Once again Fire Standards, or the lack of them in certain areas of the world and their poor enforcement in certain industries where they are crucial, have recently been highlighted once again by tragic incidents.
For example, in Romania there was another nightclub fire caused by fireworks being set off inside, which, coupled with the club being over its licenced capacityand with flammable foam on the walls, led to the tragic deaths of 45 individuals and the fall of the government.
This is the not the first incident of its type but it does seem to have heralded a tipping point with public awareness and the risks posed by poor fire regulations and standards. Leading to the fall of the government amid accusations of endemic corruption, sadly this is nothing new as we have seen from clothing factory fires in Bangladesh to further nightclub and dam incidents in Brazil.
In developing markets such as the Middle East they are moving towards implementing the same standard as the US: the NFPA standards. Unfortunately this is not the case across the board and there is a variety of different standards out there, some less effective than others.
When compared to other industries, the fire industry in particularseems to have too many differing standards especially when lives are at risk. The industry is so standard-heavy that different European countries have different regulations for foams used to put fires out. As an example if there was an industrial fire on the German/Danish border then the Danish fire brigade nearest to the incident would not be able to help their German counterparts.
Some high risk industries are better than others at self-regulating: for example the Oil & Gas and Power Generation sectors have some of the most stringent fire protection regulations in existence. Those standards are then utilised globally by international businesses operating in local markets.
These industries maintain that high level of life safety by rigorously maintaining their fire suppression systems in the knowledge that should the worst happen, they need that system to be fully effective.
Shipping for instance when compared to Oil & Gas and Power Generation lags somewhat behind when it comes to the enforcement of regulations due to local interpretations of those regulations. The IMO have recently updated the SOLAS regulations to ensure fire suppression systems on board vessels are checked and maintained on a regular basis.In practice this is not the case; there have been reports of incidents and cases of fixed fire suppression systems not even being checked on an annual basis in certain parts of the globe. The Far East is a region of particular concern along with the Subcontinent.
The main reason for this is concerns over the cost of adequately checking and maintaining suppression systems. Most fixed fire suppression systems on board a vessel comprise a series of cylinder points that contain a suppressant agent which typically will be CO2 or occasionallyNovec on newer vessels. If a fire is detected these cylinder points will then release the suppressant agent onto the fire to supporting on board firefighting efforts.
As we have seen from recent incidents such as the MSC Flamina incident in 2012, if a fire takes hold in a ship out at the sea the consequences can be catastrophic due to the distances involved.
With this in mind it is crucial that the fixed fire suppression system maintains full integrity and accidental discharges and leaks are identified and the appropriate action is taken in good time. Historically the individual cylinder points were shut down, dismantled, taken from their mounts and weighed to check the liquid level of the suppressant agent: a time consuming and also potentially dangerous method.
Coltraco Ultrasonics a leading British OEM of ultrasonic measuring technology have developed a range of products over the last 25 years that both speed up and enhance the maintenance process. From Portalevel™ MAX (our flagship liquid level indicator) through to Portalevel™ Datalogger (the first LLI of its kind to record and download up to 1000 cylinder readings) and Permalevel™ Multiplex (a fixed system for continuous monitoring) the range of products encompass both portable hand-held units and fixed systems.
With market leading accuracy of +/-1.5mm and the ability to quickly detect and identify any accidental discharge or leakage, safety conscious owners and operators are specifying the relevant product for their vessel or building.
The beauty of a system such as this is that it negates the need for time consuming and expensive annual maintenance checks on individual cylinders but allows the fire suppression system to be monitored in real time. Either via a portable hand held Portalevel™ device or the fixed Permalevel™ Multiplex which is designed for suppression systems with a large number of cylinder points.
Outside of the aforementioned industry verticals this ultrasonic measuring equipment can be applied in other high risk environments such as Data Centres, High Rise Hotels and Office Buildings Rolling Stock and Mines for example.
Permalevel™ Multiplex has been well received within the hotel and high rise community particularly in the Middle East where concerns over Hotel Fires helped drive the development of the system. For a large hotel spread over a wide area it allows those responsible for fire protection and maintenance to standardise their procedures when it comes to the maintenance of that fixed fire suppression system.
This ensures full integrity of the suppression system is maintained and by using the latest technology available, issues can be identified and acted upon before it is too late using this real-time capability. For example if Permalevel™ Multiplex detects the liquid level of suppressant gas has gone below the required amount it triggers an alarm alerting the operator to the fact the individual cylinder point has an issue.
This data is then captured and stored using the bespoke RS232/485 system developed in-house at Coltraco. This software allows the servicing team to build up a complete picture of how each cylinder point is behaving. The data stored is so comprehensive that if, for example, an operator left after a period of time, their successor would still have a complete picture of any accidental discharges or leaks in the preceding time frame.
We believe that industries involved in high risk environments where fire is a real issue would benefit from a globalised industry standard for the maintenance of fixed fire suppression systems: to provide a safer working environment for all.
This is embodied in Coltraco'sSafesite™ and Safeship™ concept which aims to ensure that any employee working either on land or at sea has the capability either via a portable device or fixed system to eliminate the risks associated with a poorly maintained fire suppression system.
Particularly with the portable Portalevel™ suite of products they can be used by any member of staff to check the liquid level of a cylinder point providing a quick and accurate reading that can then be downloaded to the system and checked and cross referenced.
The idea behind the Safesite™ and Safeship™ concepts is we develop a greater understanding of how technology can be utilised to enhance and improve life safety within the work place and in leisure facilities.
If this concept could be combined with input from existing industry bodies such as the NFPA, BSI, UL and the VDB to create a platform for change, the prevailing mood after recent incidents would be receptive.
By working together with governments, particularly in emerging regions but also within the developed world, a standardised procedure for the specification, installation and maintenance and inspection of fixed fire suppression systems could be developed. This would lead to fewer fire incidents and certainly less of those such as the clothing factory fire in Bangladesh or the nightclub fire in Romania.
Whilst fire will always be present as a risk to life and business continuity we still have room to improve on negating its effects. We believe it is time to discuss this further and we believe there is a platform for change.