Very Early Warning Fire Detection for Mission-Critical Facilities
Discover how advanced fire detection protects people and assets in buildings where downtime is not an option
Sponsored by Honeywell | Presented by Steve Cummings
Live Webinar Airing on June 11, 2026 at 02:00 PM ET
Maintaining uptime is a top priority for data centers and other mission-critical facilities that operate 24/7/365. Today’s data centers are increasingly dependent on lithium-ion batteries to meet demanding load profiles and off-gas detection systems can provide early warning by detecting gases emitted prior to thermal runaway. As heat loads in data centers increase, aspirating smoke detectors continue to play a pivotal role by providing very early smoke detection for conventional fires.
Learn more about a performance-based design approach to fire safety where advanced detection can detect the earliest signs of potential fire hazards.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images - gerodenkoff
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Steve Cummings serves as the Director of Engineering within Honeywell Fire for Li-ion Tamer. Prior to his time at Honeywell, Steve was the Director of Li-ion Tamer Group at Nexceris, where he has led sensor technology programs for over 20 years. Throughout his career, he has specialized in battery safety, focusing on the design and development of safety solutions for the battery industry. As the primary inventor of Nexceris' Li-ion Tamer technology, Steve has led multiple high-profile initiatives, including serving as the principal investigator for projects with the U.S. Navy and the technical lead for Nexceris' ARPA-E AMPED project in collaboration with DNV GL. |
Honeywell is an integrated operating company serving a broad range of industries and geographies around the world. We help organizations solve the world's toughest, most complex challenges, providing actionable solutions and innovations through our Building Automation segment that help make the world smarter, safer, as well as more secure and sustainable.
Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in April 2026
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Recognize the stages of battery failure, including the processes leading to thermal runaway and the evolution of gas composition, and how early detection can serve as a critical barrier in hazard mitigation analysis.
- Discover code and insurance requirements such as NFPA 75/76 and FM Global Property Loss Prevention Datasheet 5-33 and the role that detection plays in those standards.
- Identify how aspirating smoke detection enables reliable detection in high-airflow environments and how performance-based design can provide the earliest indication of a potential fire event.
- Explore the advantages of aspirating smoke detection in terms of testing, maintenance and overall total cost of ownership and peace of mind for operators of critical facilities.
