This iconic theme park has implemented a high-level lightning protection and prevention system
Puy du Fou theme parks are a reference in the world of cultural leisure, backed by more than 20 international awards since its creation in France in 1978. Its entertainment concept is based on emotion and the historical roots of the territories in which it is implemented.
In 2019, Puy du Fou Spain was inaugurated with its great night show "The Dream of Toledo". Located in the Toledo mountains, this show is a journey through fifteen centuries of history represented on an immense five-hectare stage that includes buildings, monuments and a semicircular grandstand for more than 6,000 spectators. The success of this project has led to the fact that, at present, the theme park designed according to the French model occupies an area of approximately thirty hectares and aims to exceed one million visitors by 2023.
Considering its location and the orography, extension, large number of structures and buildings, together with the high number of annual visitors, our Engineering Department designed a comprehensive lightning protection system that includes both protection and prevention, following the requirements of the current UNE 21186:2011 and IEC 62793:2020 standards.
TAKING THEME PARK PROTECTION TO ANOTHER LEVEL
The Puy du Fou and INGESCO teams have combined their synergies and experience, making a firm commitment to the possibilities offered by new technologies to ensure the safety of people enjoying the facilities in open spaces and shows. This commitment to innovation in lightning safety allowed that, on September 3, 2023, its PREVISTORM® storm warning system provided relevant information to the Park organization about the high risk of lightning strikes in the area. This data helped in making strategic decisions in advance to protect the attendees.
Thus, having an early warning system for thunderstorms such as PREVISTORM® allowed the park organization to suspend in advance all the activities planned for that night, which were carried out outdoors, to preserve the safety of the people.
The external lightning protection of the facilities of this Theme Park was designed taking into account the extension of the land in which it is located (a vast area located in the mountains of Toledo and completely isolated from other elevated structures) and the numerous buildings that house the different services and shows.
Taking into account these characteristics, our engineering department chose to implement a protection system based on the INGESCO® PDC.E lightning rods with a priming device, following the UNE 21186:2011 standard, or the CTE SUA 8, depending on the space to be protected. Looking for the maximum level of protection and the largest radius of action.
This lightning rod option protects not only the structures but also their surroundings and has a lower visual impact, since, not being a bulky installation, the protected building is not aesthetically altered significantly.
A need that our team always takes into account when we face the challenge of protecting a singular space or building. Particularly, in this project of careful scenography and realism, the details are of great importance in recreating this journey through the history of Spain.
MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY GUARANTEED IN OPEN SPACES
The lightning protection methods provided for in the regulations aim at limiting damage, but do not cover other potentially dangerous situations due to storms and lightning, situations that can be dynamically prevented or reduced by temporary measures whose origin is a preventive warning provided by a detector system.
To cover these needs, and to minimize the risks for humans and property involved, we proposed to the management of Puy du Fou and its Engineering, the integration of our storm warning system PREVISTORM® TWS, designed according to the prescriptions of the European Standard UNE-EN IEC 62793:2022 and the international IEC 62793:2020. Both standards define the different lightning hazard warning systems and how to implement the alarm systems.
The extraordinary efficiency of our PREVISTORM® TWS system (detects the 4 phases of the storm: initial phase, growth, maturation, and dissipation) allows our clients to develop their activity with the total certainty that they can anticipate the first lightning strike and take decisions or strategies previously decided.
These measures are fundamentally oriented to the protection of the people who enjoy their shows and facilities of the workers who make the activity possible and also of this material equipment, whose affectation can cause an important economic loss.
THE KEY IS ALWAYS TO ANTICIPATE LIGHTNING STRIKES
At INGESCO we understand that it is as important as anticipating the first lightning strike to know with certainty when the last one has occurred. This important information, provided by our PREVISTORM® TWS system, allows the activity to be resumed without delay and with guarantees: with the complete certainty that visitors can return to occupy the stages and stroll through the wooded areas of the park and that the economic and recreational activity has only gone beyond what is strictly necessary for their care.
We thank Puy du Fou for the trust placed in our technical solutions to implement a comprehensive lightning protection system for their major project in our country.