Even with no smoke, a potential fire is lurking

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UMIA is an all-round waste processing/recycling company that provides and waste collection and disposal service to municipalities, companies and individuals in the Netherlands. When the company owners wanted to provide maximum fire protection, they sought the help of Dutch security specialist Obsafe, who built a solution using Hikvision thermal technology.

Challenge

Fire in waste facilities is a serious concern. The nature of the processes and materials found at the site lend themselves to being flammable. For example, certain types of waste give off gases like methane. There’s also a lot of dry ‘shredded’ or broken pieces lying around, which could catch fire more easily.

The build up of temperature inside a waste pile, called ‘scalding’, is a very large threat in the waste disposal industry. There’s no perceptible smoke, although the temperature could have risen to dangerous levels. Smoke is usually the main indication of danger, but in this scenario the fire could build, or start to form, hidden away in the center of a massive waste pile.

Smoke detection using conventional solutions in huge indoor waste storage buildings becomes ineffective or completely stops working due to a build-up of dust on the sensor. This means they needed a solution that is immune to this dusty environment, and can be eaisly maintained to maximize effectiveness.

The site owners needed to provide real protection 24/7 to protect their personnel and their premises; and to reduce any environmental impacts caused by waste fires. There were also insurance company demands to take into consideration.

Solution

Hikvision Thermographic Network Bullet Cameras (DS-2TD2136T-10) are installed in and around UMIA’s warehouses (or waste bunkers), making up an automatic temperature monitoring system for fire prevention. With their built-in advanced temperature analysis algorithm, they were an obvious choice. Insurance company requirements were an important factor in choosing the right cameras too – they needed to have a high temperature measurement accuracy of 2ºC/2%. The Hikvision cameras are CNPP certified and have been approved to work within these accuracy levels. If a temperature increase is detected in one of the warehouses, an alert will be raised. During office hours an operator keeps an eye on things, and outside working hours the notification is sent directly to an incident room, where operatives will act in accordance with the agreed protocol.

When the operator sees a rise in temperature, employees will be tasked to take actions to reduce the temperature. However, if the operator determines that the temperature has reached a dangerous level, they will immediately contact the fire department. With these rapid detection and follow-up protocols in place further damage to buildings and the environment, and risk to employees, can be minimized.

The system is managed using a 4K NVR (DS-7716NI-I4), with 16 channels and 4 HDDs for continuous recording. The NVR provides a reliable recording system with the capability to directly send temperature alerts.

Philip van den Hadelkamp, Co-owner, says: “During a hot summer weekend, when the material lies untouched for a few days, the chance of scalding is relatively high. The thought that during the absence a temperature monitoring system is watching over the matter 24/7 gives us great peace of mind. In addition to the camera images, which are very supportive in the daily operation, the entire camera system has a positive added value on our business processes.”

With the protection offered by a comprehensive fire detection cameras, the risk of one of nature’s most destructive forces is dramatically reduced. This gives UMIA’s owners comfort knowing their employees, their business and the environment are safe 24 hours a day.

Click here for more information about Hikvision thermal cameras.

Fire Prevention Recycling