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FIRETRACE® protection for airport’s mission-critical assets

Publication date: 28 March 2010
Author: Magna Communications

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Firetrace International will be showcasing its full range of FIRETRACE® automatic fire detection and suppression systems at The Airport Show in Dubai that provides stand-alone, around-the-clock protection for electrical cabinets and enclosures upon which airports’ mission-critical services depend. FIRETRACE is the only UL [Underwriters Laboratories] listed and FM [Factory Mutual] approved tube-operated system in the world that is tested as an automatic fire detection and suppression system with, globally, 150,000 successfully completed installations.

Electrical Cabinet

FIRETRACE® is the only UL listed and FM approved tube-operated system in the world tested as an automatic fire detection and suppression system.

The ISO 9001:2008-registered company will be demonstrating how its technology can safeguard systems controlling equipment for runway lighting, baggage handling, control tower systems, remote air guidance operations, passenger handling, telecommunications centres, elevators, escalators and moving walkways. The company will also be showing how the same systems are being used to protect the most common locations for the outbreak of a fire on ground service vehicle – the engine compartments, generators, electrical systems and heaters.

FIRETRACE can be part of a new-build installation or retro-fitted to existing equipment to provides unsupervised protection that requires neither electricity nor external power, so is ideal for equipment that is in remote, difficult to access or infrequently inspected locations. It withstands the rigors of dust-laden environments, contends with extreme ambient temperatures, and stands up to shocks and intense vibration.

Each FIRETRACE system comprises an extinguishing agent cylinder attached to a specially developed leak-resistant polymer tubing via a custom-engineered valve. This proprietary Firetrace Detection Tubing is a linear pneumatic heat and flame detector that was specially developed to deliver the desired temperature-sensitive detection and delivery characteristics in even the harshest of environments. Immediately a fire is detected, the tubing ruptures and automatically releases the suppression agent, extinguishing the fire precisely where it starts and before it has had time to escalate or spread.

The tried-and-tested system is truly unique among tube-operated systems. In addition to its endorsement by UL and FM, FIRETRACE has accreditations and approvals from more than 25 other world-renowned independent agencies. It also stands apart from its competitors by being able to be supplied with a variety of suppression agents, the choice of which is tailored to the precise fire risk.

The most appropriate FIRETRACE suppression agents for electrical cabinets and enclosures is either of the two market-leading environmentally-acceptable clean agents – 3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Suppression Fluid or DuPont™ FM-200®. However, for ground service vehicle protection, ABC dry chemical suppressant is the most frequently used agent. Other FIRETRACE suppressant options include AFFF foam. CO2 [carbon dioxide] is also available, although the company is at pains to point out that extreme care has to be taken to ensure that it is not used in applications, such as electrical cabinets, where the direct discharge of CO2 might well damage delicate electrical equipment.

Genuine FIRETRACE is available only via Firetrace International’s global network of authorised distributors. These professionally-minded trading partners are skilled in hazard analysis, experienced in agent and system selection, and trained in installation, commissioning and support. They also use only genuine FIRETRACE components. Details of these authorised distributors are available by contacting Firetrace International at info@firetrace.com.

Firetrace International is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona USA with its EMEA offices in Gatwick in the UK, which can be contacted on +44 (0) 1293 780390. The company’s website is at www.firetrace.com.

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