FOCUS Current affairs
uncommon to encounter watermist systems installed in them which are inappropriate, unproven or unsuitable for the risk. Furthermore, these systems are not backed up by suitable fire test data. Such systems have failed during actual sauna fires, allowing fire to spread beyond the sauna, and can result in very large property damage claims, with the biggest to date a staggering £32m. Common deficiencies include the following: • absence of independent third party fire testing
• inexperienced contractors
• no full scale discharge and functional testing at the time of commissioning
• use of non listed and third party accredited components
• use of ‘O’-rings within frangible bulb nozzles which ‘stick’, which may require elevated pressures for the head to operate, and may prevent unseating of the mechanical valve – this gives grave concern that heads may not function as anticipated in a fire
• lack of interlock to sauna electrical shut down
• nozzle spacings and positioning contravening the design parameters of the design, installation and operation manual (DIOM)
• absence of cause and effect matrix and interlocks to isolate fuel, gas burners, conveyors etc, upon system discharge
Saunas Every year, fires are reported in saunas worldwide. These can develop rapidly within sauna compartments – predominately of timber construction – causing significant property damage, business interruption and potentially the loss of key customers. Saunas have become a notable cause of fires in sports centres, fitness clubs and similar establishments. Contributing factors include combustible wooden construction and the presence of a heat source. Fires may occur for a variety of reasons, including defective electrical equipment and inappropriate user actions. Sauna fires taking place in non sprinklered buildings can spread beyond the sauna and affect operations throughout a building. In non sprinklered buildings, a solution is needed to address the fire inception hazard that is presented by saunas. Watermist is one such solution, however the installation must be fit for purpose and proven. A robust watermist installation is necessary in saunas; however, unfortunately it is not
Final remarks
It is all about selecting the right tool for the job. The selection of the appropriate form of fixed fire protection for complete building protection will require the input, help and specialist knowledge of a competent fire protection specialist. A holistic approach should be taken to selecting the right kind of fire protection solution for a given building or risk. It has been highlighted within this and the
previous article that watermist for some is a replacement for sprinklers; this is not yet the case. The case studies discussed earlier in this particular article go some way towards demonstrating this. Watermist as a fixed fire protection solution is clearly an option, but not for complete building protection as yet. It is only for certain specific proven applications, and until we are at that further stage, the use of conventional sprinkler systems should be chosen over watermist systems for complete protection of buildings. Sprinkler protection is also not without
its challenges – the waste recycling case study demonstrates this. However, sprinkler protection does offer flexibility of building use, proven performance and a robust third party certification system. Preferential terms of insurance are normally available for adequately sprinkler protected buildings. The same cannot be said for buildings fitted with watermist systems.
52 DECEMBER 2019/JANUARY 2020
www.frmjournal.com
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