Fire hazards in these facilities are typically Class A hazards (solid fuels), but they can also be Class C hazards (i.e., fires involving electrically energized equipment). Both types of hazards can put personal safety, property and business continuity in danger, resulting in losses that can extend well beyond the occurrence of the fire.

This article will outline key factors to consider when choosing a fire safety solution and will demonstrate how clean agent fire extinguishants can effectively address fire safety issues in high-tech facilities. It will also discuss the effectiveness of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)

clean agent extinguishants on Class C fires and describe how two unique facilities are using HFC clean agent fire extinguishants to protect valuable and irreplaceable assets.

When selecting an appropriate fire extinguishant, facility managers should consider several factors, including the potential deleterious effects of some extinguishing agents, which if improperly selected and
applied, can be just as devastating as fire and smoke.

First, facility managers must consider the safety of personnel and the effects of extinguishing agents on human health. Most agents are designed to effectively suppress a fire, thereby facilitating a safer evacuation for people who may be near flames and smoke; however, the use of some extinguishants may present additional hazards beyond those due to the fire itself.

Water is naturally non-toxic but when used in Class C fire situations it will carry electrical current and could present a shock hazard. Carbon dioxide is lethal at the minimum concentrations needed to extinguish a fire. HFC clean agent fire extinguishants, by contrast, are deemed safe for use in areas where people are normally present and, because they are also electrically non-conductive, have become preferred in facilities where electronic equipment is present and in scenarios where Class C fires are possibility.

Another important consideration is an extinguishant’s suitability for protecting high-value equipment and assets. According to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), fires in non-home structures, such as commercial buildings, cause approximately $2.5 billion per year in direct property damage.1 While heat and smoke are responsible for the majority of this damage, certain fire extinguishants may also contribute to asset damage. For example, water can cause electrical equipment to rust and can short-out wiring and connections.

Additionally, the use of water on items such as books can lead to water damage. Dry chemical extinguishing agents leave a fine powdery residue that must be cleaned up. Repairing or replacing damaged equipment is expensive and may require significant business downtime, which is also costly. For a typical computing infrastructure, business downtime impact is estimated to be $42,000/hr.2

Clean agent fire extinguishants, such as HFCs, are non-corrosive and electrically non-conductive. They produce no fine or corrosive residues, effectively protecting equipment and minimizing both cleanup and business downtime.

As the value of people, assets and uptime continue to trend upward for businesses – especially those that rely heavily on the use of expensive, sensitive equipment – many facility managers are increasingly relying on HFC clean agent fire extinguishant systems as a best practice in safety.

HFCs have zero ozone-depletion potential (ODP) and are not subject to phase-out requirements dictated by the Montreal Protocol. They are frequently used to replace halons in existing systems with minimal modifications.

Additionally, HFC clean agent fire extinguishants can help projects earn credits for LEED certification. The Energy & Atmosphere category under the Ozone Protection section in the LEED Green Building Rating System, a nationally recognized green building standard, requires that projects “do not operate fire suppression systems that contain chlorofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or halons” in order to merit certification.

HFC clean agent fire extinguishants fulfill this requirement.

Studies employing conditions and materials representative of those encountered in the field have indicated that both Class A and Class C hazards can be effectively protected with HFC clean agents.4 This effectiveness is also evidenced by field experience acquired over the past 15 years of use of HFC clean agents to protect facilities such as telecommunications centers and data processing centers.

The following case studies demonstrate how HFC clean agents protect electronic systems against Class A and Class C fires in two very different facilities.

The Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) in Lafayette, LA is a 70,000 square-foot facility that hosts commercial businesses and researchers who require large- scale collaborative environments for research, application and product development, testing and validation, and high performance computer modeling. The LITE facility features the fastest, most comprehensive supercomputing, 3-D immersive visualization systems and massive data storage capabilities available today. LITE also has one of the largest shared memory resources in the world – a 4.1TB of RAM high performance computing system.

Valued at $27 million, equipment inside this facility cannot be compromised by fire or subsequent damage.

LITE chose a Fike ECARO-25 clean agent fire protection system in part because it uses DuPont FE-25 – a clean agent fire extinguishant that ceases the combustion process through heat absorption and chemical interaction. FE-25 has low toxicity, making it safe for people inside the facility. Since it doesnot leave a residue and is electrically nonconductive and non-corrosive, it will not damage the expensive electrical equipment at LITE. Additionally, it has zero ODP and is environmentally preferred to other systems. Finally, the system is cost-effective and characterized by its ease of installation.

With centralized computer services to bring greater computer access to all library visitors, a newly constructed, nationally recognized library serves as the administrative hub for all public libraries in Mexico. The four-story structure was built to eventually house millions of literary volumes of information, many of which are irreplaceable works that symbolize Mexico’s history and achievements. This, coupled with the library’s unique architecture and high-tech equipment, influenced the facility to install the same clean agent fire protection system.

The system protects 19 suppression areas in five zones—including two main computer rooms, 13 remote computer rooms and four electrical areas. In addition to the Fike ECARO-25 system, the library also uses Fike SHP Pro panels and a Fike Emergency Power Shutdown Management System (EPSMS).

Fike SHP Pro conventional releasing panels control each suppression area and are, in turn, monitored by a Fike CyberCat fire alarm system to provide intelligent, highly-detailed information, such as the exact location of hazards.

The physical properties and design combined with the reliability of the SHP Pro detection panels and EPSMS panels, provide maximum protection for the library’s invaluable artifacts. When it comes to protecting commercial facilities and the expensive, often irreplaceable, assets within, facility managers have a range of fire protection options from which to choose. In selecting the most appropriate extinguishing agent, there are many factors to consider and it is important to understand which agents are suitable for protecting personnel and equipment.