Environmentally friendly fire safety

To protect the 340 people who work at Porcelanas de Costa Verde SA (Costa Verde) porcelain manufacturing facility in North West Portugal, the porcelain producer required the quick installation of enhanced automatic fire detection devices and energy-efficient emergency lighting. Hochiki Europe products were chosen due to the company’s commitment to environmental responsibility and product innovation. 

As part of the project, worth approximately €10,000, a new FIREscape emergency lighting (EL) system was installed, enabling Costa Verde to reduce maintenance costs, and decrease energy consumption.

FIREscape is an environmentally friendly EL system that is simple to install and requires little maintenance or manual testing. When compared to traditional lighting, a FIREscape system is said to use less than 5 per cent electricity, cutting costs significantly for the end user.

In addition to FIREscape, Hochiki Europe’s hybrid wireless fire detection system, FIREwave was also specified for the ceramics factory. The FIREwave range of products do not require cabling and run off standard lithium batteries, making them more economical and environmentally friendly than traditional detection units.

The products installed at the site in Costa Verde comply with all applicable international standards as well as Portuguese regulations, such as the Security Technical Regulation Fire in Buildings, Decree No. 1532/2008. As periodic checks are also being carried out onsite by installers, Costa Verde is able to ensure that all products are being adequately maintained.

A spokesperson from Costa Verde said: “We’re already seeing the benefits of our new safety devices from Hochiki Europe, which have reduced our energy consumption and carbon emissions.”