Museumplein Case Study - Sprinkler compensated (no Sprinkler installed)

   In the early hours of December 26th 2000, a Porsche convertible caught fire in the Museumplein underground car park in Amsterdam, Holland. Within a few minutes, the fire had breached the convertible roof and the car was ablaze. At approximately 01.00, the fire was detected and within minutes, the fire brigade had been alerted and the PSB Impulse Ventilation System within the car park had already activated to bring the smoke under control by the time the fire brigade arrived.

   The PSB system prevented the smoke from spreading and controlled it to the exhaust for discharge through the extract shaft. The fire brigade also had the advantage of knowing exactly where the fire location was. The PSB fire detection panel indicated clearly the location of the fire. The system also gave the fire fighters the advantage of good visibility having contained the smoke on one side of the vehicle. The Museumplein car park is also designed to allow easy access throughout the car park for the fire brigade as well as easy evacuation of the general public. Within 10 minutes of arriving, the fire service had extinguished the fire. No other vehicles in the car park were damaged.

   Minimal damage was caused to the surrounding building. At 1.45 a.m., the fire brigade gave permission for the car park to be re-opened, less than an hour after the car had caught fire. The official fire service report stated that there was no structural damage to the car park. The floor of the car park was only slightly damaged and not in need of urgent repair. The said car-parking bay was in use only a few days after the fire had occurred.

Noordknoop Case Study - Sprinkler compensated (no Sprinkler installed)

   In the late afternoon of January 24th 2002, a fire started in the Noordknoop car park in Maastricht. The fire department was automatically alerted and the PSB Impulse Ventilation System was activated to control the smoke.

  The fire department arrived after approximately 10 minutes. The PSB system controlled the smoke to the exhaust fans and up through the shaft. The PSB fire detection panel indicated the exact location of the fire to the fire department so that they could quickly plan how to tackle the incident.

   The fire was extinguished within 5 minutes after the fire department arrived. No other vehicles in the car park were damaged. Only two cars, a Volvo S80 and a Peugeot 405 were burned up. Smoke damage to the car park was minimal, in fact 10 minutes after the fire was extinguished, the fire department gave permission to re-open the car park! The small amount of smoke damage was unavoidable, however this was far less than what it could have been without smoke control.

 

   According to the fire department report, there was no structural damage. The car park roof was covered by a small amount of soot. The floor was damaged slightly as a result of burned parts under the bonnet, but not in a way that immediate repairs were necessary.