Fire protection for cold storage facility
The high-bay cold storage facility opened by Belgium bakery group, La Lorraine, in the Czech town of Kladno in 2013 is protected by an OxyReduct active fire prevention system from WAGNER.
The basic idea behind the innovative OxyReduct fire prevention concept is that of action rather than reaction; preventing a fire before it even starts instead of fire extinguishing.
Failures can have catastrophic effects on the supply chain, especially in the field of logistics where every second counts. Even small fires can contaminate goods with smoke or particles of soot, rendering them unsellable and resulting in supply shortfalls, loss of customers and damage to the company’s reputation.
OxyReduct is based on a simple principle: a fire always needs sufficient fuel, (heat) energy and oxygen. If the ambient oxygen concentration is being reduced a fire cannot spread and will choke. OxyReduct generates nitrogen to reduce the oxygen level directly from the ambient air. The generated nitrogen is fed into the area to be protected, reducing the oxygen to the predefined level. In this fire retardant atmosphere stored goods and logistic processes are reliably protected against fire.
The system is suitable for use in food stores and deep-freezer areas, where water-based systems cannot be used due to extremely low temperatures and the risk of contaminating the goods.
A second La Lorraine facility, due to open in August 2015, will also feature OxyReduct.
