Kir­schau­er Tex­til: Spark Detection and Extinguishing

Insurance cancelled for long-established company located in Kirschau/Germany after devastating fire. After two years and numerous fire protection measures, the textile company is insured again.

10th February 2014: the fire brigade in Bautzen was called out shortly after 6 o’clock. Subsequently, further brigades moved out. Up to 270 firefighters were on duty. The place of origin of the fire was clearly located in a production machine. However, after the fire brigade opened a gate of the production hall, the oxygen further kindled the fire which caused it to spread to another production hall. After more than 24 hours, the fire was finally under control again. A damage of 14 million EURO was caused.

Our solution for Kirschauer Textil

Investment in security

Since then, the production steps that are at risk have been protected by a GreCon Spark Extinguishing System. Highly sensitive FM 1/8 spark detectors monitor the transport pipes for ignition sources that are automatically extinguished by a fine water mist before they can reach downstream plant areas. Due to the low quantity of water that is injected, the effect on downstream process steps is minimal. A total of 12 FM 1/8 spark detectors monitor the production. Ignition sources are extinguished within milliseconds by a total of six extinguishing devices. “Since the installation of the spark extinguishing system, we have had two incidents where the spark extinguishing system detected and automatically extinguished sparks. This gives us security that the investment in preventive fire protection was the right decision”, says Daniel Münzberg, Authorised Signatory at Kirschauer Textil. Besides the spark extinguishing system, the company also invested in a high-pressure water mist spraying system. Thanks to these measures, the Saxon textile producer found a new insurance company recently. The investment also had a positive effect on the insurance premium.

Risks of fire in the textile industry

The production of textiles holds risks along the entire process chain. Sparks, glowing embers and overheated machine parts can be caused in the process steps tearing, bale opening, mixing and web forming. The pneumatic transport of the material is also at risk. If an ignition source, such as sparks, meets the dust explosive material mixture, a disaster cannot be excluded. In order not to go through that experience again, the Kirschau company invested in an automatic spark extinguishing system. “We had to act quickly after the fire”, says Daniel Münzberg, Authorised Signatory of Kirschauer Textil, summarising the urgency of the situation.