The global fire detection and suppression market declined by around 3% during 2009, but a recovery is “inevitable”, thanks to stricter regulation and advances in technology, according to a new report.

IMS Reseach says that the decline in sales of fire products lagged behind the general economic downturn – thanks to construction projects which were already committed to – but suppliers began to feel the full effects of the recession by mid-2009.

The good news is that tighter legislation, technology advances and a rebound in new construction are forecast to generate new opportunities in the fire industry.

“Changes to fire regulations worldwide continue to impact the way in which fire detection and suppression equipment is used within buildings,” said Justin Siller, the report’s author and an analyst at IMS Research. “Sales of voice enhanced alarms are set to thrive on the back of the newly released NFPA 72 mandate in the US, while recent amendment to China’s fire laws call for building owners to receive heftier and harsher penalties for buildings lacking proper fire equipment”.

The report highlights the greater use of technologies such as video smoke detection, wireless systems and aspirating smoke detection as helping to grow the market. “The longterm market potential for fire detection and suppression products remains strong,” said Mr Siller.

The report follows research from IMS which predicts that the Chinese market for fire products will grow by almost 13% a year and will be worth over $1 billion by 2014.

IMS Research