T-Fire System: A Novel Integrated Fire Monitoring and Extinguishing System for Trucks

Abstract

Nowadays, fires on heavy vehicles and trucks still represent a severe threat to environment and people safety, with serious consequences and injuries. In this context, fire losses can be minimized by preventing the rapid onset of fire and allowing drivers and occupants to escape safely by implementing an effective fire monitoring and extinguishing system. Commercially available fire extinguishing systems have shown multiple lacks concerning the structural implementation of the system only on specific types of heavy vehicles, the monitoring of system parameters, and the environmental toxicity of the extinguishing agents employed. Therefore, the present article proposes the early design and development of a novel integrated fire monitoring and extinguishing system for trucks and heavy vehicles called ‘T-Fire System’. The proposed solution can operate in any environment (confined and not) through a close interconnection between the onboard diagnostic sensors and the plug and play fire extinguishing system which employs environmentally sustainable fluorine-free extinguishing agent. The development of the T-Fire System has started from a patented prototype, and preliminary evaluations of both the monitoring and the fire extinguishing system have shown promptness and reliability. Further research will be focused on improving and customising the solution for the pre-industrialization phase of the system.