This paper presents the results of full-scale fire and environmental tests to study the use of a newly developed video image detection (VID) system for the protection of large industrial applications and atria. The detector of this new flame/ smoke VID system consists of one color camera, one infrared (IR) camera and one infrared (IR) light source. The effects of VID system variables, fire sources and environments on the performance of the VID system were investigated in a large test atrium facility and in a large burn hall. The VID system demonstrated its capability to work in various challenging fire and environment conditions presented in the study. The field of view and camera position of the VID system had substantial impact on the performance of the VID system in detecting small unobstructed and obstructed fires.

A large number of highway tunnels, urban road tunnels and underwater tunnels have been constructed throughout China over the last two decades. With the rapid increase in vehicle traffic, the number of fire incidents in road tunnels have also substantially increased. This paper aims to review the development and application of fire video image detection (VID) technology and their impact on fire safety in China’s road tunnels. The challenges of fire safety in China’s road tunnels are analyzed. The capabilities and limitations of fire detection technologies currently used in China’s road tunnels are discussed. The research and development of fire VID technology in road tunnels, including various detection algorithms, evolution of VID systems and evaluation of their performances in various tunnel tests are reviewed. Some cases involving VID applications in China’s road tunnels are reported. The studies show that the fire VID systems have unique features in providing fire protection and their detection capability and reliability have been enhanced over the decades with the advance in detection algorithms, hardware and integration with other tunnel systems. They have become an important safety system in China’s road tunnels.