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DMT and Westfalen AG sign cooperation agreement on silo fire-fighting

DMT and Westfalen AG sign cooperation agreement on silo fire-fighting

Even large professional fire brigades call in expert support when tackling silo fires. One reason is the lack of experience some fire brigades have in combatting such special fires, especially where the use of nitrogen is often involved. In many other cases, they simply don't have the required measuring equipment, such as high-resolution infrared cameras or high-precision carbon monoxide and oxygen meters.

In order to make the necessary large quantities of inert gas, e.g. nitrogen, available as quickly as possible in an emergency situation, as well as providing sophisticated technical equipment, such as evaporators and appropriate safety equipment, DMT GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of TUV NORD AG, has concluded a co-operation agreement with the energy provider Westfalen AG. The agreement consolidates a whole set of joint services associated with fire protection at silo sites. On the basis of this agreement, sufficient gas volumes plus the entire technical safety equipment can be made available in the shortest possible time in the event of a fire. The cooperation agreement was signed in Essen on 25 September by Heinz-Gerd Körner, Chairman of the DMT management board, and Bernd Balink, Head of Domestic Gas at Westfalen AG.

"We hereby offer a service that is one of a kind in Germany", explains project manager Jörg Kayser. "We can be reached quickly via an emergency number."
In addition, DMT and Westfalen AG are cooperating on services for fire prevention. "On the basis of the information from DMT, Westfalen AG is able to ensure it has sufficient emergency provisions of inert gas and associated equipment for each silo, and can deliver these to the silo operator's rapidly in a real-case scenario", explains Bernd Balink.

Contact and further information:

DMT GmbH & Co. KG
Jörg Kayser
Tremoniastr. 13
44137 Dortmund
Germany

Phone.: +49 231 5333-234
Fax: +49 231 5333-299
http://www.dmt.de/
Joerg.Kayser(at)dmt.LÖSCHEN.de

Westfalen AG press contact:
Westfalen AG
Stefan Jung
Industrieweg 43
48155 Münster

Phone.: +49 251 695-309
Fax: +49 251 695-129
pressewestfalen-ag.de
http://www.westfalen-ag.de/

Special-situation fire fighting at DMT:
The self-ignition of materials (such as coal, wood chips, animal feed etc.), the preventive measures to avoid such processes and the necessary action to be taken in the event of fire, have been areas of focus for DMT for several decades. The company is particularly experienced in dealing with self-ignition fires at landfill sites, storage facilities (coal stores etc.) and silos, and draws on the specialist know-how of the company's own Expert Body for Fire Protection to assist in fire fighting measures. It offers support in evaluating the initial situation and/or fire investigation (measurements with gas detectors and thermal imaging cameras), selecting and implementing appropriate inertisation measures, protecting the surrounding area by controlling the outbreak of harmful substances, as well as final assessment measurements after suppression.

Download the press release Cooperation Agreement