Case Study: One of the World’s Largest Coal Exporters (Richards Bay Dry Bulk Terminal) achieves early fire detection and prevents costly damage with Xtralis VESDA

VESDA protects one of the world’s largest coal exporters for fire

Dry Bulk Terminal (DBT) at Richards Bay, one of the world’s largest coal exporters, needed a more reliable way to prevent costly fires after a 2005 incident caused R13 million in damage. Harsh, dusty conditions, fast-moving conveyors and smouldering coal dust made traditional smoke, flame and heat detectors unreliable, producing false alarms and missing early-stage smouldering fires that can develop into large blazes.

Firehouse, GE Security and Xtralis implemented a VESDA very-early-warning smoke detection solution—VLP units in conveyor tunnels, VLF-250 units in substations, filtered sampling to remove contaminants, and Xtralis VSM4 central monitoring—integrated into a two‑stage trigger for deluge/sprinkler systems. During the 12‑month rollout the system detected and enabled suppression of additional fires, reduced escalation and downtime risk, and now also provides background-smoke data to help schedule maintenance.