The development links directly to the adjacent Shires shopping centre, which has also been re-branded "Highcross", and adds 110,000 square metres of retail space to Leicester, making it equal in size to the internationally renowned Bullring in Birmingham. It has been described as a development that will "completely reinvent Leicester and change the way you feel about the city". It incorporates three major department stores - Debenhams, House of Fraser and John Lewis - and a spectacular covered mall with 120 leading-brand stores.

125,000 visitors experienced the venue's opening day, highlighting the fire safety challenges faced by every leisure and retail venue. Understandably, visitors are focused on enjoying all that Highcross has to offer, rather than how safe they would be in an emergency. So system reliability was one of Highcross management's primary concerns to ensure that, in the event of a fire, evacuation could be achieved safety, swiftly and without causing the public unnecessary additional anxiety.

To ensure this, the decision was taken to specify the Draka cable because of its proven ability to maintain circuit integrity when exposed to fire, and continue to provide the essential power to the fire detection and public address systems. Firetufplus meets the Enhanced category of BS 5839-1:2002+A2:2008 [Fire detection and fire alarm systems for buildings. Code of practice for system design, installation, commissioning and maintenance], and is manufactured to BS 7629-1:1997 [Specification for 300/500 V fire resistant electric cables having low emission of smoke and corrosive gases when affected by fire. Multicore cables].

Equally important, like all Draka cables, Firetufplus is tested and third-party approved by LPCB [Loss Prevention Certification Board] and BASEC [British Approvals Service for Cables]. These third-party approvals provide the installation contractor and Highcross' management with a truly meaningful guarantee that the Firetufplus cable supplied by Draka is to the standard claimed for it. It provides 60 minutes fire and mechanical protection, followed by 60 minutes of fire, mechanical impact and water protection.

From the contractor's viewpoint, Firetufplus also offered several on-site benefits, as it retains the ease of installation associated with a pliable cable. These include: lower termination costs; availability in long lengths; and twisted core construction to improve signal clarity. Its selection also called for no special tools or training.

Derby-based Draka UK is the country's leading designer and manufacturer of fire performance cables, halogen-free power cables and building wires. The company is part of Netherlands-based Draka Holdings NV, which has over 9,000 employees worldwide. Full details on Firetufplus and other Draka cables are available by telephone on +44 (0)1332 345431, by fax on +44 (0) 1332 331237, and via email at firetuf@draka.com. The company's website is at www.drakauk.com

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