A gaseous suppression system only works if the room can hold the extinguishing agent at its design concentration for long enough to put the fire out and keep it out. Room integrity testing, also called a door fan test, measures how airtight the protected enclosure is and predicts how long the agent will be retained. It is a required part of commissioning any gas suppression system and should be repeated regularly through the system’s life. MEP carries out room integrity testing across the UK.
A calibrated fan is temporarily fitted to a doorway and used to pressurise and depressurise the room while precise instruments measure the airflow. From this data we calculate the total area of leakage through gaps, cable entries, dampers and construction joints, and predict the retention time: how long the agent will stay at the concentration needed to hold the fire down. The test is non-destructive, takes a few hours, and gives a clear pass or fail against the design hold time.
Buildings change. New cabling, alterations, worn door seals or a damper left open can all reduce a room’s ability to hold gas, which means a system that passed on day one may not perform years later. Standards such as BS EN 15004 and ISO 14520 call for integrity verification at least annually. If a room fails, we identify the leakage paths and advise on sealing works so the enclosure is brought back up to standard.
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It is a test that measures how airtight a room protected by gas suppression is, and predicts how long the extinguishing agent will be retained at the concentration needed to suppress a fire.
Gaseous systems only work if the room holds the agent long enough. The door fan test confirms the enclosure is sealed well enough to achieve the required hold time, usually ten minutes.
At commissioning and then ideally once a year, and again after any building work or alteration that could affect how well the room retains gas.
We identify where the room is leaking, such as cable penetrations, door seals or dampers, and advise on sealing works to bring the enclosure back up to standard, then retest.
No. It is non-destructive, uses a temporary fan fitted to a doorway, and typically takes only a few hours with no lasting effect on the room.
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