What are Clean Agent Suppression Systems and why use them?
The term “clean agent” refers to fire suppressing chemicals that are released in a gaseous form, unlike traditional water sprinklers.
Fire sprinkler systems provide code-required life safety protection and have been proven effective at controlling fires and saving lives. They are an essential part of any fire suppression strategy. However, fire sprinklers in most applications activate when the temperature of a room rises above 155° Fahrenheit. By that point, the fire has already generated enough heat and smoke to do significant damage, requiring extensive cleanup and recovery time. Fire sprinklers provide structural protection, and often contain a fire event to a single room or area.
Clean agent fire suppression describes the use of inert gases and chemical agents to suppress a fire. A fire can only occur when three elements are present – a fuel source, heat, and oxygen. This is referred to as the fire triangle. To extinguish a fire, you must block one of the three elements. A clean agent fire suppression system eliminates the heat or oxygen element to break the fire triangle.
These system have proven to be an effective and reliable product that protects highly valuable assets without damaging the equipment. It reaches its extinguishing concentration in under ten seconds and does not leave any residue behind, making it an ideal solution for data processing centers, IT rooms, telecom switching centers, museum and cultural heritage applications.
Clean agents are designed to suppress the fire while it’s still in its incipient stage, meaning it will suppress the fire before it grows and enters into the heat/flame stage. The clean agents that are dispersed in a fire suppression system are safe to use in areas populated by humans, and are non-ozone reducing with a short or no atmospheric lifetime. There is no costly clean-up once the clean agents have been discharged, because they are fast vaporizing gases that do not leave a residue after they dissipate.