Our Blog/ blog post

The different types of fire suppression systems available

by Dave Cunliffe on 7th June, 2013

Fire Suppression Systems are used to control or put out various types of fires. These systems use a combination of wet agents and/or dry chemicals to suppress fires. Fire suppression systems are important to the industries and in residential areas to help control fire and loss and damage of equipment. These systems range from simple hand held fire extinguishers to technologically advanced systems that can detect fires automatically through heat sensors, smoke sensors, and wiring. These type of systems are available from specialist fire suppression system suppliers such as Aspect Fire Solutions

TYPES OF FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS

Fire suppressions can be classified into to:

• Oil & Gas suppression systems

• Water Mist Suppression Systems

• Aerosol Suppression Systems

• Foam Suppression Systems

• Dry Chemical Fire Suppression Systems

• Kitchen Fire Suppression Systems

• Hypoxic Air Fire Suppression Systems

Oil & Gas Suppression Systems

Carbon dioxide and Inergen inert gaseous fire suppression systems are the most widely used firefighting equipment for industrial and commercial applications.

Inergen

Inergen is made up of a mixture of 8% CO2, 40% Argon and 52% Nitrogen. This composition of Inergen changes when released in the event of a fire; it mixes with air to create a mixture that comprises of 3.2% Carbon Dioxide, 17% Argon, 12.5% Oxygen and 67.3% Nitrogen. This gas is very unique in the sense that, it has the ability to swiftly extinguish a fire and at the same time allow/provide people within the area affected by fire with some levels of oxygen to decrease the chances of cardiac distress and breathing problems.

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon Dioxide is also a clean fire fighting agent that suppresses fire without leaving damaging effects to the environment and equipment. Carbon Dioxide is mainly compressed to a liquid state and stored either in low pressure bulk storage tanks or in high pressure cylinders. Upon release, it raises the level of carbon dioxide in the room, and removes the available oxygen which supports combustion, resulting to fire extinguishment. The removal of oxygen poses risk to people in the area thus, they should be evacuated before application of this gas.

The Inergen and Carbon dioxide are also used in the world's High Hazard market sectors such as Power Generation / Transmission industries, Marine industry and Oil & Gas industries to deal with fires.

Water Mist Fire Suppression Systems

These suppression systems are highly effective and offer a superior alternative to fire sprinkler systems. They operate over a wide range of pressures (Low pressure (4-14 bar), Medium pressure (14-30 Bar) and High pressure (100-110 bar), to achieve different capabilities, performance, and functions.

Water is an environmental friendly component which can naturally absorb heat from the fire. To effectively fight fire, the water pressure and nozzle design is manipulated to produce the desired fire fighting effect. After the water has absorbed much of the fire energy, watermist fire suppression systems are then delivered to further fight the fire. Watermist systems create mist that prevents the spread of fire and further protects against radiated heat.

The advantage of using these systems is that, they decrease the volumes of water needed to put out a fire, in comparison to fire sprinkler systems. This also means that, storage capacities and pipework diameters are reduced accordingly.

Aerosol Fire Suppression Systems

Aerosol suppression system contain a Condensed potassium based fire suppressant which exhibits gaseous like characteristics, but unlike gas suppressants, the aerosol remains in the air up to an hour, thus providing extensive fire security against re-ignition.

Installation of this system does not require nozzles or pipework; all you need to do is to just place the aerosol fire extinguisher units in close proximity to the areas being protected. The aerosol fire extinguisher units are particularly effective at protecting the plants' hot spots, switch gears, machinery spaces and other small areas in the organisation. Their major goal is to prevent fire escalation; thus eliminate the need for the building's sprinkler systems to activate, avoiding or reducing related water damage.

Aerosol fire suppression units are eco-friendly with no global warming and ozone depletion potential. Moreover, they have proven to be a very cost efficient substitute to the conventional gas suppression systems with their, weight and space savings, ease of installation and superior suppression performance.

Foam Fire Suppression Systems

Foam suppression systems are specifically designed to fight fires at the source. For effective use of these systems in the organisation, the production facilities, plant, and machinery spaces should be broken down into vital protection areas which will ensure fast and effective fire suppression.

These systems use various types of fire fighting foams ejected at a low pressure, by mist technology nozzles. These systems have a minimum capacity of 5 litres, with the maximum capacity being dictated by economies of scale and efficiency.

Dry Chemical Fire Suppression Systems

These suppression systems are critical where fires cannot be suppressed with gaseous or liquid based suppression mediums. The dry chemical suppression systems come in a wide range of portable and fixed dry chemical powder fire extinguisher systems to deal with all classes of fire.

Fires related to pyrophoric materials such as magnesium, titanium, etc, can only be put out by dry chemical fire suppression agents. These dry chemical agents can be deployed automatically through nozzles and pipework, and manually as well.

Kitchen Fire Suppression Systems

Wet chemical Suppression Systems are suitably used to suppress fires in the kitchen. This system use defence technology to monitor the gas system, thus enhancing safety and reliability in the kitchen. Each suppression system is specifically designed to handle a particular type of risk, allowing complete control and flexibility.

Kitchen fire suppression system not only has the capability to protect all the cooking appliances, but can also detect fires and prevent fires from spreading to the adjacent areas. The suppression system is seamlessly installed in stainless steel to increase the endurance and working life of the product. Keen attention has been paid in the design of these systems by adding aesthetic appearance in the design, thus complementing the appearance, hygiene requirements and functionality of the kitchen.

Hypoxic Air Fire Suppression Systems

They have the following characteristics: Prevents fires; no business interruption; no extinguishing damage; provide total protection the buildings, people and contents; protects against acts of terrorism and offers full time protections and more.