Challenges With Smoke Detection in Correctional Facilities

By Xtralis, leading global provider of powerful solutions for the very early and reliable detection, remote video verification, and rapid, effective response to smoke, gas and security threats.

Prisons are inherently more risky when it come to fire, as early-detection life-safety pioneer Xtralis explains.

There are challenges facing every business or organization when it comes to implementing a smoke detection system. An immense amount of planning is required to ensure that smoke detectors are installed in the correct places, without disrupting the layout of building. Additionally, the system needs to be easily accessed for testing and for maintenance.

Smoke detection in correctional facilities offers a whole new set of challenges. Prisons inherently have an increased risk of a fire breaking out due to a multitude of factors including:

• The intentional lighting of clothing, mattresses and bedding, and trash by inmates.
• Faults with electronic equipment and wiring
• Cigarette smoking in cells and other areas within the building

Because of the multiple risks for fire and fire damage, it is incredibly important to have an early warning smoke detection system installed in a correctional facility. However there are certain situational and physical limitations that need to be considered when planning the installation of a smoke detection in correctional facility.

The challenges facing a smoke detection system in a correctional facility include:

Increased Risk of Vandalism

Normally, you’d want to install smoke detectors in an area that is visible and easily accessible. This however cannot be the case at a correctional institution. Detectors that are easily accessible are an invitation for vandalism and tampering. The last thing you want in a correctional facility is for an inmate to trip the alarm, causing an evacuation of the facilities. Instead detectors need to be placed in areas where they are out of reach without sacrificing their performance.

Maintenance

Another location issue that arises in correctional facilities is placing the detectors so that they can be worked on by a systems technician. Prisons have multiple areas, many of which have restricted access. The technician needs to be able to reach the individual units for testing and maintenance. Furthermore, the units should be in a place where the technician can work on the system with limited or no interaction with the inmates.

Dilution

As correctional facilities often have large open spaces, smoke will dilute across the facility. Smoke dilution is a challenged for conventional spot-type detectors as they are not calibrated to detect smoke in diluted quantities. At the same time, the detector needs to be able to differentiate between the smoke that has been diluted from its original source and from the smoke of a cigarette by an inmate smoking in his or her cell.

Stratification

In addition to dilution being caused by the wide-air layout of correctional facilities, stratification is also a concern. Areas that have high ceilings cause smoke to stratify. When the smoke stratifies, it stops its upward movement due to a loss of buoyancy. If the detectors are placed on ultra-high ceilings, any smoke from a fire within the facility may not reach the detector. Or the detector will pick up on it, only after the fire has spread; increasing the amount of smoke released which then would push further upward until it hits the smoke detectors.

As you can see, there are many unique challenges to implementing and maintaining an early smoke detection system in a correctional facility. However, with the right system and planning, correctional facilities can enjoy early detection fire safety systems that protect both the property and the inhabitants of the facility.

Xtralis will be showcasing the VESDA VLQ Aspirating Smoke Detector on stand D950 at FIREX International 2015