Case Study: Dry Bulk Terminal achieves rapid fire detection and conveyor protection with Xtralis VESDA

Dry Bulk Terminal - Customer Case Study

Dry Bulk Terminal (DBT), one of the world’s largest coal export terminals in Richards Bay, South Africa, faced a major operational risk after a 2005 conveyor fire caused months of repairs and R13 million in damages. The facility’s dusty, contaminated environment and fast-moving conveyors made traditional smoke, heat and flame detectors prone to false alarms or slow to react, so DBT needed a highly sensitive, low‑maintenance system able to give very early warning of smouldering or fast‑growing fires.

DBT worked with Firehouse, GE Security and Xtralis to install a network of 50 VESDA detectors (VLP and VLF-250) with purpose‑designed sampling holes, filters to remove corrosive contaminants, and central VSM4 monitoring; the VESDA system interfaces to a two‑stage deluge sprinkler trigger. During the 12‑month Phase IV rollout, the system enabled early detection and activation of suppression systems to successfully detect and suppress subsequent fires, while also providing background smoke monitoring to support maintenance planning.

Dry Bulk Terminal