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Preventing catastrophic plant damage

Critical equipment located in confined spaces or micro-environments requires the highest standards of effective fire suppressant solutions in order to avoid catastrophic damage.

I-CAT specialises in the development of products and services that ensure environmental compliance for its industrial clients. The company is also an authorised distributor of internationally-recognised Firetrace automatic fire suppression systems.

Firetrace is a low-maintenance, cost-effective, self-activating suppression system that reliably contains fires within seconds in micro-environments – where the hazard is contained within critical enclosures, such as equipment, machines, vehicles or storage compartments.

I-CAT Firetrace divisional manager Andro Gibhard, notes that Firetrace systems can be installed in virtually any enclosed space where high-value assets are located or where an increased risk of fire could be mitigated by an automatic fire suppression system.

“Firetrace systems act as automatic fire extinguishers and are completely self-contained, require no electrical power, and are easy to install and maintain. They are compatible with most commercially available fire-suppressing clean agents, foams, and dry chemicals and are the only systems of their type to carry approvals from over 20 international certification bodies,” he explains.

According to Gibhard, the effectiveness of a genuine Firetrace system comes from the proprietary polymer tubing that ruptures when exposed to heat over 100°C. “This specialised tubing combines leak resistance, flexibility, durability and precise temperature sensitivity, allowing it to react quickly when the heat from a fire is present. The detection tubing connects to one of the custom engineered valves and a Firetrace cylinder that contains the best fire suppression agent for a particular hazard.”

UK-based Firetrace boasts more than 150 000 fire suppression system installations worldwide.

On a local level, I-CAT has installed a number of Firetrace systems across South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique, particularly for clients operating within the electrical, mining and ports sectors. “Firetrace is a pro-active solution to protect capital equipment, should a fire break out. Some businesses relate this to an insurance policy that may not be necessary, until it is too late. The primary challenge is to change the mind-set of the industry to become more proactive, rather than reactive, as it will prove to be more cost-effective and sustainable in the long run,” he concludes.

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