Knowing when to choose an Xtralis VESDA system

VESDA systems (very early warning smoke detection apparatus) have become an integral part of many leading business's fire protection implementations. Using the latest aspiration smoke detection (ASD) technology they can detect smoke long before it is visible to the human eye, being programmable to be up to thousands of times more sensitive than a traditional detector. At UKFP (http://www.uk-fp.co.uk/) we stock VESDA systems by Xtralis as their credentials are second to none. Xtralis developed and launched the world’s first ASD in 1979 and have been the market leader ever since. Their smoke detection and fire products have been installed in such prestigious premises as the European parliament in Brussels, NASA headquarters and Heathrow airport. Their innovations have won them many industry awards including the 2009 Beijing fire shield and the 2012 Poznan International Gold Medal at the Securex International Security Fair.

The key feature that sets ASD systems apart from their conventional counterparts is their ability to draw smoke into the detector via sampling pipes with multiple holes. Smoke particles suspended in the air can then be detected from the light which is scattered by them. When smoke is detected the alarm is set off within seconds, an alert will also trigger if the system’s ability to detect smoke is compromised at any point. These features provide extremely early warnings of fire, often when the fire has yet to break out and is only at the smouldering stage.

Conventional fire alarms are plenty sufficient for many standard workplaces and households with no specialist requirements unlike those discussed here. VESDA systems are particularly well suited to environments such as control rooms and data centres where business continuity is paramount, users can effectively buy time to limit smoke and fire damage. Warehouses and factories are also ideal places, where large amounts of goods can be damaged easily. These types of premises are usually high ceilinged making smoke hard to detect meaning it may not reach conventional point-type detectors in time. Anywhere containing highly flammable liquids and gases such as petrochemical, oil and gas facilities, would also benefit highly from VESDA. In such workplaces where dust and background levels of smoke are high, the VESDA's clean-air barrier can detect the difference between smoke generated from workstations and smoke from fire. Evacuation can be difficult from these type of facilities too, many are out at sea, so with VESDA's early warning smoke alarms there is more time to investigate and evacuation might not be deemed necessary.

From confined office workspaces to large industrial complexes, we have a VESDA system to suit your needs, should you decide to upgrade from a conventional alarm system. We stock what we believe to be the most reliable and market leading brands including Ziton, Apollo Fire and of course Xtralis, giving our customers the best and safest service possible. For more information on the detection systems discussed today, and indeed all of your fire protection equipment needs, just visit the UK-FP website (http://www.uk-fp.co.uk/).

  

Editor’s Note: UK-FP (http://www.uk-fp.co.uk) are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.