Between 2007 and 2008 the demand for fire solutions did not show great variations in Latin America, although there is a greater interest in different countries to have these systems; the degree of professionalism of integrators and installers has improved; however, the legislation for the implementation of fire detection solutions in new constructions and in all those buildings where they must be has not been assumed by governments, which puts human life at risk.
When looking at the Latino market, it seems that it has stagnated and that the potential of the region is not being exploited, additionally users continue to link the installation of fire systems to cost, leaving aside the importance of smoke/fire protection. Another point that is worth noting is that when these solutions exist, they are not handled properly and it is not taken into account whether or not they meet the performance parameters and international certifications.
In 2007, some sectors were boosted in the region such as trade and construction, which is directly related to the fire detection segment. Within this panorama, the economies that presented a better performance were Panama, Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil and Chile, but the inflationary trend affected all Latin nations, accentuating in 2008.
The consumption of fire technology has been led by the industrial and commercial sector, while the residential sector continues to lag behind and stagnate in many countries in the region leaving homes without this protection.
In Mexico, the second largest economy in Latin America, the market has advanced significantly in terms of the consumption of electronic security, but not all its advantages are exploited. In the fire segment, the most implemented solutions were analog/addressable, in addition to the combined intrusion/fire panels. Likewise, the market showed an interest in automated fire detection solutions systems, but this interest has not been reflected in sales, which grew by 20%. The main sales were of conventional photoelectric and thermal detectors, analog /addressable, optical and optical-thermal equipment.
The Colombian market, although it is interesting, is not very constant. In this country there is a greater interest in the implementation of fire solutions, while it is requested that the systems comply with the UL and NFPA standards, but it is rarely verified that they are complying with them. However, initiatives have already been presented to create legislation in the field.
In the Andean country, trends are leaning towards fire extinguishing systems based on automatic sprinklers, as well as analog/addressable equipment, suction systems, photoelectric barriers and intelligent systems.
For its part, Venezuela is the only country in Latin America that has its own fire legislation, but the client is still not very accustomed to it and continues to present the installation of cheap and unreliable detection systems. It is also the only nation with fire technology manufacturing (SOVICA).
This market calls for smart solutions, especially for large corporations, while in SMEs conventional systems have become more widespread. The main sectors that have life-saving systems are shopping malls, corporate buildings, central government and oil facilities.
Civil construction and monitoring of fire departments in Brazil have made the fire detection market grow in the country, especially in São Paulo. However, most of the solutions are under-used and there are few systems that once installed are correctly maintained by users.
In Brazil, the most used systems are vacuum cleaners, infrared barriers and algorithmic systems.
It is clear that although the importance of fire systems has been realized, there is still much to be done in the region, especially since the absence or failure of these leaves as a balance human losses.
