FOCUS
Flexible protection Stewart Kidd outlines the applications and advantages of direct and indirect modular fire protection systems
T
HE USE of bursting tube systems is not perhaps as new as some people believe. Burst tubes combined with low
pressure cylinders containing a suitable firefighting agent provide low cost, easily installed automatic fi re suppression systems (AFSSs) that are now a reality – and they have been around for 25 years. A small bore (typically 4mm) plastic tube can act as both a fire detection and suppression device. Such systems are often called direct low pressure (DLP) applications systems and indirect low pressure (ILP) application systems. While the use of AFSSs employing water (sprinklers and watermist) are well understood, these are mainly used for area protection – often a whole building or at least a very large building compartment. Other AFSSs employing inert or chemical gases are typically used for protecting equipment or objects or, in some cases, smaller compartments in buildings. Typical uses include transformer or switchgear chambers, IT and data equipment, and the engine compartments of mobile plant. In many such cases, DLP and ILP systems may do a satisfactory job more cost effectively. It’s true that the loss of Halon 1211 (BCF) left a void in the market for such ‘local
32 APRIL 2018
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protection’ and large, cylinder based gas systems (and increasingly, modular cylinder based water mist systems) are now being specifi ed where a sprinkler system might be inappropriate or where there is a restricted water supply availability. In some locations, an entire building may be sprinkler protected, but a gas system may be provided for areas where there are concerns about the impact of water on the equipment or materials found there – for example, in an archive store with mobile racking.
IG541 inert gas system in mobile racking
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