The hatch of temporarily stored waste, pending further sorting, can, in combination with high temperatures, cause fire in waste companies.

To reinforce the safety policy, Renewi invested in a new fire safety and automatic extinguishing system at its location in Puurs. The unique detection system scans the sorting terminal every two minutes preventively on possible fires or breeding grounds. In critical situations, the system automatically extinguishes with large extinguishers, which can spray up to 1,300 liters of water per minute.

Cegelec Fire Solutions installed a combined system that automatically detects and extinguishes the (hatch) fire. This system is the first in the Benelux that is used in combination (infrared detection and automatic extinguishing with water cannons).

The detection is done by 4 infrared cameras, each scanning an area of ​​3 × 3 meters, thereby monitoring the temperature increase in an area of ​​1m² each. When an elevated temperature is measured, an alarm will go off and the customer will be alerted by sms. If the temperature rises even more, the system will trigger an evacuation and the fire will be automatically extinguished. The power of the extinguishers pushes away the top layer of the waste so that the water can penetrate deeper into the waste mountain.

Cegelec Fire Solutions installed another additional system with a 5th infrared camera above the conveyor belt of the shredder. This camera continuously scans the exits. At elevated temperature the conveyor belt will automatically shut down, the valve will open and the fire will then be quenched by 3 sprinklers.

Wim Geens, Managing Director Renewi Commercial Belgium: “Our goal is to minimize fire risk and, if there is a fire, it can be terminated as quickly and safely as possible.”