Firetrace International has supplied more than 200 of its fire suppression systems for the Development of King Abdul Aziz Endowment Project, a hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Firetrace's cylinders used for Saudi hotel development

The stand-alone, Direct Release cylinders have been fitted to provide fire protection to electrical cabinets throughout the complex, which comprises seven high-rise towers overlooking Al-Masjid al-Ḥarām - the largest mosque in the world. The 1,445,000 m sq hotel complex is due to be completed in 2011.

A total of 250 Firetrace systems have been already been installed, with a view to adding another 200 or so as the project progresses.

Each system has been designed to be self-contained and comes with a DuPont FM200 clean suppression agent.

The solution, comprising Firetrace Detection Tubing, is linked via a custom-engineered valve to the suppression agent cylinder.

A spokesman for Firetrace said: “This specially-developed, leak resistant, small-bore polymer tubing is a linear pneumatic heat and flame detector that delivers the desired temperature-sensitive detection and delivery characteristics. Its flexibility is such that it can be threaded around the cabinet’s tightly-packed compartments and components.

"When the tubing detects a fire anywhere along its length it ruptures, forming an effective spray nozzle that automatically releases the entire contents of the FM200 cylinder, extinguishing the fire precisely where it starts and before it can do extensive damage to the cabinet.”