At the heart of any waste facility is the plant and equipment required to operate efficiently and effectively. Machinery such as material handlers, wheel loaders, telehandlers, etc., will be working hard to help make the business a success.
Significant investment will have been made in buying or leasing the plant required to operate, and unless insurance companies stipulate there ‘must be’ fire suppression, it can often be left off the machine. This might be a short term saving but could be a longer term risk.
No one knows when or where a fire is going to happen but we all know they do. Plant and equipment is working for long hours in demanding environments, often with debris being drawn into the machines, requiring regular maintenance and cleaning. Combine this with hot turbo chargers, engine manifolds, hydraulic pumps and several hundred litres of diesel and hydraulic fluid, the risk is there to see. However, it can be mitigated by fitting an approved fire suppression system to protection people and assets.
Leading wood waste solutions company Martens located in the Netherlands who add value to wood waste went through this very journey. Their business is to give value to wood, by processing shavings and agro-fibre into ground cover for stables and pellets as a green energy to fuel boilers. The facility did have a fire which caused damage not only to the machines but also the buildings.
Following the fire, the insurance company then required fire suppression to be fitted to all machines. Martens approached Reacton partner A.M.C. and David Cooninx advised them which approved fire suppression system most suited their needs. A Reacton Dual Agent system with a Manual Actuator was selected, and now 6 machines are protected with Reacton systems, and a 7th is on the way.
Recently this decision proved to be exactly the right one. Unbeknown to the operator, a fire had started near the turbo and the detection tube routed above it had burst and suppressed the fire without damage. A.M.C. attended site, replaced the detection tube and recommissioned the system, also checking the rest of the machines.
Martens said ‘not only did the Reacton fire suppression system protect the operator but saved the cost of replacing the JCB 427 plus the downtime, which itself would have run into hundreds of thousands of Euro. Great product Reacton, great service A.M.C., we are satisfied.'
Reacton Single & Dual Agent Configuration
Reacton offer both single and dual agent systems with our Dual Agent configuration being an outstanding fire suppression method due to combining the individual features of Dry Powder & Wet Chemical into one extremely effective solution. Not only does the system provide the rapid flame knockdown of Dry Powder but the cooling & blanketing properties of Wet Chemical, prevent re-ignition.
Reacton’s Dual Agent configuration also offers significant advantages to single-agent extinguishing mediums, as it can offer up to a 40% reduction in the automatic fire suppression system size, and requires no electrical power to operate the system.
As you would expect, our Heavy Equipment fire suppression components and systems are approved and certified to SPCR183, SPCR199 and AS5062:2016. standards.
In Conclusion
As waste operations continue to face the risk of fire, it is crucial to implement comprehensive fire safety measures. Reacton’s approved fire suppression system offers unparalleled protection, ensuring the safety of both people and assets. By investing in fire suppression technology on mobile & static plant and equipment, operators can mitigate the risks of devastating fires and consequential losses that can occur resulting in temporary or even permanent business closure.
Our dedication to innovation and research and development ensures that your heavy plant and equipment are equipped with fire suppression systems offering the highest level of protection giving you peace of mind when operating in some of the most demanding environments in the world.
Protecting Your Future, Today
For more information on Reacton Fire Suppression products, please get in touch with the team by emailing info@reactonfire.com or call us on + 44 (0)800 0306526.
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