Innovative Fire Protection for a Complex Frozen Food Warehouse

Contractor Coldo turned to Alertis for the fire protection of the frozen-food warehouse. As the Belgian market leader in fire protection, the Roeselare-based company was commissioned to design a high-performance detection system capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of a large-scale frozen environment. “In projects like this, it’s all about reliability and precision,” says Project Manager Willem Delanghe.

“The size and structure of the warehouse made the project particularly challenging. The building, with an open metal structure no less than 45 meters high, required a customized approach. To ensure complete coverage, we installed an additional detection layer at a height of 24 meters. In total, we installed about five kilometers of detection tubing, which had to be supported every half meter. An additional difficulty was that drilling into the support structure was not permitted.”

The choice fell on an aspiration detection system, a technology that continuously analyzes air samples and detects even the smallest smoke particles at an early stage. “That makes the system particularly well-suited for large and hard-to-access spaces such as frozen-food warehouses,” Delanghe explains.

“To make the installation possible without damaging the structure, we worked with a specialized climbing team to develop an innovative solution. Inspired by techniques from the wind turbine industry, they developed a magnetic mounting system. We also enlisted the help of the social enterprise WAAK to help meet the tight schedule.”

“We also work very well with Rope Access Maeckelbergh in Ostend, a specialized climbing team. This team proactively contributed ideas and was very flexible in terms of work scheduling and practical arrangements.” According to Delanghe, the result is above all a story of collaboration and flexibility. “Under tight deadlines, we worked with all project partners to develop a customized solution. That makes us particularly proud. For Alertis, Coldo’s frozen-food warehouse was a unique opportunity to demonstrate how technical expertise and innovation go hand in hand in complex logistics environments.”