UK
Securitas UK has announced a new solution to mitigate one of the biggest risk factors for spontaneous combustion across laundry businesses. Often taking place overnight, when there is no one at the premises, spontaneous combustion is a major cause of laundry and launderette fires which results in large amounts of damage to businesses at a high cost. Securitas UK, in partnership with Axis Communications, has come up with a solution in the form of a combination of thermal temperature cameras, optical cameras, IoT sensors, offsite monitoring and remote support services. The end-user or business is then alerted to any unexpected temperature hotspots and the potential risk of fire.
The camera is pre-programmed with a series of analytics to measure a maximum room temperature over a pre-defined timeframe. Should the analytics pick up a higher than normal temperature, then an alert will automatically be sent to the Securitas UK Alarm Response Centre (ARC). Operators have a separate camera installed on the premises for real-time verification of spontaneous combustion or fire and has the capability to dispatch the appropriate response.
The camera can be set up on the premises with a direct view of the storage containers where laundry is transferred to cool after its heat cycle – which is typically the location where most fires start. The Securitas operator’s response is set out and agreed with a client in their SLAs, which will either include alerting the emergency services upon confirmation of a fire or require a response from the Securitas mobile guarding team to attend the site directly to assist.
Businesses within the laundry industry face huge risks to their operations from spontaneous combustion which can lead to significant difficulties in obtaining adequate insurance coverage, in the event of a fire. This solution not only mitigates the initial fire risk but also provides scope for additional services that could further lessen risk factors for a business. These include providing fire risk assessments, fire training, fire extinguishing equipment, and the installation and set-up of IoT temperature sensors across all laundry premises.
Nadine Matthews, country president, Securitas UK said: “We are proud to bring to market a solution that solves a very real and fundamental problem for the laundry industry which sufficiently protects businesses when staff are off-duty and premises are empty.
“As adequate services to mitigate fire hazard risks in laundrettes remain a valid concern, the solution we have developed and the additional services we can offer, have the potential to save UK laundry businesses huge costs in damages.”
• The new service will be showcased at CleanEx 2024, 28-29 April, Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire, and Securitas UK will be on stand number 74.
