Fire Safety for Locomotive and Transportation Systems

Firetrace is the preferred choice for reliable and cost-effective fire detection and suppression.

Fires in mass transit vehicles, including locomotives, buses and other forms of public transportation, are not uncommon occurrences.

When these fires do occur, they are almost always well documented in the local news and industry journals.

Damage from these fires results in both "hard and soft costs". Hard costs include the "physical damage" to the coach, applicable insurance deductibles, lost property of the passengers and lost productivity of the vehicle itself.

Soft costs can include the negative press as well as the potential for lost revenue based on public perception (both charter and municipal carriers).
Primary sources of fire include:

• Engine areas
• Generator compartments
• Electrical enclosures
• Braking systems
• Wiring and wiring conduit

Numerous flammable fluids are found throughout an engine compartment, including more than just the gasoline or alternative fuel.

There are also hydraulic, brake, automatic transmission and power steering fluids present, to name a few. Plus, combustible debris can accumulate in and around the engine area.

The combination of these fluids and/or debris with potential ignition sources such as worn, exposed electrical wires or excessive ambient heat can create a strong potential for fire.

Firetrace Automatic Fire Suppression Systems can be found protecting:

• Light rail
• Commuter rail
• Airport terminal trains
• City buses
• Coaches

As well as much of the support equipment (transformers, relays, switches) related to these transit systems.

As Firetrace is a stand-alone system, it is ideally suited for both vehicles and remote installations.

Since stopping a fire when it is small and containable is key to avoiding catastrophic physical damage to the vehicle, Firetrace systems provide a strong fire safety measure. These systems are pneumatic, so they require no electricity to be actively "looking" for and subsequently suppressing a fire.

Currently, more than 50,000 Firetrace systems have been installed worldwide. Included in this number are several thousand systems that have been installed in buses and trains worldwide.