There is no smoke without fire

MENA Infrastructure investigates the importance of fire detection technologies.

“Advanced ASD systems allow operators to make informed decisions about a potential fire situation”

Airports run to a tight schedule and any disruption to airport operations is costly to operators, airlines and customers. The most dangerous disruption is caused by fire, a tragic example being the 1996 outbreak at Düsseldorf Airport in Germany, which caused the loss of 17 lives and injury to 62 people, and estimated losses were put between US$200-600 million.

Airport design has changed significantly over the past few years. As airports increase the number of facilities available, such as business lounges, restaurants and retail outlets and improve the amount of open areas it becomes more difficult to detect a fire. Conventional fire detection technology requires a certain concentration of smoke before it sounds an alarm, typically around two to four percent over one linear metre. These alarms are installed at government or international standards so it is assumed that they will sound an alarm when there is enough smoke. However, as smoke is affected by incidental air movement, loses buoyancy or becomes affected by warmer thermal air layers the result is that traditional detection systems generally only register enough smoke once a fire is already advanced, quickly causing chaos and disruption to airport operations. Smoke is also difficult to detect in areas such as baggage handling and hangars where spaces feature large voids, quickly diluted or removed by air conditioning systems.

New technology
Dubai International Airport, the busiest in the Middle East, currently serves around 40 million passengers per year. Dubai’s brand new Terminal 3 is home to one of the most advanced baggage handling systems in the world, with 50 kilometres of conveyor belts running over the 160,000 square metre terminal. Effective baggage handling is critical to operations as well as the safety of people and luggage.

Project managers decided on a system that is capable of detecting low levels of highly diluted smoke by constantly sampling air for smoke particles via a network of sample pipes distributed in the area. The early detection means a small fire can easily be detected before it develops into major incident. This early smoke detection apparatus is a technology that is already widely accepted in many public buildings or areas, including shopping malls and warehouses, and is currently being introduced in to airports including Dubai International’s Terminal 3, London Heathrow Terminal 4, Chep Lap Kok airport passenger terminal in Hong Kong and the Amiri flight hangars in Qatar.

An active Aspirating Smoke Detection (ASD) system continually draws air into a highly sensitive, flexible detector through a network of pipes located throughout a building or location. Advanced ASD systems allow operators to make informed decisions about a potential fire situation. The advanced systems use laser technology to report the density of smoke in an area, the obscuration per metre and is also capable of detecting an early stage smouldering fire. The systems are also capable of providing multiple alarms so that the operator can make a quick decision about how to react to the fire depending on the type of fire and what stage it is at.

Advanced ASD technology can be further enhanced by using a performance-based design approach. While pipes are installed where smoke is likely to travel, at the same time the system complies with international standards and codes providing reliable detection.

While the potential benefits are easy to identify, it is vital that the user clearly specifies their demands in order to make sure their product achieves each and every one. Not all ASD systems are able to deliver the full advantages of the technology, for example, some are sensitive to smoke within a limited range either being extremely sensitive or totally insensitive, and unable to live up to an operators specifications. If the demands of the system are clearly identified and met then the life and revenue saving benefits are readily achievable through an advanced ASD system.