With a rapid surge in industrialization, the demand for power is also increasing like anything. But moving forward without considering new avenues of fire protection and detection systems can prove to be detrimental and must be avoided. Fires in electric power generation plants can be fatal and expensive. But still, the operators and owners of several plants have paid very little attention to fire suppression systems since they were installed around 10 or 20 years ago.

Power plants fall under the ordinary hazard occupancy as per the government regulations. The installation and design of a complete fire protection system needs to abide by several regulations. The system needs to be designed in such a manner that it is acceptable to approve statutory bodies for insurance agencies. By their complex overall system which is made of a range of several operating modules, thermal power plants are characterized. Adding to these, huge risks are posed by extremely hot surfaces, lubricating oils, coal, and coal dust. Fire protection systems are a combination of electrical and mechanical components, like power generation equipment requires regular attention.

There are a few important things which together broadly are the elements of the fire protection system -

Fire-Water Tanks

An important role in the fire protection system is played by water pumps and reservoir tanks for completing the fire pump arrangement. A water storage tank is required for storing water and water will be drawn as and when needed for fire protection. All of the fire pumps are needed to work automatically by using pressure switches, but stopping the pumps requires to be done manually. The firewater tanks need to have two equal compartments and both of them must be interconnected via separate isolation valve. Each compartment must be connected to a common suction header of fire water pumps so that any fire pump can be fed by either a fire water storage compartment.

Valves

For fire fighting systems, valves like Isolation Gate valves, Check valves Alarm check valves, Zone control valves, Pre-action valves, Pressure reducing valves, etc. are the key components. Fire protection starts with high-performance, high-quality firefighting valves that deliver water efficiently and safely when you need it most. A hose or hydrant valve is used to control the flow of water at the scene of a fire or in an industrial setting.

Fire Hydrants

A special fixed format pipe system known as fire hydrants are connected to a reliable source of fire protection water supply and well equipped with water spray nozzles, for specific water distribution over the surface or area to be protected. These are actually above ground pumps that run off the pipeline for safety in urban or residential areas.

Indicator Valves

They are heavy-duty valves which are used with automatic sprinkler and wet standpipe systems. When the system main valve is located under pavement or concrete, it can be difficult to tell whether the valve is open or closed at any given point. A post indicator system includes a means of exercising the valve above pavement that includes an indicator to show whether the valve is currently in an open or closed position.

To make a substation or power plant complete with fire protection systems, it requires to be equipped with modern and cutting edge fire solutions. The choice of fire-fighting equipment is dependent on its suitability for electrical fires but also on cost and the importance of the electrical supplies at the point in question. A wide range of fire protection systems and products are used in these facilities, which includes sprinkler tanks, fire hydrants, fire extinguishers, and systems using sprinkler/water spray, detection/alarm devices, mineral insulated cables and many others that provide protection from aforesaid hazards. With a wide experience of over four decades, Dutco Tennant LLC can be your perfect choice for all kinds of commercial fire fighting products. With our contracts and partnerships with some of the industry's leading manufacturers of the world, we bring for you a vast portfolio of reliable, safe and high performance products.