Wireless sensor network-based fire detection, alarming, monitoring and prevention system for Bord-and-Pillar coal mines

Fire is a major concern for those who work in underground coal mines. Coal mine fire can occur at any time and often results in partial or total evacuation of mine personnel and could result in the loss of lives. Therefore, having a warning system that is capable of detecting fire and generating an alarm is important. In this paper, we present the response time of a proposed system for detecting fire hazard in a Bord-and-Pillar coal mine panel (Hustrulid and Bullock, 2001). It uses wireless sensor networks (WSNs), and can be used to detect the exact fire location and spreading direction, and also provide the fire prevention system to stop the spread of fire to save the natural resources and the mining personnel from fire. The proposed system is capable of early detection of fire and generating alarm in case of emergencies. The performance of the proposed system has been evaluated through rigorous simulations. Simulation results show that the average network delay varies almost linearly with the increasing the number of hops.

► Coal mine fire can occur at any time and often results in partial or total evacuation of mine personnel and could result in the loss of lives.
► Having a warning system that is capable of detecting fire and generating an alarm is important.
► We present the response time of a proposed system for detecting fire hazard in a Bord-and-Pillar coal mine panel.
► Our scheme uses wireless sensor networks (WSNs), and can be used to detect the exact fire location and spreading direction.
► It can provide the fire prevention system to stop the spread of fire to save the natural resources and the mining personnel from fire. Performance evaluation results show that the average network delay varies almost linearly with the increasing the number of hops.