In 2013, Wicotec Kirkebjerg completed the pipe network in a new fire protection system at Aarhus Harbour. It is a project of great importance for the safety of the harbour and we are proud to have delivered valves through one of our main dealers.
At Aarhus Oil Harbour there are approx. 90 tanks with about 500,000 tons of petrol, gasoil and other petroleum products. They pose a high risk of fire and explosion as well as to the environment, and the new fire protection system is installed to ensure that any fires can be extinguished as quickly as possible.
The fire protection system
The project began in 2012, when it was decided that the old system should be closed down and replaced with a new one as a result of stricter regulatory requirements and repeated renovations of the old. The old system consisted of steel pipes, which had become so corroded, that they at the annual tests had to be renovated before the system could work. Therefore, it was appropriate to build a new plant and simultaneously expand the plant by installing butterfly valves fitted with storz couplings instead of the previously used fire hydrants.
The pump system consists of DN400, DN450 and DN500 gate valves, which pumps water in from the ocean with a constant pressure of 5 bar. When the system is used and the taps are opened, the pumps will be activated automatically within about a minute and the pressure will increase to 14 bar. The plant is dimensioned to pump 2,000 m3 of water per hour for direct use, and up to 3,000 m3 of water if necessary. The use of hydrants was considered, but since the pressure is not high enough in fire hydrants, a solution consisting of 14 installations with 2 pcs. DN150 butterfly valves and 4 pcs. DN80 landing valves each, all fitted with storz couplings, was chosen.
