An airport is an area from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither. At the very least, airports typically have facilities to store and maintain aircraft, a control tower and at least one runway. Larger airports may have airport aprons, taxiway bridges, air traffic control centres and passenger facilities such as restaurants, shops, lounges and emergency services. International airports also have additional facilities for customs and passport control.
Auckland Airport Fire
Earlier this month a fire in an air conditioning vent led to parts of Auckland Airport to be evacuated.
Fortunately, the fire was extinguished quickly and there were no reported injuries. However, the automated sprinkler system caused flooding to the international arrivals baggage collection area and the water had to be removed before travellers could collect their bags.
The fire caused massive delays and affected around 5,000 travellers while the international terminals check-in, departures and baggage hall were forced to close for nearly four hours. The fire also caused delays to sixteen flights and caused three to be rescheduled.
The Importance of a Reliable Fire Detection System
Airports play a significant role in economic development, and the most important cargo they move is people. However, airports are more than places to catch planes, attend an in-transit business meeting, or do some duty-free shopping; they are among the largest investments a city and region can make.
Some airports can have hundreds of thousands of travellers, staff and other personnel pass through them every single day. Therefore, it is crucial that suitable fire detection is in place to protect life and ensure the smooth and continuous operation of the facility.
What are the Challenges?
There are many challenges that arise when designing a fire detection system for airports. These facilities can encompass thousands of square feet with varying fire detection requirements. These areas may include shops, kitchens, restaurants, waiting rooms, large atria, passport control areas, hangers, control towers and many more.
Different departments or areas may require differing detection types from traditional type point detection to aspirating or linear heat detection. Therefore, the fire alarm system needs to be versatile and reliable and have the ability to cater to many different zones and provide an accurate location of a fire.
Eurofyre
Eurofyre manufacture and supply a wide range of fire detection solutions for industrial and commercial applications including airports and aviation facilities. These systems can range from very small to extremely large applications all requiring a variety of detection types. Eurofyre believes that the system owner should have the freedom of choice when it comes to installation and maintenance so all our systems are designed and built using an open protocol to provide a reliable and cost-effective fire detection solution.
Most Common Systems Used in Airports
The most common system Eurofyre supply to airports is the ProFyre A4 analogue addressable fire detection system. Analogue addressable fire detection provides intelligent detection that is capable of reporting the exact location of any fires, heat contamination or faults and report the status of each device that is connected to the system.
ProFyre A4 Analogue Addressable Fire Alarm System (large properties)
ProFyre A4 analogue addressable fire alarm panels are perfect for larger properties. They are fully expandable and available with up to eight loops. Each loop can accommodate up to 250 devices such as detectors, call points and manual sounders. The A4 fire alarm panel incorporates a backlit LCD display and an optional 20 zonal display is available.
For larger systems, up to 64 nodes (control panels/repeaters) can communicate peer to peer on an RS485 data communication network.
To find out more about any of our fire detection systems feel free to contact Eurofyre on +44 (0) 1329 835 024, by email to [email protected] or via the online enquiry form situated on our contact page.
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