Fire Sentry

Of all the problems that can occur in a mine, underground fire is the worst with the greatest loss of life and financial impact. Fires in coal mines quickly use up available oxygen leading to the death of any underground workers whilst the smoke, inexhaustible fuel supply and inaccessibility makes rescue and control extremely difficult. Mine fires can burn for years with huge financial loss. In tunnels the problems are mainly the difficulty of rescue due to smoke and the poisonous emissions from the fire, coupled with a lack of certainty over the exact location of the fire. During the fire in the Channel Tunnel (2008) rescuers were unable to advise trapped passengers of the best escape routes because they could not locate the source of the fire. Research into fire detection systems has concentrated on developing individual technologies to detect a particular physical consequence of fire such as the heat or smoke. By
the time a fire has developed sufficiently to generate such detectable characteristics it is normally too late. Even with latest detection technologies most mine fires are first detected by the miner’s sense of smell.
Trolex has devised an innovative and radically different approach to fire detection and control by attempting to analyse and detect “Pre-Fire” conditions. The aim of this Project is to develop a system that is able to detect the characteristics of a developing fire before combustion itself has begun, long before conventional systems can start to work. A fire does not ignite spontaneously, there is always a pre-cursor, a cause, but what this cause is and the characteristics that it exhibits, varies from fire to fire. The ability to detect a fire from its precursors provides crucial additional time for the mine staff with an additional advance being the ability to be able to locate the source of a fire quickly and accurately. The “Fire Sentry”
Project will transform both the health and safety and economics of Mining.