Mike Newton, CTO and Chairman of NetVu, explains how FireVu uses visual and thermal detection to overcome limits of point and beam sensors
In large, complex environments such as hangars, warehouses and waste facilities, traditional detectors often struggle.
Point sensors rely on smoke reaching them, while beam detectors are disrupted by dust, insects, or airflow.
FireVu, developed by NetVu, offers an alternative.
Using visual and thermal imaging, it detects smoke, flame and heat directly at the source, enabling faster, more accurate alerts where standard systems may fail.
IFSJ Editor Iain Hoey sat down with Mike Newton, CTO and Chairman of NetVu, to discuss FireVu, its technology and where it fits in today’s fire safety market.
What challenges do traditional detectors face and how does video help?
In large or semi-open environments, traditional fire detection methods like point or beam detectors often fall short.
Point detectors depend on smoke reaching them, which can be delayed significantly in voluminous spaces or completely bypassed due to stratification, airflow, or ventilation systems.
In partially outdoor settings, they may not be installable at all without impractical infrastructure.
FireVu avoids these issues by detecting smoke, flame and heat directly at the source using intelligent video and thermal imaging.
Instead of waiting for smoke to rise or drift to the location of the sensor, the system sees what’s happening in real time, even in the most challenging conditions.
Importantly, our flame detection uses absolute physical laws, including colour, intensity and black-body radiation principles, to verify flame signatures at a pixel level.
This ensures highly accurate and fast confirmation of real fire events, while drastically reducing false positives.
It’s one of the reasons FireVu performs so well in environments where traditional detectors simply can’t cope.
How do FireVu cameras, recorders and servers work together?
FireVu is built on the same proven video management platform as our surveillance systems at NetVu, all underpinned by our NetVu Connected architecture.
That’s the foundation that ties everything together, enabling seamless communication, synchronised data handling and system resilience.
It’s what allows us to bring video, thermal imaging, analytics and alarm management into a single, unified solution.
In a typical installation, we deploy FireVu multi-sensor detectors that combine visual and thermal detection.
These feed into dedicated analytics servers, which run our fire detection algorithms and generate alerts based on real-time conditions.
Alarm modules then manage the communication of those alerts – whether it’s triggering on-site sounders, integrating with a fire panel, or notifying a remote control room.
What’s powerful about NetVu Connected is that it allows all these components to talk to each other and to other systems.
We often operate alongside existing CCTV infrastructure, fire alarm systems, or building management platforms without needing to start from scratch.
Everything can be viewed and managed centrally, with metadata and alarms linked to actual video footage, so operators aren’t working blind.
They get a full, verified picture of what’s happening, as it happens.
How does visual verification reduce false alarms and call-outs?
FireVu is designed to minimise false positives and that comes down to the way we combine multiple detection technologies within a single device.
The multi-detector uses a fusion of thermal sensing, Visual Flame Detection (VFD) and Visual Smoke Detection (VSD) to assess each potential event from multiple angles before triggering an alert.
This layered approach allows the system to filter out irrelevant triggers, such as dust, heat from personnel, or transient visual anomalies, that would cause unnecessary call-outs in more traditional setups.
By cross-verifying between smoke, heat and flame signatures, we’re able to confirm a real threat quickly and accurately.
Because FireVu is a visual system, operators also benefit from instant situational awareness.
They can review what triggered the alert in real time or roll back pre-event footage, either locally or remotely.
This not only increases trust in the alarm but enables proactive intervention before a situation escalates, avoiding unnecessary evacuations, site disruption, or emergency response.
Where do clients see benefits from the Multi Detector?
We integrated thermal sensing to smoke and flame detection back in 2016, so it’s not new, but the combination of all three detection methods in one unit has been a game-changer.
First, it simplifies installation – rather than installing multiple single-purpose detectors, one FireVu unit can cover everything.
That reduces cost and complexity.
Second, the integration isn’t just physical, it’s deep in the processing.
For example, thermal and visual data work together to confirm whether what we’re seeing really is a flame.
That pixel-level analysis gives us extremely low false alarm rates and greater confidence in each detection.
What integration options does FireVu offer with existing systems?
FireVu supports full compatibility with standard fire alarm panels and building management systems via loop IO units, ensuring straightforward deployment in both new-build and retrofit environments.
What sets us apart is that all detection, decision-making and alarm signalling are embedded directly within the detector unit itself.
This edge-based architecture means FireVu doesn’t rely on external PCs, central servers or even network connectivity to operate which is a critical distinction when it comes to resilience.
If the network fails or external systems go offline, FireVu continues to detect and report independently.
That level of autonomy is essential in high-risk or mission-critical environments, where downtime simply isn’t an option.
Beyond standard alarm outputs, FireVu also enables more advanced integration.
For example, it can steer suppression systems, such as water cannons or fire monitors, to the exact location of a verified incident.
It can provide granular incident data to building management platforms, allowing operators to see not just that an alarm occurred, but what triggered it, where and when.
This combination of real-time intelligence and robust system independence helps FireVu meet and often exceed the operational and compliance standards required in sectors like defence, energy, aviation and industrial processing.
What recent updates, certifications or partnerships should readers know about?
FireVu continues to perform strongly in the UK across high-risk and critical infrastructure sites, with growing international interest in Germany, Australia and parts of Asia.
These regions face similar challenges, from waste processing fires to lithium-ion battery storage risks and FireVu is increasingly chosen for its ability to deliver early, reliable detection where conventional systems fall short.
This global expansion is being driven by technical validation and partnerships with organisations seeking smarter, adaptable solutions.
Building on NetVu’s history in video-based detection, FireVu is evolving with investments in edge processing, AI-assisted filtering and wider system integration.
Is there anything else you’d like to highlight?
One area where we continue to lead is in the strength of our intellectual property.
NetVu holds patents around flame detection based on colour and intensity – a method we pioneered and developed into a commercially robust solution through FireVu.
It’s the foundation of our flame verification approach, grounded in physical laws and refined through years of field application.
FireVu is fundamentally built to address the limitations of conventional detection systems in complex environments.
Time and again, we’ve seen general-purpose fire products fall short when applied to hangars, waste plants and other industrial spaces.
That’s why we created a specialist system for specialist challenges.
We’re not just reacting to market trends, we’ve been setting the standard for what intelligent video-based fire detection should look like.
FireVu reflects that legacy of leadership and we’re continuing to innovate from a position of technical strength and deep sector experience.