Early Fire Detection Is Crucial
Souce: Reposted from Siemens
The risks of fire and explosion in the food and beverage industry are often underestimated. Especially in this sector, however, minor fires can cause significant material and consequential losses. But process interruptions caused by false alarms are also costly. The best remedy is detection as early and as reliably as possible using innovative, false alarm-proof fire alarms.
The earlier you discover a fire, the faster you can fight it
There are two areas where fire safety is especially important: Environments at risk of explosion like the production area, where dust (for example from flour) and vapors can be ignited by sparks. Dust formation can trigger a false alarm in traditional fire alarm systems, because they’re unable to distinguish between dust and fire aerosols. The other is in high-rack and cold storage, because conventional detectors on the ceiling often detect the fires too late. The solution: Smart alarms that detect fires reliably and as early as possible.
Aspirating smoke detectors for ideal fire protection in cold or high-rack storage
In high-rack storage, fire alarms attached to the ceiling usually won’t detect a fire that’s started at floor level until it’s already too late. This also applies to cold storage, where freeze-dried coffee, for instance, is highly flammable. That’s why we recommend the FDA241 aspirating smoke detector with optical dual-wavelength technology for these areas, to ensure fires are detected as early as possible. Dual-wavelength technology determines particle size and concentration in order to distinguish between smoke, dust, and vapor. For dust detection, we actuate automatic clearing of the pipe system to reduce manual effort and prevent malfunctions. The system is also suitable for cold storage thanks to the use of water traps and pipe heaters.
Foolproof multi-sensor alarm in areas at risk of explosion
Whether it’s alcohol vapors in distilleries or flour or coffee dust, ASAtechnology™ (Advanced Signal Analysis), a development in algorithm technology, enables our multi-sensor alarms in Ex-zones to detect smoke particles reliably – and most importantly, earlier than traditional heat sensors. ASA technology assesses the signals in real-time and dynamically adjusts the selected parameter set. In the event of a fire, an alarm with ASAtechnology offers a more sensitive response, and when faced with a false alarm it’s more robust than a unit using algorithm technology. Our money-back guarantee for false alarms is a reflection of this reliability.
Contact us to learn more about these Siemens solutions:
Aspirating smoke detection
Fire alarms for areas at risk of explosion
ASAtechnology™