Protecting Food Processing Facilities from Fire Hazards
Tailored Fire Protection for Food Processing
Food processing environments face fire risks due to combustible dust, high temperatures, and the presence of flammable ingredients such as flour and sugar. Firefly’s systems are designed to mitigate these risks and ensure operational safety.
Enhancing Fire Safety in Food Processing
The food processing sector encompasses diverse operations, often involving fine, dry materials and elevated temperatures—conditions that can lead to ignition. Fires not only jeopardize facilities and equipment, but also disrupt production and cause significant losses. FNA Inc. tackles these challenges head-on by offering state-of-the-art solutions that swiftly detect heat sources in machinery, process streams, and surrounding open areas. Our cutting-edge water mist systems extinguish developing fires at their source, safeguarding facilities, protecting valuable equipment, and ensuring uninterrupted production.
Promoting Dust Explosion Prevention Awareness
Firefly’s systems are designed with food-grade materials like stainless steel, ensuring full compliance with stringent industry standards. Our Spark Detection and Quick Suppression Solutions, utilizing advanced IR-radiation and flame detection along with water-based suppression technologies, provide robust protection against combustible dust hazards. Tragic incidents such as the 1997 grain silo explosion in Blaye, France, and the 2008 Imperial Sugar Company disaster in Georgia, which together claimed multiple lives and caused extensive injuries, underscore the critical need for proactive measures to prevent dust-related explosions.
Flour and Sugar: Hidden Explosion Risks in Food Processing
In 2020, food products were linked to 48% of combustible dust incidents, according to Dust Safety Science. Common ingredients like flour and powdered sugar pose significant fire and explosion risks due to their low ignition temperatures:
- Wheat flour – 440°C (dust layer and cloud)
- Powdered sugar – 370°C (dust layer), 400°C (dust cloud)
These temperatures are well below 650°C—too low to emit visible glow—making ignition risks harder to detect. Proactive detection and suppression systems are essential to protect food processing facilities.
Custom Solutions for the Food Industry
The food industry contains a wide range of processes, many containing fine and dry materials in combination with high temperatures.
Materials can ignite within the process causing fires with damage to plants and production loss as a result. At Firefly, we address this critical issue by providing advanced systems that detect heat sources within machinery, process streams, and open areas surrounding equipment. Our proactive approach involves the rapid deployment of water mist to extinguish emerging fires, preventing damage to plants, and minimizing production losses.
Firefly BakeScan™
Firefly BakeScan™ solution is designed to detect overheated, glowing or burning products on transport bands of baked products being transported out from the oven, for example biscuits, tortillas, baked crisps, bread and cereals.
The system can be completed with quick acting water mist suppression. Water mist suppression enables the process to continue without warping the belt and avoids temperature stress on the cooling belts which can be very expensive to replace. The Firefly BakeScan™ solution is an extremely flexible system and can be adapted to any process within the baking industry.
Key Benefits
- Quick System Response Time
- Minimum Water Usage
- Third Party Approved System
- Precision Detection
Certifications
Firefly OvenGuard™
Firefly OvenGuard™ solution is designed for early detection and suppression of fire problems in the oven, at the outlet of the oven, and to suppress embers and flames in the extraction ducts. This by using a full automatic, high speed detection and suppression system. Both quick acting water mist suppression and full-cone water spray extinguishing can be used depending on the system design.
The Firefly OvenGuard™ system is extremely fast and the systems are designed to provide optimal safety against fire with minimal effect on machinery or production. The Firefly system is flexible and from a range of unique products the solutions are customized for each application.
Key Benefits
- Quick System Response Time
- Minimum Water Usage
- Third Party Approved System
- Precision Detection
Certifications
Why Choose Firefly?
Ultra Quick System Response Time
Firefly’s BakeScan™ solution is a Quick Suppression System designed to detect and extinguish glowing pieces and flames on transportation belts of baked product processes, including biscuits, tortillas, baked crisps, and cereals.
Full – Cone Water Spray Extinguishing
Powerful extinguishing with a unique nozzle design and placement aimed to penetrate and cover the entire material flow. Activated within milliseconds after detection.
Precision Detection
The True IR Spark detectors enable Precision Detection of ALL types of ignition sources such as hot black particles, glowing embers, and sparks. The detectors are insensitive to daylight. Systems are also equipped with Multi-Channel flame detectors using advanced algorithms for Precision Detection of flames with high immunity to false positives.
Excellent Suppression Capabilities
The Water Mist System with fire-tested and verified extinguishing capabilities utilizes very small amounts of water resulting in less impact on machinery, minimized production loss and down time.
Director of Operations at Factory X
John Bennick
FNA took the time to understand our challenges and came up with customized solutions that we never considered.
Downloads
Firefly BakeScan™ and OvenGuard™
Firefly Spark Detection System
Firefly EXsolvo®
Firefly EXIMIO™
FM Approved Fire Protection
All our fire prevention products are FM approved, meeting the highest safety standards. As the official North American distributor for Firefly, we provide cutting-edge protection, including the only FM-approved spark detection system for high-temperature particles.
Industries We Protect
Fire Safety Solutions for High-Risk Industries. We protect industries where fire risks are high, ensuring operational safety and business continuity.