FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM

                      FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM

 

                                 A fire suppression system is an engineered group of units that are built to extinguish fires through the application of a substance. Most commonly, a fire suppression system has built-in components that detect fires at the beginning stages through heat, smoke, and other warning signals.

 

 

• fire suppression system uses gaseous, chemical, or foam fire suppression agents to suppress the fire, rather than water.

• Because water can damage some types of property, such as electronics, areas like server rooms or semiconductor manufacturing facilities would benefit from a fire suppression system rather than a sprinkler system. 
• For facilities that deal with highly combustible substances or oil and gas, a fire suppression system is also necessary, since water is not effective as a fire suppression agent when oil and certain other substances are combusted.

Types of Fire Suppression Systems

As mentioned previously, there are chemical, gaseous, and foam fire suppression agents, all of which have specific applications. These include:

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2) – a gaseous agent that works quickly and efficiently, but can be dangerous to human health. Best for unmanned, unoccupied facilities.
• Dry Chemical Suppression – which quickly extinguishes fires caused by combustible/flammable liquids. Good for furnace rooms, flammable liquid storage areas, and mechanical rooms.
• Wet Chemical Suppression – which utilizes liquid substances and prevents re-ignition. Works well for kitchens.
• Clean Agent Fire Suppression – which leaves no residue, making it ideal for sensitive applications like museums, archives, libraries, computer or server rooms, etc.

 

Direct Release Systems:

Direct release systems are recommended for electrical panel and server rack protection.

The direct release system works well for protection of electrical hazards, because it does not rely on any metal components installed within an electrical enclosure. Metal components, like nozzles, can cause electrical arc faults, which actually increase your fire risk. Because direct release systems rely entirely on the tubing, a plastic material, fire risk is reduced.

Indirect Release Systems:

How it works: An indirect release is when the tube acts as a detection device and, through the pressure change, tells the system to discharge the agent through other pipes and nozzles.

Indirect release systems are commonly used for vehicles and in CNC machines.
 

Indirect Release Systems have been independently tested and evaluated by the leading product performance testing agencies. They are UL Listed and FM Approved. Third party testing ensures that products consistently perform as expected and can tolerate environmental challenges like temperature change. Local and national fire codes, including those published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) often recommend UL or FM approved systems.