Panels, motors and drives
Most plant fires start in something electrical, inside an enclosure where nobody can see it.
Industries we protectFire Protection for
Fire Protection for
Manufacturing Plants
Big production halls, long conveyor runs and more electrical infrastructure than most buildings carry. We design, install and maintain the systems that find a fire early and keep the line running.
Industry overview
Fire Safety on Production Sites
Most factory fires do not start on the production line. They start in a panel, a cable tray or a motor, somewhere nobody is looking, and they are well established by the time anyone notices. The second commonest start is the store, where the fire load is highest and the occupancy is lowest.
The difficulty is that a production hall is a hostile place for detection. Ceilings are high, there is dust and heat and movement, and a system that cries wolf gets ignored or switched off. So the detection has to be matched to the conditions in each area, not laid out on a uniform grid.
We work across process and discrete manufacturing, engineering and fabrication, food and beverage, textiles, chemicals and coatings, and the warehouses attached to them.
- One contractor, start to finish Survey, design, supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance, all by us.
- Planned around production Phased around shifts and shutdowns, with any stoppage agreed in advance.
- Designed for the conditions Detection chosen for the dust, heat and height of each area so it does not nuisance alarm.
- Paperwork for the NOC and your insurer Drawings, test records and handover documents both will accept.
Risk profile
Key Fire and Safety Considerations
The six points we look at most closely when we survey a factory.
High production halls
Smoke cools and spreads out long before it reaches a roof 12 metres up, so ceiling detectors are far too slow.
Conveyors and cable trays
Long runs that no point detector covers properly, and that carry fire from one part of the plant to another.
Raw material and finished goods
Both ends of the process, usually stacked high and unattended. Losing either one stops the plant.
Dust, heat and movement
Conditions that defeat ordinary detection, or set it off for nothing — which ends with it being ignored.
Downtime per hour
The stopped line is the real number. Early warning is cheap against it.
Recommended solutions
Recommended Solutions for Production Facilities
Most plants end up with a mix of these. Which ones you need, and where, comes out of the site visit rather than off a list.
Addressable Fire Alarm Systems
The system everything else waits on — addressable panels, detectors and notification devices…
Solution detail
Optical Beam Smoke Detection Systems
Cover large, tall volumes with a single detector — for warehouses, atriums and production halls…
Solution detail
Electrical Panel Fire Protection
Deal with the fire inside the cabinet, in the first seconds — tube-based suppression that needs…
Solution detail
Linear Heat Detection Systems
Make the cable the detector — continuous heat sensing along conveyors, cable trays, tunnels and…
Solution detail
Sprinkler and Deluge Systems
The layer that works with nobody present — wet, pre-action and deluge systems designed to your…
Solution detail
Clean Agent Gas Suppression Systems
Put the fire out without destroying what it has not reached — inert gas and Novec 1230 systems…
Solution detailProducts & technologies
Products and Technologies We Supply
Supplied and commissioned by us, from the manufacturers we are partnered with. Each page carries that manufacturer's own product information and datasheets.
Simplex Fire Alarm & Detection Systems
Intelligent fire detection and alarm solutions for modern buildings — addressable control…
Product detail
FFE Fireray Optical Beam Detection
Beam smoke detection for large, tall volumes — one device covering what a grid of point…
Product detail
Thermocable ProReact Linear Heat Detection
Heat-sensing cable that makes the whole run the detector — for conveyors, cable trays, tunnels…
Product detail
Firetrace Panel and Enclosure Suppression
Tube-based suppression that deals with the fire inside the cabinet, in the first seconds, with…
Product detail
ECS Enclosure Suppression by Honeywell
Compact suppression for electrical enclosures and cabinets — acting inside the panel before…
Product detail
Xtralis VESDA Aspirating Smoke Detection
Very early warning air-sampling detection for server rooms, clean rooms and high-value assets —…
Product detailApplications by area
Protection by Plant Area
What suits a production hall is the wrong answer in a cable gallery. These are the things we weigh up in each area.
Production halls
Beam detection across the volume, because the roof is too high for point detectors to be any use.
Conveyors and cable trays
Linear heat cable that makes the whole run the detector, rather than trying to cover it with point devices.
Electrical and switch rooms
Detection inside the panel and suppression in the cabinet, so a fault stays in the enclosure.
Raw material and FG stores
Height and what is stored drive this one — beam detection across the space with sprinklers sized for the racking.
Control rooms and IT
The kit the plant cannot run without, usually air-sampling detection with suppression that leaves no residue.
Utilities and boiler houses
Gas and flame detection where fuel is handled, with suppression suited to how the area is classified.
Our clients
Clients We Protect in This Sector
Our expertise
Our Areas of Expertise
The parts of a manufacturing project that need the most care, and how we handle them.
Detection sized to the space
Detection matched to the conditions in each area — beam for height, linear heat for long runs, air-sampling where airflow would defeat anything passive.
Suppression that suits the risk
In-cabinet systems for panels, clean agent for control rooms, and sprinklers sized against what is actually in the racks.
Protection inside the panel
In-panel detection and suppression, so an electrical fault is dealt with in the enclosure instead of becoming a building fire.
Handover you can actually use
Drawings, zone plans, cause-and-effect and test records, written so your team and your insurer can both read them.
Upgrades to what is already there
Extending or replacing what is already in the plant, including systems we did not install, once we have checked the panel has the capacity.
Keeping it working afterwards
Scheduled servicing and testing under an AMC, with a record of every visit and the same engineers coming back.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions plant and EHS teams ask us first.
Still have a question?
Speak directly with one of our fire safety engineers.
Call +91 88795 33000How do you detect a fire in a high production hall?
Ceiling detectors stop being much use above roughly 10 to 12 metres, because smoke cools and spreads out before it reaches them. Beam detection is the usual answer — a beam across the space, with anything in the way of it registering. Where airflow or dust would defeat that, air-sampling detection is used for those areas.
What covers a long conveyor or cable tray?
Linear heat detection cable. It runs the length of the conveyor or tray and makes the whole run the detector, which is the only practical way to cover something hundreds of metres long.
Our detectors keep going off for nothing. Can that be fixed?
Usually, yes. Nuisance alarms are almost always a design problem rather than a faulty product — the wrong detection type for the dust, heat or airflow in that area, or devices sited where they were never going to work. We survey it and tell you what is causing it.
How are sprinklers sized for our stores?
Against the commodity and the rack configuration, not the floor area. That matters because a building designed for one kind of stored goods can be badly under-protected for another. If what you store has changed since the system went in, it is worth a review.
Can you install while we keep operating?
Usually, yes. The work is phased around your hours, area by area. If a short shutdown is genuinely unavoidable we tell you at design stage so you can plan for it, rather than you finding out on the day.
Can we extend what we already have instead of replacing it?
Often you can. It depends on the panel you have, whether it has spare capacity and whether the equipment is still supported by its manufacturer. We check that on site before we propose anything, and we will say plainly if extending it is the wrong call.
What does a site assessment involve?
An engineer comes out, walks the site with you and looks at each area. You get a written view of where the gaps are and what we would recommend, with the reasoning behind it. There is no charge and no obligation.
Contact our industry experts
Get a Fire Safety Plan for Your Plant
Tell us what runs in each area and what is already installed, and an engineer will walk the plant and come back with a design built around it.