- Patol has announced the launch of the new Patol Optect LR16
- The LR16 is capable of detecting a single flame at 100 metres or a 6ft x 6ft fire at distances of up to one mile
- The new system is being officially launched at The Fire Safety Event at the NEC Birmingham (28–30 April)
Patol has announced the launch of the new Patol Optect LR16, which is the world’s first optically enhanced long-range flame detector.
With aims to deliver fire detection across large, challenging environments, the long-range flame detector has been developed by Patol in partnership with Optect to address a growing challenge in fire protection.
Detecting fire early in environments where distance, airflow and limited visibility can affect the performance of traditional systems.
The LR16 is capable of detecting a single flame at 100 metres or a 6ft x 6ft fire at distances of up to one mile, with response times as fast as five seconds.
The system detects the specific infrared wavelengths emitted by combustion, which enables it to maintain performance in smoke-obscured, wind-affected or visually complex environments, where other detection approaches may struggle.
By extending detection range, the Patol Optect LR16 allows engineers to achieve broader coverage with fewer devices, while still maintaining early warning capability.
The new system is being officially launched at The Fire Safety Event at the NEC Birmingham (28–30 April), where it will be demonstrated to engineers, consultants and fire safety professionals working on increasingly complex and large-scale projects.
Commenting on the launch, Iain Cumner, Managing Director at Patol, said: “In many of the environments we work in, the challenge isn’t whether fire detection is in place, it’s whether it can respond early enough when the risk isn’t close to the detector. The Patol Optect LR16 changes that dynamic. It gives engineers the ability to detect flame at distances that simply weren’t achievable before, without relying on smoke behaviour or clear visibility.
“As sites become larger and more complex, there’s a growing need for detection that can extend beyond traditional coverage areas, and that’s exactly what this technology has been developed to do.”
