Multistorey and underground car parks are widely used to provide ample parking for shopping and entertainment complexes, hotels, hospitals, offices and many other business or residential properties.
Ultimately utilised to optimise space, fitting as many cars or vehicles onto one plot as possible, multi-storey and underground car parks provide secure and sheltered parking. However, they do not come without risk.
On top of the obvious structural challenges that multi-storey and underground car parks face – being constantly subjected to heavy, moving vehicles – they also come with a number of fire risks and challenges.
What are the risks?
One of the biggest fire risks that multi-storey and underground car parks face are the cars themselves. There is no guaranteeing the condition or the safety of any vehicle that uses a car park. A car with an impending electrical or mechanical fault could easily catch fire which can then spread to nearby vehicles.
As well as the risk of fire from malfunctioning vehicles, spilled fuel, exhaust fumes and, although smoking is not typically permitted car park areas, lit cigarette ends also present high risk of fire.
Low ceilings and height restrictions that often apply to multi-storey and underground carparks inhibit access and can delay response times for emergency service vehicles, therefore making a fast and reliable fire detection system, coupled with a suitable fire suppression system, essential.
What are the Challenges?
Car park applications present a high risk of false alarm due to the exhaust fumes that are present. This makes it difficult to detect the early stages of a fire using point detectors, especially smoke detectors.
Point heat detectors can still be used, however the reinforced ceilings used in these applications often come with a large number of cavities, each of which requires its own individual detector. This leads to increased installation costs, not only requiring large quantities of detectors, but also potentially requiring an increased number of zones.
What is the Solution?
Eurofyre’s FyreLine Linear Heat Detection System can provide a highly reliable fire detection system for this type of application, typically saving between fifty and seventy five percent of the cost of a traditional detection system.
FyreLine Linear Heat detection is available in both fixed temperature (digital) or analogue versions, both of which can provide a fast response to a vehicle fire.
FyreLine Digital Heat Sensing Cable
Fyline Digital Heat Sensing Cable is made up of two conductors that are twisted together. Each conductor is coated in a heat sensitive polymer that, once heated to its rated temperature, melts. This causes the two conductors to short, sending a signal to the fire alarm control panel. Once an alarm has been triggered the affected length of cable can easily be replaced.
Fyreline Digital is available with a heat rating of 68°C, 88°C, 105°C or 185°C.
FyreLine Analogue Heat Sensing Cable
Fyreline Analogue Heat Sensing Cable is fully resettable and monitors significant increases in temperature. This allows the system to provide both pre-alarm and alarm warnings.
Either version of FyreLine Heat sensing cable is suitable for use in multi-storey and underground car park applications. FyreLine heat sensing cable can be easily integrated with existing fire alarm systems and is capable of detecting fire anywhere along its length, providing fast and reliable fire detection with reduced risk of false alarm.
For more information about the FyreLine Digital 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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