The term “animal housing facility” refers to any housing facility where animals are kept for any purpose, including barns, stables, kennels, animal shelters, veterinary facilities, zoos, laboratories and racetracks.
The welfare of the animals kept in the facilities is important and, as such, a suitable fire alarm must be present to protect them from fire. A fire in an animal housing facility can cost millions in damage. Animal housing facilities have some common fire hazards and require careful planning to ensure reliable and efficient fire detection.
There is also human safety to consider in these facilities. Large animals can pose serious or life-threatening dangers to their handlers during emergency situations.
What are the Challenges?
Animal Welfare
The 2019 edition of NFPA 150, Fire and Safety in Animal Housing Facility Codes, hold animal welfare in high regard and according to the NFPA Journal “is bigger, brawnier, and more comprehensive than its predecessors”.
One reason for this is an increase in stories from zookeepers from the National Zoological Park in Washington D.C. where they reported that many animals can react unpredictably, and sometimes angrily, at the sound of a blaring fire alarm. When testing a new alarm installed in the zoo’s orangutan house, Ajay Gulati, a senior engineer at the Smithsonian Institution and a member of the committee responsible for NFPA 150, reported that the animals were clearly very distressed by the strobe light and piercing horn.
Therefore, Gulati witnessed the importance of finding a solution that can mitigate the stress caused to the animals in the facility and provide clear codes of practice to ensure their welfare.
In this situation, to limit the distress caused to the animals, engineers devised a solution that included a big red button next to the alarm box that zookeepers can press to instantly shut off the horn. A red light stayed on in the areas where the animals live so that human handlers remain aware of the fire threat and can calmly evacuate without stressing the animals. If the alarm occurs at night when no humans are present, the horn in the animals’ living quarters will shut off automatically after a minute to minimize their exposure to the noise.
Other Challenges
- Large Open Spaces
- Animal enclosures are often very large to give animals the space they need to live comfortably.
- Varying Temperatures
- Different animals require different living conditions which often require different temperatures. As well as this, temperatures in animal enclosures can vary throughout the day and night to mimic the natural habitat of the animals.
- Varying Airflows
- Animal enclosures often have very large doors that open and close at varying intervals to allow animals in and out of the area.
- Dust, Dirt and Insects
- Dust, dirt and insects are very common in animal enclosures. Environmental factors such as these can cause issues for some kinds of smoke detectors and affect their reliability.
What is the Solution?
FyreLine Linear Heat Detection can provide the ideal fire detection solution for most animal housing facilities. It is not negatively affected by temperature changes or airflow and is impervious to dust, dirt and insects.
FyreLine can be installed inline with NFPA 150 regulations to ensure that animal safety is the priority and measures can be put in place to provide protection schemes that work for man and beast alike.
FyreLine
FyreLine Digital provides fixed heat detection at rated temperatures of 68°C, 88°C, 105°C or 185°C. Once the cables rated temperature is reached, a signal of fire is sent to the fire alarm control panel.
FyreLine Analogue Continually monitors for changes in temperature. The alarm temperature is set by the user and once that pre-defined temperature is reached, a signal of fire is sent to the fire alarm control panel. A pre-alarm temperature can also be set to give zookeepers or other animal handlers a chance to investigate an event before a full alarm is raised.
Wi-Fyre
Due to its switch-like nature, FyreLine Linear Heat Detection can be installed using Wi-Fyre wireless detection technology. This means that the signal from FyreLine can be carried wirelessly to the fire alarm control panel, via a Wi-Fyre I/O device. This makes installation and maintenance quick and easy when access to certain enclosures may be dangerous or limited.
For more information about the FyreLine Linear Heat Detection system, or to discuss any of the other products that Eurofyre have to offer, please feel free to get in touch either by phone on +44 (0) 1329 835 024, by email to sales@eurofyre.co.uk or via the online enquiry form situated on our contact page.
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