Gulf Construction Online - Award-winning CCTV solution to check fire

Fire Protection

Award-winning CCTV solution to check fire

01 March 2005

Aleading exponent of camera-based fire detection, the UK-based D-Tec is banking on actively promoting its video smoke detection (VSD) equipment which uses advanced image processing to help detect and alert instances of fire in installations.

D-Tec’s unique fire detection system that detects fire using standard CCTV (close circuit television) cameras was awarded The Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2003.
“VSD was originally developed in the late 1990s as a reliable early-warning fire detection solution for nuclear-powered turbine halls. However, its significant advantages over other detection systems was soon realised and today, D-Tec’s FM (Factory Mutual)- approved system is fast being recognised as a mainstream fire safety solution,” says a company spokesman.
“Today, the system is used extensively to safeguard on and offshore oil and gas installations, civil and military aircraft hangars, rail facilities and road tunnels, where it is fast becoming the globally preferred solution. The VSD is also increasingly being used in commercial buildings that have atria or other areas that are either difficult or impossible to protect; in service tunnels; and externally as it is the only system on the market that is capable of detecting forest fires or outbreaks around sensitive or high-security locations. To this list, D-Tec is expecting to add ships and on-board train and aircraft applications over the next few years,” he adds.

How it works
VSD works by computer analysis of video images provided by standard CCTV cameras - often existing CCTV security installations. Using advanced image-processing technology and extensive detection and known false-alarm phenomena algorithms, VSD automatically identifies the particular motion pattern of smoke and alerts the system operator to its presence in the shortest possible time. Because VSD does not rely on the proximity of smoke to the detector, its effectiveness is not affected by distance.The system rapidly detects smoke by seeking small areas of change within an image. These are then passed through a series of filters that seek the particular characteristics that are known to be associated with smoke behaviour.

The benefits
Among the major benefits of the VSD is its fast reaction time compared with other smoke detection systems on the market, claims the spokesman.
“This is because VSD is constantly looking at the source, unlike other currently available systems that rely on the smoke to be picked up by the detector,” he says. “The uniqueness of D-Tec’s VSD is its intelligence; the ability to accurately detect smoke patterns and differentiate between them and other movement patterns.”

The future
With the imminent introduction of a new IP-based system, the company is set to further entrench its market leadership position and is anticipating significant expansion in its global markets.
“This new generation of D-Tec VSD will be easier to use and maintain; it will allow remote testing and remote diagnosis of a potential incident to ensure an even faster response. Another major step forward is that IP addressing will allow smoke detection to be more comprehensively integrated with security and facilities management systems,” he says.

Video smoke detection over IP
FireVu has been developed to overcome many of the problems associated with smoke detection. It provides solutions for previously unsolvable fire detection scenarios, working externally as well as internally and represents a true technological breakthrough in fire prevention.
The system harnesses the transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) and has large scope for large installations allowing the system to be scaled to suit any number of cameras by connecting each FireVu unit via TCP/IP. Each unit accepts four analogue camera inputs via BNC connectors on the rear panel and 16 inputs can be accepted along with 16 relay outputs.
At the heart of FireVu is Nucleus, a real-time operating system. Utilising TCP/IP protocols FireVu can be configured over LAN or WAN using the bespoke Java application, says the spokesman.
FireVu’s embedded algorithms analyse the video images provided by standard CCTV cameras. D-Tec’s FireVu automatically identifies the particular motion pattern of smoke and alerts the system operator to its presence in the shortest time possible. This enables a fast response to a potential fire, saving valuable time even in voluminous areas or where a high airflow may be present.
From its facility in Hampshire, D-Tec designs, manufactures, installs, commissions and maintains installations for applications that are, typically, external areas, high roof and large volume structures, high airflow environments and unmanned locations.
To date, D-Tec has installed its systems in the UK, Ireland, Norway, Australia, the US, the Middle East, South Africa and Italy. In addition to its UK headquarters, the company has engineers placed with partners in Dubai in the UAE, in Sydney, Australia, Los Angeles in the USA and Johannesburg, South Africa, he concludes.