A fire in a production area of a factory in west Hull was nipped in the bud, thanks to a beam detection system raising the alarm.

The Fireray 5000 optical beam detector sounded the alarm at 8.45am when the area had been temporarily left unmanned, reports Fireray manufacturer Fire Fighting Enterprises.The alarm signal was picked up by staff in the security lodge, who called the fire brigade.

Ten fire engines from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service attended the blaze within 5 minutes, which was thought to have started when acetone caught alight. Firefighters quickly subdued the blaze, it's reported, and all staff were evacuated without incident.

The fire protection system installer for the building, Tim Allerston of Global EFP, said that they had recently upgraded the beam detectors from 15 year old ones.

Suitable for wide-area fire protection, the Fireray 5000 uses a beam of reflected infrared light to detect interference from smoke particles across a wide area, up to 100m in length.

Fire Fighting Enterprises