to alarm inputs. This could result in delayed fire detection or alarm activation, increasing the risk of injury or loss of life in the event of a fire.

Affected products do not meet the requirements of Regulation 305/2011 as it applies in GB.

The defect is confined to a single batch of NCUs (batch reference 2410). Not all units in the batch are affected. Any loss of communication is indicated on the fire alarm panel via visual and audible fault indicators, meaning an outage is readily identifiable. The majority of outages are of short duration and self-correcting without user intervention.

Corrective action

Affected products have been withdrawn from the market. All remaining stock from the affected batch has been quarantined. Bull Products and Cygnus Group have commenced a phased replacement programme to replace all affected NCUs, including units that have not exhibited failures. Affected customers who have purchased this product have been contacted by Bull Products and Cygnus Group with further information.

Responsible persons, fire risk assessors and building managers are advised to consider, based on the information provided, whether any temporary measures are necessary while remediation is completed.

Enhanced end-of-line testing has been introduced and all future production utilises a redesigned NCU board to prevent recurrence.

Statement regarding product recall, Bull and Cygnus Fire Alarm Detection System, reference 2607-0120:

The OPSS, working alongside Bull Products Ltd and Cygnus Group Ltd, have issued a product recall relating to an isolated batch of components used within their CIEs.

The issue relates to a manufacturing defect that, under certain circumstances, can result in the CIE temporarily losing communication with devices on the system.

Although only a limited number of products are affected, we have taken the precautionary measure to update all CIEs containing components from the specific manufacturing batch.

Through our internal product traceability processes we have identified and contacted all affected customers and sites. The majority of replacements have already been completed, with the remaining updates scheduled in agreement with the customer.

No other manufacturing batches or other Bull Products’ or Cygnus Group product’s are affected, and all products remain compliant with applicable standards.

We have worked proactively with relevant authorities during this process and are completing the replacement program as a priority.

Customers who have not already been contacted are unaffected and do not need to take any action, however if you have any questions, please contact your Account Manager on 01432 279000

View the source here

Additional information

PSD notification number: 2607-0120

Notified by: Local Authority Trading Standards