Sheffield fire safety upgrade contract awarded to Harmony Fire

by ConstructionFeatured NewsFire DoorsPassiveProjectsSafety

Contract awarded for major Sheffield fire safety works

Sheffield City Council has awarded a £11.6 million contract to Harmony Fire for fire safety upgrades across its housing portfolio, as reported by Harmony Fire.

The contract will cover fire door replacements and remedial work at around 1,800 residential properties over a two-year period.

There is an option to extend the contract by a further two years.

According to Harmony Fire, the programme includes the installation of FD60 and FD30 fire-rated door sets at both individual flat entrances and in communal areas.

The works will be managed from Harmony Fire’s Chesterfield office.

Housing stock across Sheffield to be upgraded

The contract forms part of a wider strategy by Sheffield City Council to modernise general needs housing across the city.

According to the council, the aim is to fast-track fire safety improvements and increase protection for residents.

The door sets, designed to withstand fire for either 30 or 60 minutes, are intended to meet regulatory compliance for compartmentation and tenant safety.

Manufacturing and supply will also be managed locally, with door sets produced in Chesterfield.

Harmony Fire said the localised supply chain is expected to reduce transport emissions and improve environmental sustainability.

Council explains tenant safety priority

Cllr Douglas Johnson, Chair of Sheffield City Council’s Housing Policy Committee, said:

“We take the safety of our tenants very seriously, and are always looking at new ways to protect people in their homes.

“We are delighted that Harmony Fire will be helping with fire door replacement across our property portfolio, and we hope people are reassured by the improved safety measures many will see begin to be installed at their properties in the coming weeks and months.”

The council has not yet announced a detailed timetable for the installation schedule.

Updates are expected as the programme progresses.

Harmony Fire outlines delivery strategy

Harmony Fire said it would use its regional team to oversee works and provide consistency across all project stages.

Amos Thomas, Pre-Construction Director at Harmony Fire, said:

“Our latest project with Sheffield City Council recognises the core benefits that strong public private partnerships (PPP) bring to clients and communities, through swift and efficient mobilisation and high-quality, compliant delivery.

“Bringing fire safety expertise to the table at an early stage in the project planning process is invaluable in correctly specifying requirements and prioritising programme scheduling to set projects up for success from the outset.”

The company said it would prioritise early planning and specification to help reduce risks and meet deadlines.

Fire door compliance and specification

According to Harmony Fire, the doors being installed are compliant with FD30 and FD60 standards.

FD30 doors are rated to withstand fire for 30 minutes, and FD60 doors for 60 minutes.

These ratings are based on testing under British Standards to ensure that the doors can maintain integrity and insulation in the event of a fire.

The use of compliant door sets in both individual and communal settings is intended to prevent the spread of smoke and flames between units.

Fire-rated doors are a key component in passive fire protection strategies.

Sheffield residential homes to receive fire safety improvements: Summary

Sheffield City Council has awarded a £11.6 million fire safety contract to Harmony Fire.

The contract covers fire door installation and remedial work at 1,800 homes.

Work will take place over two years, with an option for a two-year extension.

Door sets installed will include FD30 and FD60 fire-rated products.

Manufacturing and project coordination will be based in Chesterfield.

Cllr Douglas Johnson said the work will help protect residents.

Harmony Fire said early engagement improves planning and delivery.

The company cited benefits of public-private partnerships.

Door sets will be installed in both individual and communal areas.

FD30 and FD60 standards are used to assess fire resistance.

FLIR’S AI-based incident detection used in Damsgård Tunnel

by Featured NewsProducts

Both visual and thermal imaging cameras are used as a solution for 24/7 automatic incident detection inside tunnels. With the latest camera technology upgrade of the Damsgård Tunnel in Bergen, Norway is premiering AI-enhanced dual-vision cameras as a new evolution in incident detection.

Damsgård Tunnel Technology Upgrade

The Damsgård Tunnel is part of Norwegian National Road 555. In 2024, the tunnel will undergo a comprehensive technology upgrade, with the replacement of ventilation systems, lighting, drainage, and camera technology.

The traffic cameras from sensor specialist FLIR combine thermal and visual imaging technology in a ruggedized housing and rely on advanced deep learning algorithms that enable the camera to detect stopped vehicles, wrong-way drivers, queues, crossing pedestrians, and even smoke and fires in their early stages.

Approximately 80 FLIR cameras are scheduled for installation the second half of the year.

Visual and Thermal Incident Detection

Initially, visual CCTV cameras were used to detect incidents. The technology enabled first response teams to be deployed minutes—even seconds—after an incident or an irregularity (a fallen object, a pedestrian, a car slowing down) was detected.

The use of thermal imaging cameras has especially proven valuable for tunnel entrances and exits. There, shadows or direct sunlight can obstruct the view of visible-light cameras and therefore disturb traffic detection.

As thermal cameras detect heat, not light, they can detect traffic 24/7 and in all weather conditions.

One of the biggest advantages of thermal cameras in the field of tunnel safety is that they can effectively see through smoke. This makes them the ideal technology for tunnel safety operators or emergency response teams to find their way through a smoke-filled tunnel or for incident detection systems to spot issues in time.

FLIR thermal cameras can also spot fires at the stage of ignition, making them the fastest and most reliable technology for fire detection inside road tunnels.

The Role of Dual-Vision Cameras

In 2018, FLIR’s ITS-Series Dual AID cameras were installed at the entrance and exit of the Lyderhorn Tunnel near Bergen. In 2021, technology integrator Trafsys also installed 332 of FLIR’s dual-vision cameras in the Hundvåg and Eiganes tunnels, which are part of the extensive Ryfast project.

The cameras’ fire detection functionality proved effective when a car fire occurred in the Hundvåg tunnel in July 2020; the FLIR ITS dual thermal AID camera detected the fire within 7 seconds of visible flames, following an initial alert for a stopped vehicle and pedestrians.

Artificial Intelligence in Incident Detection

FLIR’s TrafiBot Dual AI—installed in the above-mentioned Damsgård Tunnel—announces a new wave of incident detection cameras. The camera also combines a visual and a thermal camera in one unit, but what makes it stand out is the use of artificial intelligence and deep learning.

AI algorithms embedded in the FLIR camera analyze captured images in real-time and in full resolution. This latest addition to FLIR’s portfolio of AI cameras is setting a new standard for automatic incident detection in tunnels, generating extremely accurate traffic data, incident detection information, and live track data.

Benefits of AI-Based Detection Systems

AI can help to filter out unwanted alarms by distinguishing between routine activity, weather phenomena, and actual incidents.

As an important aspect of their accuracy, AI-based systems are much more successful in detecting different vehicle classes. Detectors from FLIR will easily distinguish between a car and a van, or between a small and a large truck.

FLIR’s AI detectors can also predict vehicles trajectories. Based on vehicle parameters such as speed and direction, they can easily see where a car is going, even if for part of that trajectory the view on that car is occluded by a passing truck. This makes detection much faster and more accurate.

Since incidents can be detected much faster and with more accuracy, operators will be able to make better informed decisions, especially in high-stress situations, and they will be able to deploy emergency teams more quickly.

AI will benefit traffic planners too. Data collected from a camera can be analyzed over time to identify trends, patterns, or areas with a higher potential of incidents. This can be valuable for proactive traffic planning, infrastructure improvements, or for overall risk management.

Norwegian road tunnel uses FLIR’s AI-based incident detection: Summary

FLIR has provided a new camera technology upgrade of the Damsgård Tunnel in Bergen, Norway. Using premiering AI-enhanced dual-vision cameras for incident detection.