Refrigerated warehouses and cold storage facilities are temperature controlled environments that contain a wide range of inventory such as fresh and frozen foods, pharmaceuticals and pre-packaged product lines.
The ultra dry environment, and highly combustible nature of the insulation and packaging materials present a significant fire risk in these facilities. Air sampling systems are usually more efficient in respect of the premature warning of smoke detection so in turn protecting the value of your stock. Cold storage environments exhibit harsh climatic conditions. The operating Temperature of a cold storage environment is between 8°C to -40°C (46°F to -40°F) This creates very dry atmospheres it is so essential to protect these areas in the correct way!
What should be taken into consideration in a cold storage situation?:-
1. Ignition hazards from electrical and mechanical faults from conveyor/transport equipment
2. Lighting or hot spots caused by maintenance operations
3. The fuel hazards from the highly combustible nature of polystyrene and polyurethane foams, wooden pallets and plastic wrapping. The low humidity levels of cold stores further exacerbate the heat release rate of burning materials
Other Environmental risks that need to be considered:-
1. When products are stored in High bays the airflow can effect the response time of the detection of fire.
2. It is a ongoing problem with regard to the detection of fire in a cold storage situation because the average detection system was not designed with refrigerated environments in mind.
3. High airflow’s created by blast chiller units and condensation (ice formation within the facility) can impede the operation of conventional “passive” detectors. There are international fire standards that should be acknowledged regarding the installation of smoke detectors they should not be installed if the operating temperature is below 0°C (NFPA 721).
Why would you use a Vesda system to proctect your business rather than a Water based system?
1. Water suppression i.e. sprinklers or other water based systems could be used in warehouse applications, however, they may be ineffective in cold storage environments. The objective being in the occurrence of a fire creation of water can generate environmental negative situations for example black ice.
2. The release of water can also generate large amounts of dense fog, causing reduced visibility which may impede an appropriate fire brigade response.
3. Contaminates within the sprinkler pipe work must be considered
Some of the real advantages of using VESDA detection
1. In order to prevent loss in a refrigerated warehouse to detect the fire in its premature stage is essential. VESDA’s reliable, very early warning minimizes the likelihood of product loss (either from fire and/or contamination), facility damage and operational downtime.
2. It is possible for the Vesda detector system to detect the smoke to a minimum temperature of 20° C(-18° F) and 0° C(-32° F) but important to take into account that it is suggested when the air sample enters the detector it should be a temperature of 0° C(-32° F)
3. The use of measured tests can be easily overcome by testing the system in a real smoke environment. No towers, no access equipment should be required, as all electronics (VESDA) detectors should be installed in accessible area’s!
4. With modern technology and the use of an event log we are able to calculate the trends of smoke in temporary situations.
5. All pipe work designs can be verified using the VESDA Sampling Pipe Modeling Program - ASPIRETM, before sample holes are drilled This program illustrates the significance of various parameters in an aspirating smoke detection, so that the most appropriate design can be applied!
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