THE Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba follow the steps of the cathedral Notre-Dame of Paristhe San Marcos Basilica, in Venice, or the San Patricio Cathedral, in New York, incorporating, as has been said, an innovative anti- … fires due to water fog, as ABC had already announced this summer.
Work to adapt the necessary pipes will begin soon and will last more than three months. The installation plan will take place in phases. In the first, the cover of the dome, the arms of the transept, the chancel and the chancelto later extend to the rest of the naves of the building. This is the highest area of the bridge seen from an aerial panorama.
The mode of operation is based on two linked systems. On the one hand, early detection thanks to a double procedure in which the thermal cameras and fiber optic technology. On the other hand, in the extinction itself. The measure is included in the monument’s self-protection plan and, as indicated by the dean-president of the Cathedral Chapter, Joaquín Alberto Nieva, “this action was approved on February 21 of this year, that is, on a date prior to the fire that occurred on August 8”, in reference to the spectacular event of last summer. It has a budget of 1.3 million euros paid by the ecclesiastical entity.
Cameras and fiber optics
For early detection, thermal cameras will be installed on one side and optical fibers on the other. The first’s mission is to perceive in real time minimal thermal variations before combustion. The second is intended for the same purpose but in more complex areas, like domes and different half-timbered (the chosen area is the one that accumulates the most materials of this type). Both strive to raise the alarm even before the fire breaks out.
Next come nebulizers, with different types of nozzles. “Each droplet from a sprayer is divided into 1,700 small droplets of 50 microns. “which attack the base of the fire,” explained the general director of the Marioff company, Alfonso Pomeda. “The water changes from a liquid to a gas and we attack the so-called fire triangle to help the firefighters.”
Presentation of the new system which will be installed in the Mosque-Cathedral
But before that, the system will have to adapt to the hydraulic structure of the city, for which two connections must be made from the doors of Caño Gordo and Santa Catalina to an existing room located in the Patio de los Naranjos. “These pipes that are going to be opened are superficial and from the chamber the water will be pushed towards two places of rise, one located in the Puerta de los Deanes and another in Santa Catalina,” explained the conservative architect of the Mosque-Cathedral, Gabriel Ruiz, who recognizes that the main challenge in this first moment is to install the pipes with the minimum visual impact.
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