Machinery is the heartbeat of major operations such as manufacturing plants, ports and petrochemical sites - and they are extremely susceptible to fire hazards.

Poor maintenance of electrical panels, as well as faulty wires and overloaded circuits, will dramatically heighten the risk of destructive fires. The protection of such crucial assets, which are typically stored in cabinets or other enclosures, presents a unique challenge, but there are advanced fire suppression systems available which can provide comfort for risk-conscious site owners and managers.

The key is to use in-cabinet systems that do not flood a whole room or area with a fire suppression agent in the event of a blaze. Rather, the fire can be contained to specific cabinets, which prevents more widespread damage to the site and minimises operational downtime.

These systems are a proven way to protect micro-environments and any associated valuable assets.

How they work

Local application systems generally utilise a gaseous cylinder and pressurised tubing distributed through the cabinet or risk being protected. When the tubing is exposed to heat or fire, the tube ruptures at that point, and the loss of pressure activates the system and discharges the cylinder's contents within the risk of being protected, extinguishing the fire and maintaining an environment thereby the fire cannot re-ignite.

These automatic systems can detect and suppress fires before they grow significantly, which reduces the damage to any panels and lowers the chance of employees being hurt by a blaze and minimises downtime.

Another significant advantage of these systems are that they can provide around-the-clock fire protection without the need for an electricity source or third party interface to operate. This is important for many operations that do not have people monitoring their site 24 hours a day.

The systems are ideal for sites such as ports, for example, where massive shipping container cranes require fire-suppression technology to protect the drivers and the port infrastructure in the case of a fire emergency. Cabinet-based applications can mitigate such risks and keep teams operating in a safe environment.

In addition to servers and telecommunications equipment, the in-cabinet systems are also well suited to protect other applications such as cleaning tanks, dust and mist collectors, switchgear and any other type of electrical control equipment.

Seek advice from qualified installers

There is no doubt that automatic, in-cabinet fire suppression systems save lives and ensure that facilities and their workforces can get back up and running after a fire incident.

Nevertheless, such systems are complex and require pre-installation planning to ensure they are fit for purpose. For those considering using these fire suppression tools, it is important to seek advice from experienced fire-safety professionals to ensure you get the right system for the right site.

Fires that destroy crucial electrical and telecommunications assets can put businesses out of action for months, but proven fire-safety solutions can provide safeguards. So click here to contact Australia's leading provider of in-cabinet fire-suppression systems.

ALSO READ: Cabinet Fire Protection for two major Australian Ports.

Fires can threaten expensive equipment and critical information in data centres and potentially cripple a business so it pays to have adequate safeguards in place.

Data centres are the brains of modern enterprises, storing and protecting sensitive information related to the business and its customers. They are also highly susceptible to fire and smoke damage, and even a small fire can cause inestimable loss and shut down operations. Added risk may come in the form of collateral water damage caused by traditional fire-suppression systems such as sprinklers.

Design a defensive strategy 

Special hazards sites such as data centres are particularly challenging from a fire-protection viewpoint and require a more sophisticated line of defence than most regular facilities.

For example, these sites often use powerful air-conditioning systems to keep cool air circulating throughout the space in order to protect servers. However, airconditioning can make a fire worse, fanning the flames and causing the blaze to spread faster.

An experienced fire-suppression expert can factor in such risks and provide a comprehensive fire-safety plan. A defensive strategy could include measures such as an early-warning air-sampling detection system that can sense a fire in its early stages; alarms that emit a loud noise and also use flashing lights to attract attention; and a plan to limit fire acceleration or explosions as a result of hazardous gases, fuels and vapours. 

Install specialised sensors

One of the key challenges of server rooms and data centres from a fire-safety perspective is that they are usually located in large, open spaces. This means specialised sensors have to be placed around the site to detect a fire as quickly as possible (the location of these sensors is crucial and should be overseen by an expert).

With large sites, it is also important to have sufficient supplies of a fire-suppression agent, along with enough nozzles to properly protect all valuable equipment.

Choose suppression systems carefully

With switches and routers, environmental sensors, climate-control systems and other sensitive equipment, there is a lot at stake in data centres. So immediate action is required in the event of a fire.

However, the use of water and foam the elements most likely to quickly extinguish a blaze - can destroy sensitive equipment. One way to alleviate such problems is to use clean suppression agents such as Novec 1230, which can extinguish the fire and not damage the critical equipment and leave no residue.

Inert gases such as nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide are an effective means of starving fires without interfering with electronics. They also pose fewer environmental concerns than some other measures.

Meanwhile, an increasingly popular approach is to use high-pressure water mists that pose less danger of damage than sprinklers. Through a network of nozzles, they are designed to release micro-fine particles of water at the exact point of the incident. The result is that a localised fire can be quickly targeted, while the rest of the data centre's equipment should still be operational.

The cost and efficacy of various fire-suppression systems can vary significantly, so getting smart advice up front can minimise budget blowouts and a lot of damage-related grief down the track.

Delta Fire Australasia specialises in the design, installation and servicing of fire-suppression systems for major commercial, industrial and manufacturing sites. Visit www.deltafire.com.au for more details.

 

Facilities such as hospitals and banks can't take any chances with fire protection - the potential loss of lives and valuable data is simply too great.

That is why Suncorp and Mackay Base Hospital have opted for gaseous fire-suppression systems to safeguard their people, property and critical infrastructure. These solutions involve a gaseous agent that is stored under pressure in a container that then discharges and puts out the fire before it has a chance to cause major damage.

Also known as clean-agent systems, these agents leave no product or residue, making them particularly suited for fire control in crucial and sensitive areas such as computer server rooms, data centres, hospitals, medical centres and financial institutions.

They are fast, effective, safe and eco-friendly - and are especially advantageous compared with water-based fire-suppression options that can cause significant property damage and lead to long downtimes for businesses. This potentially saves considerable time and money in the event of a fire.

Intelligent choices

Gaseous fire suppression systems are activated either manually or automatically via detection when a fire is small or only still smouldering, allowing for a potential blaze to be quickly extinguished, usually within seconds. These systems are also safe for equipment and personnel.

It is this efficacy that also appealed to Rio Tinto and Bunjil Place, a  creativity and entertainment zone in Melbourne. They have used one of the most renowned solutions on the market - the Novec 1230 clean-agent suppression system from Janus Fire Systems - to protect their operations. In Rio Tinto's case, it needed to protect electronic equipment at an administration centre from any possible fire.

With support from Delta Fire, two dedicated gaseous fire suppression systems were supplied and installed from Janus which combine excellent suppression performance and environmental characteristics. In addition to not representing a health risk to staff, the solution has zero ozone-depletion potential and a large margin of safety for occupied spaces.

At Bunjil Place, a number of systems were supplied to protect the precinct and ensure the smooth and uninterrupted running of the facility. Delta Fire supplied the Novec 1230 solution, which can reliably and quickly respond to fires without threatening delicate electrical equipment.

One of its advantages, too, is that it takes up about a quarter of the space of some other conventional options, which is an important consideration in a hospital environment where space is at a premium.

As was the case with Bunjil Place,  the Novec 1230's low impact on the environment compared with some other gaseous-suppression systems on the market proved appealing to the facility's management team. 

Up to the test

While gaseous fire suppression systems are a safe and simple option for many businesses, any associated installation and testing must be carried out by experts.

Regulatory authorities in Australia apply strict rules relating to the use of gaseous agents, systems and hardware, including provisions around importation licences, pressure vessel approvals, system performance, reliability, human safety and environmental impacts.

It is also important to conduct robust Enclosure Integrity Tests to confirm whether an area that is being protected is well sealed and able to maintain a suppression agent for a minimum duration. This is crucial as gaseous extinguishing systems are designed to prevent re-flash of a fire, both to limit possible damage and to allow time for fire services to respond to a threat.

Therefore, it is imperative to engage a fire-suppression specialist with a proven history of delivering the latest solutions in a safe and cost-expensive way. Anything less could prove disastrous for a business and its people.

Delta Fire Australasia specialises in the installation and servicing of gaseous fire suppression solutions to commercial and industrial sites. Visit www.deltafire.com.au for more details.

Mackay Hospital

The challenge

Suncorp, the insurance, banking and wealth management group needed to protect business critical electronic equipment at an administration centre. Their vital PABX telephone systems and UPS uninterruptible power supply installations needed to be safeguarded in the event of a fire. Sustainability was a key factor as in the past this equipment used to be  protected using Halon 1301, an ozone-depleting gas that has been banned for the past decade.

Solution

Working closely with the project's consultant sustainability engineers, Norman, Disney and Young, and fire protection system installation company, Premier Fire Queensland, Delta Fire installed two dedicated gaseous fire suppression systems which were the latest generation of clean agent fire suppression systems. These utilise an agent that combines outstanding suppression performance with excellent environmental characteristics. They also represent no health risk to staff.

Outcome

Delta Fire's recommendation to use the Janus Novec 1230 gaseous system means that Suncorp has fire protection that has zero ozone depletion potential, a global warming potential of just one, an insignificant five-day atmospheric lifetime, and a large margin of safety for occupied spaces.