Fire Suppression Systems

British Standards state that your fire suppression system is serviced regularly by a competent person. We recommend that you get your suppression system serviced once a year.

Sprinkler systems are also known as water mist. We use these to distribute very small droplets of water to create the maximum cooling effect on the fire.

These are based on the well-established principles of hydraulic technology.

1. Firstly, the water is stored in tanks or cylinders and pipes take the water to areas where it might be needed.
2. Secondly, spray heads will discharge the water in the form of water mist.
3. Thirdly, the tiny droplets create a large effective cooling surface area of the fire and surrounding volume.
4. Lastly, the high speed of the droplets means they can penetrate the hot fumes and reach the combustion area. If water is unsuitable (usually due to its electrical conductivity) then a foaming agent may be added.

Sprinkler Systems Work in 3 Complementary Ways:

Cooling – Water spray in droplets of micron size produces a large surface area for heat absorption. Once in contact with hot bodies and gases, these droplets turn to vapour. Finally, absorbing a large quantity of heat equivalent to 540 calories per gram.

Smothering – The water in its vapour state occupies 1600 times more volume than a liquid. It displaces an equivalent volume of oxygen, thus creating a smothering effect. However, if both the water vapour generated and the temperature in the hazard are high enough, the concentration of oxygen can fall drastically in the whole room.

Attenuation – The mist cloud generated in the enclosure absorbs a large part of the radiated heat, thus protecting the adjoining risks.

Carbon dioxide systems has been used in fire fighting for over 50 years. It is generally specified in locations where people will not be working since it is hazardous to humans in the concentrations deployed by fire suppression systems.

Since there are no chemical residues left after use, CO2 systems are suitable for food industries and other situations where contamination is to be avoided. A further advantage is a low cost of refilling the storage cylinders.

CO2 physically extinguishes fires in two ways. Firstly, it decreases the oxygen level in the enclosure to below the level where combustion can be sustained. Secondly, the gas absorbs heat and cools the fire down.

When handling fire protection in small areas we need to take stricter precautions. If carbon dioxide is inhaled it may lead to asphyxia. This is still true even if at very low dosages.

CO2 extinguishants have been effectively used for over 50 years. This is often to protect areas with electrical fire hazards. Transformer rooms, generator enclosures and electrical hazards are just a few of the areas you may find a CO2 extinguisher.

Synthetic gas fire suppression systems will store the extinguishing agent as a liquid. Once filled the contents are super pressurised with nitrogen. Due to the final agent taking less space in the cylinder any contents expelled will mean that clearing up after a fire is relatively straightforward.

The synthetic gases used are approved for Class A and Class B fires. We recommend them for critical risk areas and occupied areas. This includes computer centres, gas turbine enclosures, power stations and data storage sites. Basically, synthetic systems are installed around the world in a variety of locations.

What type of fire suppression system you need will depend on a number of different risk factors unique to your business. Your fire risk assessment will outline these risk factors and inform you of what extinguishers you need and how many. If your still unsure our Fire Protection Consultants will be able to help you.