At Queensland Health's recently redeveloped and extended Mackay Base Hospital in north Queensland the main IT server room need a fire protection system installed. The server equipment housed in the room is of vital importance to the smooth running of the hospital's complex administration underpinning the wellbeing of both in-patients and out-patients. Its loss or damage following a fire could potentially have dire consequences.
Delta Fire installed a solution that ensures a reliable, swift and effective response to a fire, one that causes no damage to the delicate electrical equipment being protected and enables a fast clean up after a fire. It was also imperative that this solution should not endanger the lives of any occupants of the server room that might be present if a fire breaks out.
Originally, the hospital had intended to install an inert gas suppression system. However, such systems require a large storage area for the suppression agent storage cylinders. As an alternative to meet the requirements, Delta Fire recommended a solution that has been used worldwide for numerous similar applications - Janus Fire System's Novec 1230 Fluid clean agent suppression system.
Unlike an inert gas system, Novec 1230 is stored as a low vapour pressure liquid that, when discharged, converts into a colourless and odourless gas. It is electrically non-conductive, leaves no residue following discharge and, significantly, requires a quarter of the storage space, which is an important consideration in a hospital environment where space is always at a premium.
The Janus solution supplied by Delta Fire also has a highly desirable and respected environmental profile, particularly when compared with other gaseous suppression systems on the market. Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid has zero ozone depletion potential, a global warming potential of just one and a short five-day atmospheric lifetime, and so does not have any appreciable impact on climate change. It also has a large margin of safety for occupied spaces thanks to its low design concentration.
