Case Study: Leading Fire Protection Service Provider prevents boiler feed pump fire and avoids downtime with Xtralis VESDA VLI

Protecting process equipment in coal fired power plants

A coal‑fired power plant faced a recurring risk: boiler feed pumps operating in a harsh, high‑temperature, dirty environment can soak insulation with leaking lubrication oil and eventually ignite, and a recent pump fire had already forced decommissioning of a unit. Traditional heat detectors used on this equipment respond only to large fires, so the plant needed a reliable early‑warning solution that could survive industrial conditions without excessive false alarms.

The plant trialed the VESDA Industrial VLI aspirating smoke detector after a fire‑protection integrator recommended it; despite initial skepticism, one pump was fitted with a VLI. Within weeks the VLI detected an incipient fire, operators extinguished it with a handheld extinguisher, damage was limited to a 3×3 ft section of insulation and there was no process downtime. The VLI’s rugged design and early‑warning capability proved effective, prompting the plant to plan wider replacement of spot detectors.