Hi Danny,
This sounds so familiar :). I actually posted the same question here on IPVM earlier this year and was also directed to Flir. We tried Flir but it didn’t work for our client for the following reasons:
1- The Flir camera was not able to create multiple zones. Our client has several kinds of chemicals that can combust at different temperatures in the same 25X25 area. It got expansive for them to install multiple cameras to monitor this area.
2- With Flir, you can't set alarms based on the rate that the Temp is increasing by. You can only set a threshold. Our client wanted to create different zones in this area and monitor the rate of the temperature increase in each zone hoping they can catch the fire before it happens.
3- The alert was limited to close contact output. Our client facilities were not always manned. They wanted Text/ Phone notification, etc. Flir suggested using VideoIQ and an email server, to create these rules. We also had to incorporate a VMS to manage users and schedules. It started getting messy.
We are currently working with DRC. We solved their issue by using a combination of inexpansive thernal sensors over their staging areas and thermal cameras over the chemical dumpster area. DRC has a good solution that solved many of our issues above. Feel free to reach out if you need more info.