What is a Fire Suppression System? A Fire Suppression System comes in many forms, but in its very basic form is a combination of a fire detection/alarm system and a fire extinguisher – upon detection of fire, smoke or heat (or all three) the system will discharge an extinguishant on to the affected area. For now we’ll discuss Fire Suppression Systems for small enclosures and micro-environments. Fire Suppression Systems are designed for situations where fire alarms just might not be good enough. Whilst Rhino Fire Control supply and install some of the fastest activating Fire Alarm Systems on the market, it could be minutes before the fire is attended and extinguished – leaving a greater amount of damage than there need be.
WHY USE FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS?
93% of all fire-related deaths occur once the fire has progressed beyond the early stages. An Automatic Fire Suppression system can reduce this statistic. Let’s take the 2 basic elements of the concept. Fire Detection and Alarm system: this will alert when a fire is detected. On hearing the alarm, it then requires human interaction to fight the fire (with a fire extinguisher) if safe to do so. Fire Extinguishers: these are great for tackling a small blaze, but unless it’s detected very quickly, it’s likely that the fire will have grown into a large fire, rendering a Fire Extinguisher totally inadequate. Using a Fire Extinguisher also poses a Health and Safety risk to the user, especially if they are untrained. An Automatic Fire Suppression System takes the fundamental principles of both types of equipment and combines them to create a formidable fire protection system. That’s why we strongly recommend Automatic Fire Suppression Systems to fight the fires at their source – providing you the greatest possible protection of life & health and your assets.
WHY CONCENTRATE ON FIRE SUPPRESSION FOR SMALL ENCLOSURES AND MICRO-ENVIRONMENTS?
Because fires can grow very fast and unnoticed in such environments. Due to the enclosed nature of these environments, fire and smoke cannot easily escape to be detected by the main building Fire Alarm system – hence a Fire Alarm system on its own might not be enough in some situations.
WHERE ARE THESE SYSTEMS MOST EFFECTIVE?
The different applications for Rhino’s Fire Suppression Systems are vast and varied, but the most common uses include:
- Mobile Plant and Equipment
- Electronic Control Equipment Cabinets
- Electrical Enclosures
- Automated Machinery (CNC Machines)
- Scientific Fume Cupboards
- Commercial Kitchens
- Wind Turbines
- Enclosed Server Cabinets
- Any other vital assets that can be protected by fire suppression systems
If you have any of the types of equipment mentioned above, and you are wanting to protect your assets and your business from expensive, unpredictable downtime, it may be worth getting in touch with one of our Fire Safety Consultants. We can provide a no-obligation site survey to determine whether this solution is right for you and your organisation. Get in touch today – we’ll arrange the rest. It’s a known fact that a large number of businesses who suffer the fate of fire never fully recover from the financial impact. What would downtime cost you? With our fully automatic Fire Suppression Systems, we can ensure that any fire occurring in your machines or property will be detected and extinguished, resulting in less damage and less negative impact on the running of your business.
WHAT EXTINGUISHANTS ARE AVAILABLE WITH THESE SYSTEMS?
Like with all other solutions from Rhino, there are several extinguishant options available, which will be specifically tailored for maximum effectiveness in the chosen location. Options available are:
- Dry Powder. This is most suitable for situations where heavy mechanical equipment is involved and at risk of fire. Typical environments would include mobile plant and machinery. Powder is a very effective fire-fighting medium, but causes serious damage to sensitive electronic equipment.
- AFF Foam. Similar to Dry Powder systems, Foam systems are best suited to heavy mechanical equipment involving fuels and flammable liquids. As a water-based solution, Foam installations should never be installed for the protection of electronic equipment.
- Novec 1230. This is the safe alternative to the now-banned Halon extinguishant. Novec is a vapourising liquid and is most effective where sensitive electronic equipment is present. It is totally safe and non-conductive and leaves no residue or damage to electronic equipment.
- Similar to Novec, CO2 is best suited to environments containing electrics and other electronic equipment.
- Wet Chemical. This is specifically designed for the protection of Commercial Kitchens and fires involving cooking oils and fats. The solution combines the fire extinguishant and a soapy cleaning substance to aid the clean up after system discharge.
All these systems will detect fires before they can cause serious damage to your equipment and use non-damaging suppressants to fight fires without causing additional problems. For more information on fire suppression systems or to make an inquiry please contact us using our contact form or phone us directly on 01278 422705.
