What are Fire Fighting Systems and its Importance

Dec 25
01:08

2020

Gaurav Kamboj

Gaurav Kamboj

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FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS A fire fighting system is a system that’s used to prevent, extinguish, localize, or block fires in enclosed spaces. Automatic fire-fighting systems are installed rather than manual fire fighting systems in buildings and rooms where there is more risk and higher chances of fire. Fire safety is a very important and integral part of an organization. A fire can spread within seconds to a large area and cause huge damage to the stock and livelihood. Organizations investing in fire protection systems realize the advantage and the significant benefit when the fire fighting systems perform as expected.

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How does a Fire Protection System Functions?

The functionality of fire protection systems should be well known by the owners before installing one. There is not only one type of system so different systems work in different ways and it’s your decision to choose which Fire Protection System suits your organization.

Now,What are Fire Fighting Systems and its Importance Articles they might have different ways to function but all have a common goal which is to detect a fire and start its system to tackle the fire to protect the building, valuable assets, and the workforce inside it.

The most common fire protection system contains a smoke detector that detects the smoke or any kind of abnormal heat in the surroundings and a sprinkler. If there is a fire spark in the building and is detected by the system, it alerts the system and the alarm causing the sprinkler system to activate on its own. The sprinkled water protects the fire from spreading hence preventing/minimizing the damage that could have been caused.

This kind of system is very effective but cannot be used in several places where water cannot be used to extinguish the fire as these buildings might contain precious data and assets which would be spoiled if they come in contact with water. So, as an alternative method, when dealing with certain critical equipment or special hazards, automatic fire suppression systems can be used as they use clean agents which is a better choice for such environments. These systems detect the fire and suppress it without leaving any kind of residue for the easy cleanup process.

Benefits of Fire Protection Systems

The main benefit or say the advantage of having a fire protection system is that it’ll save you money in the long run. An organization or a business makes huge investments in their workspace in different categories like building, furniture, computer, and other electrical hardware which is very costly and the data inside them is irreplaceable. If a fire strikes in the building and causes significant damage then apart from the loss caused, the operations of the company might also shut down for a significant period.

New equipment may be required, and the valuable documentation and data could be lost. A business must take the fire protection system into their consideration according to their needs preventing some future mishappening.

Another benefit of having a fire protection system is it automatically activates itself and the emergency services along with it. Some of these systems will not only work to immediately suppress the fire but it’ll also notify the authorities to send emergency professionals to your location for further help.

Fire fighting systems and their equipment vary according to the need of the organization. It depends on several factors like age, size, use, and type of building construction. Fire Fighting System installed in a building may have some or all the following:

  • fire extinguishers
  • fire hydrant systems
  • automatic sprinkler systems

Ï      Clean agent Fire Suppression Systems Ï      Gaseous Fire Suppression Systems

  

TYPES OF FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEM

Fire extinguisher

A fire extinguisher is a portable or movable apparatus used to put out a small fire by spraying out the compressed gas or water or chemicals onto the substance that cools the burning material, cuts the supply of oxygen, or interferes with the chemical reactions occurring in the flame.

Numerous agents besides water are used in a fire extinguisher. The factors on which the selection of an appropriate extinguisher depends are:

  • The nature of the materials that are burning like wood, electronics, clothes, etc.
  • Secondary considerations include cost, stability, toxicity, ease of cleanup, and the presence of an electrical hazard.

Carbon dioxide is a common gas used for this process, which can be unlocked by removing the locking pin of the cylinder valve containing the compressed liquefied gas.

 

Automatic Sprinkler Systems

Automatic sprinkler systems are a very reliable method to suppress and control fire. The automatic sprinkler heads that are coming in today’s time are approximately twenty times more sensitive to fire than they were ten years ago.

This system has automatic sprinklers attached to a piping system connected to a water supply that is commonly the water tank of that building and the water discharges immediately from sprinklers when it detects the fire. The great feature that it has is only those sprinklers that have been activated by the heat of the fire will start to sprinkle the water.

To explain its working further, the sprinkler head is connected to a pressurized water system. When the sprinkle head detects the heat of the fire, the system automatically activates and opens the nozzle at a pre-set temperature, which allows the pressurized water to be sprayed all over the fire. It also works to cool the hot smoky layer and the building structure above the fire. This does not only wets the burning material but also makes it difficult for the other items to catch fire which slows down the whole burning process and prevents it from spreading.

When a sprinkler head operates, the water pressure in the system drops, activating an alarm that often automatically calls the fire service via a telephone connection.

 

Clean Agent Fire Suppression Systems

Clean Agent fire suppression systems are the systems that use environmentally friendly chemical agents to cut the supply of oxygen and extinguish the fire in sensitive spaces like data centers so that there should not be any damage to the data.

This system is designed to protect irreplaceable assets and the people around them. There is very less or let’s say minimal clean-up required as no water/foam. As it uses environmentally friendly chemicals so it’s also safe for the environment.

Clean agent systems are way more sophisticated than other fire suppression systems but they require just a little more maintenance than standard water sprinklers.

Clean agent’s main purpose is to protect precious and irreplaceable assets, such as computers, servers, electronics as they cause no damage to these, unlike the water sprinkler systems.

 

Gaseous Fire Suppression Systems

A gas suppression system is a type of fire suppression system which extinguishes the fire by removing/cutting the oxygen supply or reducing it to a certain point where materials do not burn.

Unlike water or foam fire suppression systems, gas suppression systems can put out fires without damaging precious equipment like computers or server rooms which may have water damage and loss of data. Also in electric rooms where water can cause a life threat, the gas suppression system does its job keeping the employees and the assets safe.