Gas extinguishing has a part to play in disaster planning within organisations, once an organisation has considered the losses which could be incurred, such as; downtime caused by a fire within a server room or high voltage switch room then the costs of a gaseous suppression system is often considered a very worthwhile investment.

A typical bank of HFC227ea gas suppression bottles

WFP’s team of experienced fire professionals can assist with these evaluations and we always aim to recommend a solution that meets the our customers requirements, sometimes this would be by suggesting early detection using VESDA or HSSD as opposed to fire suppression or even a combination of systems to provide a comprehensive solution.

WFP’s installation team can design and install a gaseous suppression systems, which are typically;

• CO2 (HV Switch Rooms)
• FM200 / HFC227ea (Server Rooms and Data Centres)
• IG55 Proinert and Other Inert gases (As above with storage for bottle banks)

Control Panel

Sigma XT - 3 Zone Fire Suppression Control Panel

The control panel is usually located at the main entrance to the risk  area and can be connected to multi-functional status indicators, these would be installed at other entrances to the room covered by the gaseous suppression system.

For a typically small room there would be two circuits of interleaved detection each running alternate detection types; these are typically ‘Ionisation’ and ‘Optical’ smoke detection although can be made up of other technologies as appropriate.

The system works on co-incidence detection, i.e. it requires both zones to be in a fire condition prior to sending the signal to release the gas in to the room.

Generally on the first stage (or ‘knock’ as it is known in the industry) the system rings its bells, informs the house system (if connected) and shuts down appropriate machinery such as air conditioning systems.  On the second stage (or ‘Knock’) the combined sounder beacons sound and a timer is initiated, this timer can be set to suit the site but is typically 30 seconds, after which a signal is sent to the solenoid valve on the chosen suppressant bottle and the gas is discharged in to the room and this will extinguish the fire.

Safe guards

There are several safeguards built in to the system and these include ‘Hold off’ buttons and the facility to abort the gas being discharged in to the risk (room).  These hold off’s can be at the perimeter of the room by the entrances or mounted in a control room is this is appropriate.

Pressure relief may be required, especially is you have chosen the high pressure ‘Inert’ type of system, for obvious reasons if you fill a room with gas which already has normal air in it then this will put pressure on the structure of the room.

On the other hand it important that the room integrity is maintained, if gas leaks from the room upon discharge then this may render the whole system ineffective.

Typcial Applications include

• Computer Server Room (Generally as part of a host of solutions including air sampling)
• HV Transformer Bays
• Data Centres

CO2

This is a contained liquid within a range of different sized cylinders to suit the
size of room. On activation the agent is forced at very high pressure through the pipe network,
to restrictive calculated nozzles. As the agent is forced through the nozzles, it turns into a gas
and fully floods a given area and any associated voids floor and ceiling.

FM200/HFC227 ea

Held under a pressure of 25 bar of Nitrogen, this is a contained liquid within a range of different sized cylinders to suit the size of room. On activation the agent is forced at very high pressure through the pipe network, to restrictive calculated nozzles. As the agent is forced through the nozzles, it turns into a gas and fully floods a given area and any associated voids floor and ceiling. This agent quickly seeks its target area by lowering the whole areas general oxygen level to a point where a person can still breathe but the fire cannot. This is a guaranteed extinguishant that is 3rd party tested and approved world wide.

IG55 Proinert

Held under a self pressure of 300 bar, this is a contained gas within a single size cylinder. To suit the size of a room, the cylinders are added and banked together to accommodate the given size. On activation the gas is self propelled at very high pressure through the pipe network, to restrictive calculated nozzles. The gas is forced through the nozzles, and fully floods
a given area and any associated voids floor and ceiling.
This gas quickly seeks its target area by lowering the whole areas general oxygen level to a point where a person can still breathe but the fire cannot. This is a guaranteed extinguishant that is 3rd party tested and approved world wide.