The buildings constructed by FORTRESS Protective Buildings, LLC include a Shelter-In-Place (SIP) control panel, called the FORTRESS Gas Sentry, designed by BakerRisk.  Sentry is designed to interface with gas detectors both inside and outside of each building to initiate HVAC shutdown, damper closures, trending of gas concentrations, activation of fresh air flow, and many other functions to support your SIP philosophy.  Originally designed for FORTRESS buildings, the FORTRESS Gas Sentry control box is now available for your existing/new build SIP design.

To enhance personnel safety from toxic gases, shelters are designed for personnel to take shelter until the outside environment becomes safe again and/or to provide personnel time to safely don PPE and evacuate per emergency response plans. We have developed FORTRESS, a building constructed from a pre-cast concrete system, to resist gas infiltration in an emergency with an inner room, specifically designed to provide additional ingress protection, for use as a Shelter-In-Place.

The effectiveness of SIP depends on multiple factors including the leak tightness of the building, operations and maintenance philosophy of the building, and a robust monitoring program. It is important to monitor toxic concentrations not only within the shelter but also outside, at air intakes, and at various places within the building. Important decisions on the duration of sheltering and evacuation can be made based on monitoring gas concentration trends from various gas detectors. This can be easily achieved for your SIP with assistance from a FORTRESS Sentry control panel designed by BakerRisk. Sentry’s expansion capabilities, modern Human-Machine Interface (HMI) aligned to the building layout, and its ability to record details will be an asset to protect your personnel.

Key features of this control panel are:

  • Multi-point monitoring and alarm of toxic and flammable gas detectors
  • User-friendly HMI adaptable to fit different building layouts
  • Trend and store data for future viewing
  • Customizable alarm screen to show high priority alarms at the top
  • Ability to initiate automatic shutdown of HVAC, dampers, exhaust fans, and others
  • Robust monitoring system of the SIP room environment with ability to initiate fresh air supply
  • Simple calibration functionality with logging of calibration timestamp
  • Easy bypass of transmitters in maintenance
  • UPS backup for the panel and panel-powered detectors
  • Password protected system to prevent inadvertent changes in setpoints or actions

The BakerRisk and FORTRESS teams work with you to customize the design of the panel, detectors, and the HMI to suit your building’s SIP needs. BakerRisk’s research and expertise in gas detection for flammable and toxic gas detectors, including experience with most major manufacturers’ products allow us to help clients not only with the FORTRESS Sentry, but also selection and placement of detectors.  We work with you closely from design to commissioning and provide maintenance plans to support testing and maintenance of SIP panel and detectors. Combine the FORTRESS SIP Control Box with BakerRisk’s SIP Design and Assessment services to ensure your personnel are safe from toxic gas impacts.

For more information on our SIP Control Panel, the FORTRESS Gas Sentry, or to request a quote, please contact us at FortressGasSentry@bakerrisk.com

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