Civil defence to test fire prevention technology

Dubai: New technology which can prevent fires in contained areas is to be assessed by Dubai Civil Defence.

The FirePASS technology claims to reduce the amount of oxygen in places where it is installed in from 21 per cent to 15.5 per cent.

It has been brought into the UAE through partnership with Emirates Technical Innovation Centre (ETiC), which has its own in-house research and development department.

Khalifa Al Qama, Chairman of ETiC said fires usually start when there is 16.5 per cent or more of oxygen in a closed place.

FirePASS Ltd on Monday announced the launch of its technology, which produces ordinary, breathable air that will not allow any normal material to burn.

The technology has been patented by the company Hypoxic Air Ventilation. It provides safe breathable air.

Challenging

David Vincent, Managing Director of FirePASS Ltd, said many industries and companies will benefit from this system.

The recent fire that gutted more than 80 warehouses in the Al Qouz industrial area last month, thought to be one of the biggest in the history of Dubai, caused losses estimated at Dh600 million.

"Fire protection has always been challenging, fires usually do irreparable damage before they are extinguished and often firefighting agents used cause even worse secondary damages. Our system is preventative. It does not allow the fire to start therefore no damage is done and there is no interruption to business," Vincent said.

Al Qama said FirePASS is a vital system that can be used where the stored material is invaluable such as in museums or data centres or where safety is paramount such as power stations or petrochemical risk areas.