> How fire safety was delivered in the Kalasatama towers
> Source: https://pap.fi/en/2026/10/nain-kalasataman-tornien-paloturvallisuus-toteutettiin/
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# How fire safety was delivered in the Kalasatama towers

Five tower blocks have been built in Kalasatama so far. PAP has been responsible for commissioning and testing the fire alarm systems in every one of them. The systems were installed by Amplit Oy.

“Construction company SRV’s five-tower project in Kalasatama has been a truly large-scale undertaking,” begins Janne Kuittinen, product manager at PAP. “In total, dozens of control panels, well over 5,000 fire alarm points and more than 2,000 voice alarm loudspeakers have been installed in the tower blocks. An estimated 6,500 working hours have been spent in the towers.”

PAP has worked on the Kalasatama tower projects as a subcontractor to the building services company Amplit Oy. “Our role has been to supply all the fire alarm and emergency voice communication equipment for the towers, as well as the exit signs and emergency lighting. In addition, acting as the fire alarm contractor, we have taken care of design reviews, working drawings, zone plans, system programming and commissioning, as well as the necessary inspections and their documentation. We have also taken part in integrated systems tests with the other parties involved in the project.”

## Installation in a high-rise building

Henry Suhonen, installation manager at Amplit Oy, says that Amplit specialises in demanding sites. According to him, high-rise sites present their own distinctive challenges for installation work. “The towers were built on the same podium as the Redi shopping centre. Establishing the property boundaries was one of the challenges. Redi’s systems had to work seamlessly together with the systems being installed in the towers, such as fire controls, smoke ventilation and building automation – without disrupting the shopping centre’s systems during the installation work.”

The towers’ location close to the sea affected the installation work. “Cabling work started while the site was still at the slab stage, which meant that the work was done at the mercy of the weather. When you are high up and the sea is close by, the climate really is a challenge. The winds and storms are stronger, and on top of that it rains one moment and snows the next.”

Occupational safety and getting around also required special attention in the towers. “There is busy traffic around the towers, and naturally this had to be taken into account from an occupational safety point of view. Moving materials and logistics are also different in high-rise buildings than on conventional sites. You have to allow plenty of time for getting from one floor to another.”

Coordinating the work phases in a high-rise building calls for particularly careful planning. “Slab work can be under way on the upper floors while interior work is being done lower down. When interior work is being done higher up, commissioning can already begin lower down. In a working model like this, keeping to the schedules is extremely important.”

As the tower projects progressed, the working methods became smoother as experience built up. “We learned to recognise the work phases and to make our own part more efficient on that basis. We also kept finding smoother ways of carrying out the cabling.”

### What about commissioning and testing?

Installation of the fire alarm systems is followed by their commissioning. Jari Ahola, product manager at PAP, explains how the work progressed in the towers after the systems had been installed. “Our first task was to get the control panels into working order. We carried out the necessary programming of the equipment and the connections to the existing systems. We also tested all the system functions. At this stage, cooperation with Amplit was really important. We also worked closely with the other contractors, for example on lifts, access control and smoke ventilation. We were also in contact with the fire consultancy to make sure that everything worked as designed.”

Working in a high-rise building also brought its own challenges to the commissioning and testing phase. “Moving between floors took time. On the other hand, once the fire alarm control panels had been installed on the floors, remote connections meant there was no longer any need to go there during commissioning and testing. Another challenge was the unreliable data connections during the construction phase. However, we found a solution that ensured the connections worked even in unstable conditions.”

### Strength in cooperation

PAP and Amplit share the view that projects on this scale would be extremely difficult to deliver without effective cooperation between the different contractors. “Communication is easier when the project parties know each other,” says Henry Suhonen. “Smooth communication between those doing the work saves everyone time. Although price usually plays a major role in choosing a subcontractor, how well the cooperation works also ranks high among the selection criteria.”

Flexibility also plays an important role. “The system tests were usually carried out early in the morning or late in the evening,” says Janne Kuittinen. “On these sites it was great to see how flexibly all the parties needed for the tests were available outside normal working hours. At best, around twenty people took part in the function tests covering the entire system. In a way, you could think of them as the culmination of the project, because that is when you get to confirm that the systems really work in practice.”

According to Henry Suhonen, the cooperation between PAP and Amplit has gone particularly smoothly in the tower projects, perhaps because both companies share a similar passion. “We specialise in demanding sites, and we find them especially interesting and motivating. The best reward from joint projects like these is, of course, a high-quality end result that works reliably and exactly as designed.”

See also: [The impressive towers of Kalasatama](https://pap.fi/en/2026/09/kalasataman-komeat-tornit/), [Fire safety design for the Kalasatama towers](https://pap.fi/en/2026/10/kalasataman-tornien-paloturvallisuuden-suunnittelu/) and [installation and commissioning of fire alarm and fire safety systems](https://pap.fi/en/palvelumme/paloilmoittimen-asennus/).

Article photo: Mikko Ala-Peijari / PhotoCom Oy