Fire Protection in Textile and Non-Woven Mills

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Fire Detection

When a fire does occur, it is essential to detect the fire as quickly as possible and to control it. In addition to controlling the fire, the machinery must be stopped in order to prevent the passage of the fire from one machine to another, and alarms must be sounded to alert the personnel in the area.

In the early days of automatic textile fire protection, traditional smoke detectors were used in the belief they would be able to sense the large quantities of smoke generated in a textile fire. However the maintenance on these detectors, resulting from dust and lint entering the detectors, made their use prohibitive. These smoke detectors were not designed to operate in a lint-filled atmosphere, and later extensive testing was conducted on various types of heat, ultra-violet, and infrared detectors.

It was found that certain types of infrared detectors could successfully “see” a cotton fire moving at high speeds in a stock transfer duct. Since approximately 1980, infrared detectors have been accepted as the best of the available fire detectors for the textile industry. These detectors have been improved and refined until they are now capable of sensing infrared radiation given off by small burning pieces of textile fiber moving at high speeds. Infrared Spark Detectors available today can sense a 1mm ember traveling at a speed of up to 60 meters per second.

Normally these detectors are located on stock transfer ducts in such a way as to be able to sense a spark or burning fibers moving from one machine to another. Upon detection of a fire in this manner a signal is sent to the central control panel to activate a Spark Diverter or an automatic 24 volt solenoid valve Extinguisher to control the fire. At the same time, a signal is sent to shutdown the production line and filtration system so the fire will not spread from one machine to another. An alarm is sounded al the same time to advise personnel of the fire situation.

Fire Control

The fire control systems normally used in textile machinery applications are Dry Chemical, Carbon Dioxide and FE-227ea. All of these agents are effective on textile fires when used properly. Each has advantages and disadvantages, and the decision on which to use should be made with these advantages and disadvantages in mind.

However, please be aware that none of these extinguishing agents can be guaranteed to completely extinguish any textile fire when a large volume of material is involved. These extinguishing agents are designed to control and prevent spread of textile fires. In most cases they actually extinguish the fire, although the user must be aware that some fire may remain in the machine after discharge. The material in the machine must be removed to make certain that no fire remains in the machine before restarting.

In addition to automatic fire extinguishers, high speed Spark Diverters can also be located after the bale opener and before the mixers and chute-fed card lines to prevent embers from entering a machine. Used alone or in tandem with automatic extinguishers, Spark Diverters offer affordable fire protection for the blow room.

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