Gaseous Fire Suppression Systems

1. Introduction
Suppressions systems generally work by removing / reducing one or
more elements of the “fire triangle”. However, it needs to be
understood that there is a fourth element which makes up the “fire
tetrahedron”: a sustained chemical reaction. Inert gases work
primarily by reducing the available oxygen but halocarbons, as well
as cooling and reducing oxygen, break the chain of reaction of the
combustion process.

Gas systems are usually installed in relatively small areas where there is perceived to be high value,
critical equipment the loss of which could have a serious impact on the business, or where there is a
local hazard. Protection may be in the form of total flood or may comprise local application on a
specific machine or utility. The gas used in such systems is classed as either chemical or inert with both
being safe for use in occupied environments. Carbon Dioxide is also an effective medium but generally
only used in unoccupied spaces where there is limited risk to life safety.

The gas is supplied from a bank of cylinders, via a system of pipework to one or more discharge nozzles.
Discharge is brought about on activation of one or more automatic fire detectors or by manual
operation. In the case of total flood systems an audible warning is given to alert people and give them
time to vacate the room. In the case of CO2 protection there will normally be a lock-off arrangement
designed to prevent operation whilst the room is attended. CO2 is potentially lethal at fairly modest
concentrations.

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Most total flooding gas installations are designed for automatic discharge set to operate on a double
knock basis from the activation of conventional smoke heads. The activation of the first smoke head
will initiate an alarm and, following a programmed delay, the activation of the second head will cause
the system to discharge. Pipework and nozzles should extend into all areas in the protected space
including ceiling and floor voids. The system needs to be interfaced to shut down any air-conditioning
or ventilation systems prior to discharge. A manual discharge/override will ordinarily be provided.

For total flood systems it is essential that the gas be retained for a pre-defined period. For some gases
this is easier than for others. In order to test the integrity of an enclosure full discharge tests used to
be undertaken. Now alternative integrity testing procedures have been developed which do not
require discharge of the gas. Equally critical is that the integrity of an enclosure is maintained. The
integrity is often good until alterations are made, for example services being fed into the enclosure
and surrounding gaps not fire-stopped.

2. General Applications
a) High value equipment. In some high tech industries (e.g. microchip fabrication) single pieces
of relatively small equipment can be valued at several millions of pounds sterling. In such
circumstances even if the premises are sprinklered further protection in the cabinet might be
considered.

b) Criticality. Computer systems, telecommunications equipment and centralised control rooms

are often critical to a business or to continued production. If these are not easily and quickly replaced
or circumvented then protection is merited. Another critical area for production may be plant rooms
and in particular electrical switch rooms and sub-stations. Redundancy and methods of circumvention
should be considered. Some production equipment might also be considered critical and difficult to
replace.

c) Hazard. Local protection may be required where a particular hazard exists. Examples might
include flammable liquids stores, printing presses, lacquering lines, oven flues and plant rooms. Such
hazards might even merit localised or spot protection even where there is overall protection by
sprinklers. Extract flues or ducts may also have the added hazard of being joined into common ducts.
A fire in one oven, for example might spread up the ducting and through the common duct rendering
all ovens inoperative. Where the extracted fumes are dealt with in a thermal oxidiser at the end of this
line then the consequences can be even more serious as such plant cannot be replaced quickly.

d) Complimenting sprinklers. Protection of high value or critical equipment makes little sense
unless the remainder of the premises is protected, usually by sprinklers. The exception would be where
they form an isolated fire risk as is sometimes the case with external electrical rooms and flammables
stores. Additional protection may be required in areas where there is a reluctance to install sprinklers
(e.g. electrical rooms and computer rooms) or where a faster acting solution is needed, with the
sprinklers as back-up.

NOTE: the driver for installing gas systems in preference to water is often the fear of water damage
(water either being legitimately or accidentally discharged). In enclosed electrical cabinets and the like
this fear is justified as a fire would need to be fairly well developed before sprinkler heads activate and
large amounts of water are discharged.

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3. Halocarbons (chemical gases)
Mechanism

Chemical gases function by breaking the chain of reaction of the combustion process, cooling the fire
and reducing the available oxygen. They are fluorocarbons that utilise fluorine so have zero ozone
depletion potential. Halocarbons are, however, “greenhouse” gases. They are currently accepted in
most countries, although banned in parts of Scandinavia.

Halocarbon systems utilise a smaller volume of gas than their competitors and this can save costs on
initial installation, although refills are more expensive. Due to the smaller gas volume required they
may also be quicker in suppressing a fire. Gas concentrations are typically around 7 or 8%.

However, where halocarbon does not immediately suppress a fire there is break down of the gas,
products of which include hydrogen fluoride, a highly corrosive gas when moistened. It is therefore
essential that a sufficiently high concentration is achieved on release of the gas and within the shortest
possible time.

For manned areas the maximum allowed concentration, below which there is no discernible effect on
people, is close to the minimum effective concentration. Therefore, for manned areas the system must
be very carefully engineered to be effective and henceforth the area very carefully controlled to
prevent changes or deterioration that might diminish the effectiveness of the system.

Advantages: Fast fire extinguishing; minimal thermal shock; zero ozone depletion; relatively small
storage space; suitable for occupied areas; over-pressure venting not necessarily required.

Disadvantages: More expensive than inert gases; global warming potential; thermal decomposition
product

The most common product on the market is FM 200, but also available are FE 13, FE25, FE227, Novec
1230 and CEA 410

4 Inert Gases
Mechanism

Inert gas systems operate by oxygen depletion, usually reducing the concentration in an enclosure
to between 10 and 15%. Systems use naturally occurring gases such as nitrogen, argon and CO2.

The biggest disadvantage with these systems is the number of cylinders required. This can be a
problem where space is at a premium and may also result in extra cost, although refills are cheaper.

A big advantage is the lack of any break down products or corrosive effect and the naturalness of the
gases involved (which should eliminate the risk of any future restrictions on use). Another advantage
is the much wider gap between the minimum effective level and the maximum level at which there is
no discernible effect. This combined with the neutral buoyancy of the gas gives much greater effective
design latitude. The neutral buoyancy results from the gas having the same density as air. This means
that it is much less prone to leakage and integrity of the enclosure is much less critical.

Gas concentrations can be up to 35% which means discharge is associated with a large increase in
pressure in an enclosed space. Well designed and maintained pressure venting is therefore essential
to avoid structural damage.

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Advantages: No thermal decomposition products; lower cost than chemical agents; no ozone
depletion/global warming potentials; excellent retention times; safe for occupied areas; no thermal
shock.

Disadvantages: greater storage space than halocarbons; over-pressure venting required; longer
discharge times.

Common product names includes Argotec (99% argon), Argonite IG55 (50/50 nitrogen and argon),
Inergen IG541 (52% nitrogen, 40% argon and 8% CO2) and Inertsafe300 (IG541).

5 Carbon Dioxide
Mechanism

CO2 systems act via the dilution of Oxygen and cooling action. As stated above CO2 is a “greenhouse
gas”. However, in this case it is obtained as a by-product from industry or by direct extraction from the
air. It is not therefore a significant net contributor to global warming. Its ready availability is unlikely
to change. It is cheap and it is clean but it becomes hazardous to human health in concentrations above
6%.

Advantages: low refilling cost; suitable for deep-seated fires; no residue to clean up after discharge;
zero ozone depletion potential; electrically non-conductive; excellent grade of risk penetration; local
or total flooding; non-corrosive; no thermal decomposition products

Disadvantages: life safety considerations; interlocks required; thermal shock potential; enclosure
leakage significant

6. Integrity Testing
Where gas is employed as a total flooding system (in an enclosed room) routine room integrity testing
will be required, usually via fan door test. Initial testing is essential to: predict the agent hold time;
identify leakage area; and eliminate the need for discharge testing. Routine (NFPA suggest annual
though this is quite onerous) retesting is required to assess the implications of modifications and
extensions. A “fan door integrity test “calculates the leak-tightness of a room. It predicts how long the
extinguishing agent will remain at the correct concentration to effectively suppress the fire. NFPA
2001, Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems, requires that a minimum concentration of
85% of the adjusted minimum design concentration be held at the highest level of combustibles for a
minimum period of 10 minutes.

A large fan is temporarily installed in the doorway of the room to be tested, with the fan blowing into
the room (pressurizing the room). The fan speed is adjusted to obtain flow pressure equivalent to the
pressure exerted during a fire suppression system discharge. The fan is then reversed on the door to
draw air from the room (depressurizing the room). The airflow and pressure readings obtained are
entered into a computer program designed to calculate the equivalent leakage area (ELA) for the room.
When a room has a suspended (drop) ceiling, then the below ceiling leakage area (BCLA) is calculated
as one-half the total ELA and is used in the calculations for retention time.

Given that most gaseous chemical agents used for fire suppression are heavier than air, the agent will
begin to leak out of any lower level penetrations left unsealed.

7. Over Pressure Venting

Over Pressure Vents are designed to allow pressure relief within a room during the discharge of a Fire
Suppression Agent especially Inert Gas Fire Suppression Systems. This is because the amount of gas

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being added to the room could be up to 50% more than was there before. This creates an over pressure
that must be vented to fresh air to ensure that the walls, windows or doors are not damaged during a
discharge. Four types of vent are available: gravity vents; counter-weighted flap vent; electrically
operated; and pneumatically operated.

Preferably the vent should either go straight to fresh air or be ducted to fresh air. In the event this is
not practical you can vent to an adjacent room as long as the adjacent room is 10x the volume of the
room being protected. You cannot extract to an adjacent room only vent to it and only where it is not
practical to vent to fresh air.

Inert Gas Over Pressure Vents: part of the minimum requirements and local standards for many years
(see BS EN 15004) and critical as the pressures within a room during a discharge of the Inert Gas can
be strong enough to damage suspended ceilings (especially if gas is not discharged into the ceiling
void), walls, windows and doors. In fact it will go for the weakest point in the room, so it is imperative
that Over Pressure Vents are fitted to all rooms containing Inert Fire Suppression Agents

Clean Chemical Agents Dual Pressure Vents: these are different as the pressures exerted during a
discharge are both positive and negative . This means that not only does the Pressure Vent have to
operate to allow for positive pressure but also for negative pressure. The Pressure Vent has two vents
within one enclosure, one allowing positive pressure to fresh air and a second vent that allows negative
pressure to pull air from the outside. Although not part of the current standards vents are
recommended for Clean Chemical Suppression System installations such as FM200, FE-227 and Novec
1230.

How To Calculate the Size of a Pressure Vent: information required is the room volume, type of Fire
Suppression System and maximum allowable room pressure in pascals. The maximum allowable
pressure in pascals is usually the hardest thing to get from any building designer or engineer as it is not
normally calculated so as a rule of thumb: :-

Room Materials Pressure (pascals)

Block 500

Timber 250

Glass 100

This information is then input into a Pressure Vent Calculator that will calculate what is termed the
minimum Free Vent Area. This is the minimum area required to vent and this applies to the vent blades
as well as the duct if fitted. Care must be taken in selecting the correct size of vent and multiple vents
must be used if the largest vent is not big enough or multiple small vents need to be installed for
aesthetics or practicalities.

Combined Pressure Vent and Extraction Vent (Clean Chemical Systems only): As with all Fire
Suppression System installations if there is no natural venting to fresh air e.g. a door to fresh air within
the room, then forced venting must be provided to ensure that after a fire and or discharge that any
contaminants such as smoke or the Fire Suppression Agent itself can be extracted.

With Clean Chemical Agents such as FM200 and Novec 1230 the Extract Vent can be combined with
the Pressure Vent so that only one system has to be installed, saving wall space and money. To extract
a Clean Chemical Agent a floor box Extraction Vent is installed, as the agent is heavier than air and the
Pressure Vent is fitted to the front of the box.

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8. Local Applications
Localised systems such as “Firetrace® can provide cost-effective small scale solutions for applications
such as electrical/control cabinets; engine bays; laboratory / fume exhaust cabinets; CNC machines
and data storage. Such systems usually comprise an extinguishant cylinder linked to polymer tubing
which will rupture when subjected to heat causing extinguishant to be released directly onto the seat
of a fire. In this “direct” arrangement the tube therefore acts as detector and delivery system. When
arranged as an indirect system the tubing will act as detector only with delivery via copper, steel or
braided pipework and fixed nozzle. The system will usually be configured with an electrical output to
allow connection to a fire alarm system and, ideally, an electrical interface to shut down the cabinet
(power and fan) to prevent re-ignition. A variety of extinguishing mediums are available (depending
on the application) including FM200, dry chemical powders, CO2, foam and water.

Whilst Firetrace is possibly the most widely recognised local application system there are others
available. For example the Redetec system utilises fixed smoke heads or HSSD within a cabinet to
detect fire and discharges via fixed nozzles. A choice of suppression mediums are also available.

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9. Relevant Standards
In the UK systems should be installed by a LPS1204 certified company in accordance with BS EN
15004-1:2019

Standard Scope Applicable

to
LPS1204 (Issue 3.1) Requirements for firms Sets appropriate technical and All gases
engaged in the design installation, quality standards to assure
commissioning and servicing of gas interested parties that gas
extinguishing systems extinguishing systems are properly
designed, installed, commissioned
and serviced to safeguard life
and/or property.
BS EN 15004-1:2019 Fixed firefighting One in a series of European All gases
systems. Gas extinguishing systems. Design, standards on gas extinguishing
installation and maintenance fixed firefighting systems. This part
deals with system design,
installation and maintenance, while
the other parts cover physical
properties and system design for
individual extinguishants.
NFPA 2001 – Standard Clean Agent Fire Requirements for total flooding and All gases
Extinguishing Systems local application clean agent fire
extinguishing systems. It is intended
for use by those who purchase,
design, install, test, inspect,
approve, operate, and maintain
engineered or pre-engineered
gaseous agent fire suppression
systems so they will function as
intended when needed.
NFPA 12: Carbon dioxide extinguishing Requirements for carbon dioxide CO2
systems. fire-extinguishing systems to help
ensure that such equipment will
function as intended throughout its
life. It is intended for those who
purchase, design, install, test,
inspect, approve, list, operate, or
maintain these systems
BS 5306-4:2001+A1:2012 Fire extinguishing Specifies requirements for the CO2
installations and equipment on premises. provision of carbon dioxide fire
Specification for carbon dioxide systems extinguishing systems in buildings
or industrial plant.
LPS1666 Requirements and Test Procedures Standard for systems using heat Firetrace (&
for the LPCB approval of direct low pressure sensitive pneumatic detection other local
(DLP) application fixed fire suppression tubing designed for the protection applications)
systems of small unoccupied enclosures
such as electrical switchgear
cabinets, server racking and similar
installations from small local
flaming fire sources

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10. Risk Management Checklist
 Does the Installing company have LPS 1204 certification?
 Has the system been installed in accordance with BS EN 15004-1:2019 Fixed firefighting
systems. Gas extinguishing systems. Design, installation and maintenance
 Has the room/compartment been constructed with a recognised degree of fire resistance
(minimum 1 hour being recommended)
 Has the cause and effect matrix been verified as part of the commissioning?
 Is suitable over-pressure venting provided (type, size and routing)?
 Is the pressure vent clear of obstructions?
 Is the system configured to discharge gas into all required spaces including ceiling and floor
voids?
 Is there an audible warning and time delay prior to discharge of the gas?
 Is there an interface between the gas system and the air handling equipment: the latter
being shut down prior to gas discharge?
 Is the installation linked to the building’s fire alarm?
 Are there manual hold-off buttons to prevent the release of the gas if personnel are trapped
inside the space?
 Is there a maintenance contract in place with a LPS 1204 Certified Company?
 Has the enclosure been pressure tested?
 Has the enclosure been retested after any internal alterations (or after at least three years if
no changes have been made)?
 Does the control panel show the system as being in automatic mode? (the system is often
manually switched to manual when the space is entered and needs to be switched back)
 Are the pressure gauges on the storage cylinders routinely inspected to ensure the gases
have not leaked?

11. Alternatives to Gas Suppression

Sprinklers
Gas suppression is usually installed where sprinklers are deemed to be unsuitable e.g. around sensitive
electronic equipment so they are rarely a viable alternative. However, you will sometimes find pre-action
sprinkler installations in equipment rooms whereby the pipes are maintained in a dry state and are only filled
by the activation of a fire detection system (often configured on a double knock basis). Where such a strategy
has been implemented it is also common to find high sensitivity (often aspirating) detection to give very early
warning of an incipient fire which initiates a well-practised and robust emergency response. The sprinklers
are generally installed as a fall back to protect the building should this emergency response fail.

Water Mist
This is considered a viable alternative to gas suppression and sprinklers in a wide range of applications,
including equipment enclosures. Water mist suppresses by its cooling action though, if discharged for
sufficient time, will also reduce the oxygen content in an enclosed space. It uses far less water than sprinklers
so the risk of excessive water damage is reduced. There are many factors to consider when deciding whether
to choose water mist in preference to gas which cannot be covered in this guidance. However, the key factor
to consider is whether it has been tested in an application / environment that mirrors the area / application
you are looking to protect.

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Wet Chemicals / Foam
Generally used in environments with flammable liquid / hot oil risks so limited overlap with gas flooding
systems (though gas sometimes used with flammable liquids). Wet chemical suppression is commonly found
in kitchens or hand extinguisher applications. Foam is used for protection of larger spaces such as aircraft
hangars or over/around large flammable liquid installations.

Inerting Systems
These types of systems reduce the oxygen content of the air to below that which will sustain combustion
(circa 14%) hence removing the fire risk completely. Systems such as Oxyreduct do this by introducing
nitrogen into the space from an on-site generator. The space is closely monitored for oxygen content and
the protected space is safe for occupation. Such a system may be cost prohibitive for small applications due
to the initial infrastructure and on-going running costs but can be very effective in large equipment rooms.
Also very effective for archives and the like as it removes all risk of consequent damage. As with gas
suppression the room integrity (leakage rate) becomes critical but it has been successfully (and cost-
effectively) deployed in very large high bay (30m) warehouses so its range of potential applications is wide.

Further information and guidance on this subject is available from:

 The Health and Safety Executive - https://www.hse.gov.uk/

 The Fire Protection Association - https://www.thefpa.co.uk/
 Other trade bodies

For clarification or further information please contact –

Protector Insurance UK Risk Management Team
[email protected]

Disclaimer:

Please note that the Information contained herein has been provided to you for general information purposes only and is considered
confidential and/or privileged information, which you must not distribute to any third party, in whole or part, without Protector’s express
written permission. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is comprehensive and accurate,
Protector makes no representation, warranty or undertaking, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness or
reasonableness of the Information. Any assumptions, opinions and estimates expressed in this document constitute Protector’s judgment as
of the date thereof and are subject to change without notice. Any projections and/or proposed risk mitigating solutions contained in this
document are based on a number of assumptions as to existing risk conditions and there can be no guarantee that any projected outcomes
will be achieved, nor that no other risks exist. Protector does not accept any liability for any direct, consequential or other loss arising from
reliance on the contents of this document, and provides no guarantee that recommended remediation measures supersede, or replaces any
statutory obligations.

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