Detectors in Homes and Evacuation Routes to Improve Fire Prevention
Adrián Gómez, president of Tecnifuego, has warned that progress toward sustainability “can come into conflict with safety if risks are not taken into account.” He also pointed out that around 1,200 serious fire incidents occur each year in Spain, yet there is no public prevention campaign comparable to that of road safety. For this reason, he advocates for simple and affordable measures, such as the installation of smoke detectors in homes and the improvement of evacuation routes in buildings.
The Spanish Association of Fire Protection Companies (Tecnifuego) held a new edition of its technical conference cycle, ‘Fire Day’, focused on the challenges of fire protection in a context shaped by sustainability, electrification, and the energy transition. The event, held at the School of Industrial Engineering of the University of Málaga, addressed the most relevant risks in today’s context. Among them was the increase in the installation of photovoltaic panels and the associated fire protection risks. It was noted that while photovoltaic energy generation represents a major step forward in the energy transition, it also presents challenges for fire safety, especially in industrial environments that were not originally designed to integrate such systems. In this regard, experts emphasised the importance of professional installation with appropriate materials, implementing suitable preventive measures, performing ongoing maintenance and regular inspections, and applying advanced technologies for fire detection and control. The Risk of Batteries Another topic discussed was lithium-ion batteries, one of the main fire prevention challenges today due to their risk of self-ignition and the difficulty of extinguishing fires involving them. The exponential growth in the use of lithium-ion batteries in homes, industries and vehicles has raised new challenges for fire protection, particularly given how intense and hard to control these fires can be. In light of this, specialists stressed the need to adopt active protection technologies (such as sprinkler and fire blankets) and passive protection measures (such as compartmentalisation, ventilation and fireproofing), with special emphasis on parking areas where electric vehicles are charged. They also discussed the latest advances in extinguishing methods for these types of fires, while also calling for improvements in early fire detection. Finally, the event examined the situation of a growing architectural typology: high-rise and high-risk buildings, such as hospitals or nursing homes. In this context, the question was raised as to whether merely complying with current regulations is enough to maximise fire protection in such buildings. It was observed that Spanish regulations could go further on issues such as preventing fire spread through building façades. Furthermore, the importance of active smoke protection in stairwells, as well as alarm and evacuation systems, was highlighted—always taking into account the specific characteristics and uses of these types of buildings.