LPCB certifies Ciqurix video flame detection for complex environments

by Featured NewsFire Detection

Ciqurix achieves first LPS 1976 certification

Ciqurix has become the first manufacturer to receive certification under the new LPS 1976 Video Flame Detection Standard.

The company said approval covers its FC-XFP detectors, which form part of the Ciqurix CORE Video Flame Detection System.

Certification has been granted by the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB), part of BRE Global, and is recorded under Certificate No. 1852a on RedBook Live.

According to Ciqurix, achieving LPS 1976 approval confirms independently assessed performance, reliability and resistance to false alarms for the CORE System.

The Ciqurix certificate was presented by senior BRE representatives during a handover ceremony at London Build Expo, London, UK, on Wednesday 19 November 2025.

New benchmark for video flame detection systems

Ciqurix stated that LPS 1976 is the first research-based benchmark developed specifically for intelligent video flame detection systems.

The company noted that previous standards did not provide a dedicated framework for assessing this type of technology.

LPCB developed the standard through several years of experimental testing, working with industry specialists, the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and manufacturers.

The resulting criteria focus on how systems behave in service conditions, including their ability to detect flames reliably and limit false activations.

BRE Assurance has described LPS 1976 as a framework that can be applied internationally and supports both product developers and end users.

Applications and deployment of the CORE System

Video flame detection is used in large, complex or high-airflow environments where conventional heat or smoke alarms may not respond quickly.

Ciqurix highlighted waste processing facilities, manufacturing plants, warehouses, tunnels and transportation hubs as examples where this approach can be applied.

The CORE System combines advanced infrared video analytics with visual imaging to identify flames within seconds and trigger connected fire detection systems.

Live video feeds from the detectors can provide operators and first responders with early situational awareness and visual confirmation of incidents.

Ciqurix reported that CORE installations now cover nearly 150 sites in 16 countries.

The company expects certification under LPS 1976 to support wider adoption in the UK and other markets.

Industry perspectives on certification and standards

Chief Executive Officer Paul Seligman said the LPS 1976 approval reflects the development path Ciqurix has followed since it began work on video flame detection.

Paul Seligman, Chief Executive Officer, Ciqurix, said: “When we first set out to create a video flame detection system, we were told it couldn’t be done, especially not by a small company with no existing market and a product we had to invent from scratch.

“I’m immensely proud to see that same innovation becoming the world’s first system accredited under LPS 1976.

“Independent certification provides the confidence that customers and regulators need.

“This is a major step forward for fire safety innovation and for the industries that depend on early, reliable flame detection in the most challenging environments.”

Jane Fields, Managing Director, BRE Assurance, said the development of LPS 1976 has been based on tests rather than solely on discussion.

Jane Fields, Managing Director, BRE Assurance, said: “Many standards are written around a table.

“What makes this one different is that it was built through actual experimental testing, collaboration with industry experts and real experience of how these technologies behave in the service environment.

“By grounding the standard in research, we’ve given the industry a credible, globally applicable framework that both supports manufacturers and enhances safety.”

Implications of LPS 1976 for high-risk sites

Procurement officers and equipment specifiers can now reference LPS 1976 when evaluating video flame detection systems for complex buildings and sites.

The standard gives these roles a research-based benchmark for performance, reliability and false-alarm behaviour drawn from experimental testing.

Standards and certification bodies may use the framework when comparing different technologies and aligning future requirements with independently verified criteria.

Fire engineering consultants and risk assessors working on waste processing plants, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, tunnels and transport hubs can factor the availability of LPS 1976-certified products into design choices.

Facility managers in high-airflow or large-volume environments gain access to systems where performance has been assessed under conditions intended to mirror real service operation.

For system installers and fire-protection contractors, the existence of a dedicated standard for video flame detection supports clearer specifications and documentation during project delivery.

Fire and rescue chiefs responsible for pre-incident planning at high-risk sites may find that installations based on LPS 1976-certified equipment offer enhanced visual information through live video verification during early stages of an incident.

Fire, Camera, Action: Inside Ciqurix’s video flame detection technology

by Featured NewsFire DetectionIFSJ Exclusives
Paul Seligman, Chief Executive Officer at Ciqurix discusses new video flame detection technology that can spot fires quickly and reliably

Detecting fire has been a human preoccupation since the day it was first discovered. This constant threat has led to ever more sophisticated and imaginative methods of detection. The human eye was replaced as the most efficient way to detect fire with the widespread adoption of smoke alarms in the second half of the twentieth century.

Beam detectors, aspirating detectors and CO detectors followed, but all were blighted by the same problem: they were designed to detect the by-products of fire, not the fire itself. Ultimately the goal had to be a device that could reliably detect flame, not smoke or heat. Many things get hot, many things produce smoke, but only the presence of flame is undeniable evidence of a fire.

Flame, however, is an uncooperative medium. Its behaviour is unpredictable, and its range of potential shapes, colours and patterns of movement varied. To produce a flame detector that will reliably distinguish a flame from other sources of radiation was an endeavour that saw only limited progress for decades.

Rack mounted units proved too clunky, thermal imagers and UV/IR detectors too prone to false alarms and the vaunted IR3 detectors were unable to pinpoint the source of a fire or reject false alarms. Those devices that did hit the market required huge flames at short range, rendering them counterproductive, and prices were often too high for widespread adoption. The advance in video technology, however, has provided new opportunities to record and study flame, and so Video Flame Detection was born around the start of the nineties.

Detection today

The year is now 2022 and Video Flame Detection is here and quickly establishing itself in the market. There are several ways in which video technology can be deployed in the pursuit of reliable fire detection. Visual feeds can be run through algorithms to detect the specific shape pattern of a flame; sensitive thermal imagers can attempt to detect the fluctuations in temperature typical of fire; even the colour of a flame can be used to trigger a detector. The greatest success, however, has been found by selecting some elements from each column.

The result is a video flame detection system that can spot fires quickly and reliably without having to wait for particles to build up in detection chambers. There is no confusion between a vehicle exhaust and a fire and no need to wait until the temperature hits a certain point.

Video Flame Detection systems have made ground in the market despite a lack of regulatory requirement for them. The regulatory frameworks have simply not kept up with the pace of progress. The days of ticking boxes have emphatically passed, however, and businesses in particularly fire prone industries now need serious fire protection systems that do the job in a reliable manner.

The opportunities presented by Video Flame Detection led to the birth of our company, Ciqurix. We had been experimenting with new ways of detecting fire since 2012 but it was in the second half of the last decade that it became apparent that there was a gaping hole in fire safety and that we had the technology to fill it.

We created the FCam: a superpowered video flame detection system that is fully compliant with regulations. Our dual sensor technology combines video and near-infrared analytics to provide reliable, versatile, long range detection in any environment, able to accurately pinpoint a flame and mark it like a sniper’s scope.

The potential footprint of Video Flame Detection is amply demonstrated by the geographic and market spread of the users of Ciqurix’s systems. FCams are now protecting timber yards in Scotland, power stations in Australia, palm oil facilities in Malaysia and hotels in the Mediterranean. Industrial freezers, methane processing plants and a UNESCO World Heritage Site are all availing themselves of various versions of our products.

Solutions for all situations

Our user-led design model has given us a very wide product list, with an FCam system to suit all tastes. Although video detection is currently outside the scope of EN54, our CORE system has been designed specifically to take account of BS5839-1 and EN54 parts 2, 4 and 10, while the FLEX system acts as an add on to an existing fire detection or warning system. The reaction to an alarm from the FCam can be tailored to the needs of the user, but precision-guided suppression systems have proven increasingly popular.

A set of crosshairs and coordinates are produced and used to target suppression cannons and sprinklers to ensure that the fire is immediately controlled with minimal waste and Many things get hot, many things produce smoke, but only the presence of flame is undeniable evidence of a fire. minimal downtime. Systems with highly accurate zoned suppression have been designed for offices that cannot afford a moment of unnecessary loss of service, and for waste disposal sites dealing in flammable material, for whom even a momentary fire could be disastrous.

There is a camera variant for every situation: The FCamX, our workhorse, can be fitted with an anti-dust air nozzle and a heater for use in low temperatures; the FCamSolo, a slick-looking dome camera, is for the indoor use and is protecting hotels and banks around the world; the FCamEX is fully ATEX compliant, while the FCamXCR is suitable for use in corrosive environments.

Our technology is still evolving and we see many user-led developments for the FCam in the coming years. The pace of development is such that it is hard to see where the road might end for Video Fire Detection, but fire remains high in the public consciousness and the time is ripe for a tech revolution to make us all safer.

This article was originally published in the November edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.