1
euros in costs caused by fires in the timber industry
1
of all fires in the wood industry are caused by technical reasons
Our solutions at a glance
Risks that cause high fire hazards
-
- High-performance mechanical processes, including
- planer
- Multi-blade circular saws
- hoggers
- Glowing embers
- Sparking and hot particles
- Overheating of materials and bearings
- High-performance mechanical processes, including
Machines with high fire risks
- Filters
- Silo
- Saws, multi-blade circular saw, sliding table saw, vertical band saw
- Dryers, belt dryers, drum dryers
- Planers, jointers, thickness planers, four-siders
- Chippers, shredders and chippers
- Bench grinder
Fire detection and prevention technologies
- Spark extinguishing systems
- Water spray extinguishing systems
- Gas extinguishing systems
- Fire detection systems
- Infrared early fire detection
Your partner in the wood industry
The woodworking and wood processing industry is traditionally associated with high fire risks. The threshold between a small incipient fire and a full-blown fire resulting in the total loss of the entire inventory is often very low. A few years ago, the industry was on the verge of not finding adequate fire insurance cover and business interruption protection. As a result, the DeSH, the GdV and the VdS worked together to produce a guideline – the VdS 3520 – for the necessary fire protection.
Traditionally, companies that work and process wood always come into contact with the subject of fire protection. Everyone involved in this industry is aware of the risks. Whether sawmill, wood-based material manufacturer, joinery/carpentry or furniture manufacturer and many more, these companies have one thing in common. Enormous fire loads due to often dry, flammable material in combination with mechanical processing, due to nowadays high-performance multi-blade circular saws, hoggers, thickness planers, wide-belt sanding machines – to name just a few machines – logically lead to high fire risks.
The resulting interruptions to operations not only entail high costs for reconstruction, but there are also other risks that are not necessarily obvious at first glance.
7 reasons for reliable fire prevention:
- Rebuilding costs energy, time and money.
- Loss of customers and suppliers due to long absence from the market
- Provision of the investment: Claims settlement by the property insurer is not always clear and promptly clarified.
- Acquisition of machinery, furnishings and equipment for workstations
- Data recovery: IT systems may be damaged
- Installing and setting up hardware and software
- Restoring all processes
Further delays due to
- Shortage of skilled workers: both in construction and in the company’s own workforce
- Extended delivery times: for machines, small parts, materials (stock)
If you have already recognized these risks, you have come to the right place. If not, you are also in the right place and can read about potential fire hazards in the following sections and learn about technologies that will protect you from production losses and lengthy discussions with insurers.
Which production areas pose a particularly high fire risk?
Filter
Fires in filter systems and dust extraction systems are one of the most common causes of fire in the wood industry. Under extremely unfavorable conditions (cleaning of filter elements, inadequate maintenance, improper operation), explosions can even occur with the right dust-air concentration (concentration between LEL and LEL) and sufficient ignition potential. What are the causes?
- Material contamination: Foreign bodies such as metal splinters, screws or even hard branches in the wood can lead to dangerous ignition potentials that are introduced into the extraction line.
- Bearing damage to the fan: Bearing damage to the fan can cause sparks to fly.
- Damage to the discharge screw: A broken shaft on the discharge screw or a material jam can lead to friction, which can cause embers in the material.
- Tool breakage: A broken tool can cause pieces of metal to enter the extraction line and generate mechanical sparks.
- Material jam: Wedging or jamming of the material can quickly lead to mechanical friction, which can result in embers or smouldering particles
- Human error: Improper handling of the machines or, for example, the uncontrolled discarding of cigarette butts can lead to the introduction of dangerous ignition potentials into the extraction system.
Silo
Silo fires are a familiar scenario in the timber industry. Silo fires are extremely difficult to extinguish and require a well-trained fire department that can deal with such incidents safely. If the wrong extinguishing procedure is chosen for a silo fire, devastating explosions can easily occur. To avoid the risk of silo fires, suitable detection and extinguishing systems should be integrated. Spark extinguishing systems, for example, can be used as a preventative measure. The VdS leaflet VdS 2154, for example, provides further good guidance on the protection of silo systems. In the following, we list the causes of fire that you must always take into account when assessing the risk:
- Entry of ignition sources: Mechanically generated ignition sources can be introduced into the silo via the pneumatic conveyor line or the mechanical conveyor, e.g. the elevator or the scraper chain conveyor
- Damage to the discharge auger: A broken shaft on the discharge auger or material jams can lead to friction, which can cause embers in the material.
- Malfunction of the heating system: Malfunctions in the rotary valve between the silo and the downstream heating system can cause flames from the burner of the heating system to flash back into the silo.
- Electrostatic charge: Inadequate earthing of the silo but also incorrect material accumulation, e.g. uneven distribution or clumping, can lead to charges being concentrated at certain points, which increases the risk of sparking.
Dryer
The past few years have been accompanied by several incidents of damage, particularly to belt dryers. Due to a variety of unfavorable factors, the risk of fire in belt dryers increases immensely. On the one hand, there are the relatively high drying temperatures, the increasing dryness of the material and a high dust content. On the other hand, the high proportion of material in such systems should not be underestimated, which is why the fire load is considered to be very high. If sparks that are introduced into the belt dryer by upstream processes, for example, or hot layers of material that are created by deposits in the dryer lead to pockets of embers, a very rapid spread of fire is to be expected. T&B has developed a VdS-certified protection concept for the protection of such drying systems. This concept fully covers the extensive requirements of the insurance industry, such as HDI (see Fire protection in the timber industry). We go into more detail below:
- Fire load: With a material throughput of up to 50t/h in some cases, the fire loads are enormous. Due to the high process temperatures and the residual moisture of sometimes around 3-5%, fires can spread rapidly if the material ignites.
- High process temperatures: The high process temperatures of 100°C and more in places lead to overdrying when the material is deposited and therefore guarantee an enormous risk of smouldering fires or smouldering fires.
- Dust concentration: Due to the high dust concentrations, explosive concentrations must sometimes be expected in the belt dryer. Sufficient ignition energy, e.g. the introduction of external ignition sources, can lead to explosions in the belt dryer.
- Entry of external ignition sources: Upstream processes such as wet chip mills or chippers can quickly introduce mechanically generated ignition sources into a belt dryer. Belt dryers are often operated under negative pressure, which means that external ignition sources, e.g. generated by welding work in the vicinity of the belt dryer, can also be drawn into the process.
- Friction: Material deposits can form on the rollers along the dryer belt. Due to material fatigue, mechanical friction on the bearings of the rollers can lead to an increase in temperature, which in the worst case ignites the material deposits and leads to swelling fires or smouldering nests.
Machining and processing machines
Fires in woodworking machines such as wide belt sanders or multi-blade circular saws are not uncommon. Due to the fact that machines are always running at high speed and are subject to high loads, a lack of maintenance intervals can quickly lead to faults in the machine that result in fires. Here are some of the causes of fire:
- Material contamination: Foreign bodies such as metal splinters, screws, nails or even hard branches in the wood can lead to friction or mechanical sparking.
- Material jams: Wedging or jamming of the material can quickly lead to mechanical friction, which can result in embers or smouldering particles that can quickly lead to a fire in the machine if left unattended.
- Tool breakage: Tool breakage can lead to the generation of mechanical sparks that ignite material deposits in the machine.
What does effective fire protection look like for these areas?
Effective fire protection does not come off the shelf. At T&B electronic, we offer specialized fire protection solutions that are specifically tailored to the requirements of the automotive industry. Our systems are designed to meet the high safety standards of this industry and ensure the protection of employees, systems and products.
T&B works with you to develop individual protection concepts for your production plant.
Effective fire prevention does not come “off the shelf”, but meets the specific requirements of the respective process or plant area.
We attach great importance to holistic protection for the best possible safety. Tailored to your production and certified.
Spark extinguishing systems
T&B spark extinguishing systems detect the slightest ignition potential such as sparks, glowing and hot particles. A fine mist of water cools down the ignition potential in milliseconds without interrupting the production process. Thanks to the high-performance infrared detectors, sparks as well as smouldering and hot particles can be reliably detected at an early stage. In the event of a persistent spark, the production areas can be shut down and other extinguishing systems, such as gas extinguishing systems, can be activated.
- Filter systems
- Silo systems
- Suction lines
- Drying systems
Gaslöschanlagen
T&B Gaslöschanlagen werden durch eine intuitive Brandmelder- und Löschsteuerzentrale überwacht und ausgelöst. Die Branddetektion erfolgt je nach Prozess über unterschiedliche Brandmelder wie z.B. Flammen-, Rauch-, Wärme- oder auch Brandgasmelder. Als Löschgas wird Argon eingesetzt, das gegenüber anderen Löschgasen wesentliche Vorteile bietet (mehr dazu hier). In besonderen Fällen kann auch eine Kombination mit der T&B Funkenlöschanlage erfolgen.
- Filter systems
- Silo systems
- Filter systems
- Silo systens
- Drying systems
Fire alarm systems
T&B fire alarm systems consist of an intuitive fire alarm control panel that can also be used as an extinguishing control panel. In combination with the robust industrial fire detectors from T&B, it forms a reliable system for safely detecting fires. Whether smoke, flames, heat or combustion gases, with the various fire detectors from T&B, the right fire detection system can be planned for every process.
- Production halls
- Office buildings
- Warehouses
Infrared cameras
T&B infrared cameras are special fire detectors which, unlike conventional fire detectors, are able to monitor large areas and detect incipient fires much earlier. T&B infrared cameras can offer a decisive advantage in the early detection of fires, particularly in open areas such as log stores, chip yards or lumber yards.
- Storage facilities
- Warehouses
- Log store
- Lumber storage
- Dry wood storage
Advantages for the wood industry
Please send us your request
Florian Wussler
Sales
