The LWF Blog
Fire Safety for Facilities Management Personnel – Gaseous Systems – Part 248
April 15, 2024 11:27 amLawrence Webster Forrest (LWF) is a specialist fire engineering and fire risk management consultancy whose aim is to give information on best practice in fire safety for facilities management personnel through this blog series. In part 247, LWF looked at foam systems and how they work in practice. In part 248, we will begin to discuss gaseous systems and the relevant applications.
Gaseous fire extinguishing systems are when inert gases and chemicals are released into an area to extinguish a fire. They are normally used for the protection of specific areas, rather than installed into an entire building. Gaseous suppression systems are used where other extinguishing media, such as water or foam would not be suitable, as they may cause damage to the contents of the room.
For example, computer suites, server rooms, electrical plant rooms and areas housing sensitive electronic equipment are typical areas where a gaseous system might be employed.
Gaseous extinguishing systems offer a number of advantages over other methods of fire suppression:
- They use ‘clean agents’ which leave no residue, minimising the potential for disruption to business following discharge
- The agents used are non-conductive, making them safe for use on live electrical equipment
- The agents can penetrate small and enclosed spaces within the protected area
- When operated in conjunction with a suitable automatic fire detection system, the response of a gas extinguishing system can be fast
- The systems are suitable for use on both class A and class B fires, although extinguishing deep-seated smouldering class A fires is difficult and may involve special system design considerations
- Operation of the system can be automatic or manual
There is currently no formal legislation requiring the use of gaseous fire suppression systems in a normal industrial or commercial building. It may be the case that if a sprinkler system is installed in a building due to the requirements of legislation, that it is acceptable that sprinkler heads be omitted from rooms with electrical or electronic equipment and a gaseous extinguishing system is used to replace the lost coverage from the sprinkler in those areas.
Fire insurers may require the installation of a fixed fire-fighting installation in areas perceived to be high value or where a fire could result in significant financial losses and while they would often accept the use of sprinkler installation in computer rooms, for instance, the use of a gaseous system provides better protection and less interruption in case of a fire. However, a formal scale of premium discounts does not apply to gaseous systems.
In part 249 of this series, LWF will discuss the agents used in gaseous fire suppression systems. In the meantime, if you have any queries about your own facilities or wish to discuss this blog series, please contact LWF on freephone 0800 410 1130.
Lawrence Webster Forrest is a fire engineering consultancy based in Surrey with over 35 years’ experience, which provides a wide range of consultancy services to professionals involved in the design, development and construction and operation of buildings.
While care has been taken to ensure that information contained in LWF’s publications is true and correct at the time of publication, changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact on the accuracy of this information.