HAZARDOUS-ENVIRONMENT FIRE DETECTION
refinery if both fire and gas detection are involved, Hogan says. “The cost is offset with the value of the refinery, the loss of production and the damage to its reputation.”
But although specialty engineers are the key decision-makers about which equipment to use and how to install it, they do take advice from systems integrators that specialize in hazardous installa- tions and from manufacturers that supply those integrators. “In many cases the bigger integrators have had a chance to influence the design philoso-
‘Anyone wanting to specialize in fire systems for hazardous areas should consider getting a degree in fire protection engineering as a starting point.’
phy,” Hogan relates. In addition, he says, compa- nies such as Honeywell Analytics that manufacture equipment for use in hazardous areas may be asked to provide white papers and other information about new developments in this area. The design engineer sometimes hires an engi- neering, procuring and contracting company which in turn hires the systems integrator for the job, usually based on a request for quotation (RFQ) process, Hogan says. The work typically goes to integrators that have demonstrated expertise in installations for hazardous areas. “If you’re doing residential fire and burglary sys- tems, you won’t want to jump right into hazardous facilities,” comments Jay Levy, western regional sales manager for Buena Park, Calif.-based Hochiki America Corp., a fire equipment manufacturer. Any- one wanting to specialize in fire systems for hazard- ous areas should consider getting a degree in fire pro- tection engineering as a starting point, Levy advises.
INTRINSICALLY SAFE DEVICES Despite the diversity in fire systems for hazardous areas, there is one requirement that many such sys- tems have in common — a requirement that equip- ment used in the immediate vicinity of the hazard should be designated “intrinsically safe.” A good definition of this term can be found in the National Electrical Code (NFPA70), explains Tim Frankenburg, fire products manager for St. Louis-based manufacturer Potter Electric Signal. According to that definition, an intrinsically safe
62 November 2010
device is one that is incapable of causing an igni- tion if it is hit by a spark or thermal event. Frankenburg notes, for example, that some gases used in a hospital are potentially hazardous, but intrinsically safe devices are only required in areas where tanks containing those gases are stored. Intrinsically safe smoke detectors typically are sealed against the environment — and as John Haynes, director of fire alarm marketing for West- minster, Mass.-based SimplexGrinnel notes, that requires a whole different approach to smoke detec- tion from what is used in conventional installations. “Conventional smokes need to have access to the air to pick up smoke particles,” Haynes explains. Intrinsically safe detectors, he says, are more likely to use optical technology for smoke detection. An optical device detects smoke by sensing infrared and ultraviolet radiation through a sealed glass. Two organizations — Underwriters Laboratories
and Factory Mutual — are responsible for certify- ing that specific devices meet requirements to be considered intrinsically safe, Levy says.
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
As alarm equipment in general becomes more intelligent, it is driving important trends through- out the alarm industry — and fire detection for hazardous areas is no exception. Hogan notes, for example, that fire and gas detection systems today are more likely than in the past to be installed by the same contractor. “What we’re finding is that more and more people are asking us to supply integrated fire and gas systems, and a number of companies can bid on the whole thing,” he relates. Such systems also may integrate video and access control, Hogan says. More intelligence also is giving rise to new types of detectors. For example, Northford, Conn.-based Honeywell Fire Systems offers an intrinsically safe detector that can detect various gases, such as meth- ane and chlorine, and can be set to different thresh- olds depending on the requirements of an individual installation. As David Tamulevich, Notifier Net- work product manager for Honeywell Fire Systems explains, the product also can detect when oxygen is being depleted, an early warning sign of a fire. ■
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