What Is A Fire Suppression System: A Comprehensive Guide

No matter whether you own a business or are looking through the health and safety regulations for your household, fire suppression systems are designed to be an integral part of keeping your premises in check - in the unfortunate event of a fire. 

Businesses in every sector around the UK are always susceptible to flame ignition in the workplace - especially if you work with electrical equipment and/or gas-powered equipment. 

Today, we’re going to dive deep into what a fire suppression system is and all the details surrounding what you need to know in order to install one safely and effectively for optimal fire safety in the workplace. Carry on reading to see our guide!

What is a Fire Suppression System?

In regards to what is a fire suppression system, it is an automatic fire protection system that controls and extinguishes a fire in any surrounding area using either oxygen reduction or cooling effects such as carbon dioxide or water. 

Whether this be in a home or business environment, these active fire protection systems are typically flexible in where they can be placed within a property. The purpose of fire suppressing agents is to automatically detect and begin the process of suppressing the fire before it harms any people and/or expensive equipment. 

No matter the type of automatic fire suppression system, they are always manufactured to prevent human intervention - thus everyone can evacuate the building before the fire and smoke have the time to cause any harm.

When it comes to the fire suppression system you invest in, you will always hear alarms sounding when the fire is detected - giving you a chance to leave the building as soon as possible.

What Are the 5 Types of Special Suppression Systems?

The 5 types of special suppression systems are chemical agents, dry chemicals, carbon dioxide, commercial kitchen and foam. All of the above special suppression systems have different specialities but all attack at least one facet of the fire triangle when extinguishing a fire. 

There are now also water mist and fire sprinkler systems that are present for people to use which most people would think that they only focus on the cooling aspect of the fire triangle. However, these water mist and fire sprinkler systems have evolved into systems that can both reduce the oxygen level of the fire and cool the fire.

Why Use an Automatic Fire Suppression System Instead of a Traditional Fire Suppression System?

We believe that you should always use an automatic fire suppression system instead of a traditional fire suppression system because traditional protection fire systems require human intervention to initiate the extinguishing process. Whereas, the automatic system won’t need human intervention, as it will detect fire immediately and begin the extinguishing process.

Furthermore, there are no more advantages that traditional systems have over automatic fire suppression systems - especially if you invest in tried and tested automatic fire protection systems that have been proven to help homes and businesses all around the UK.

Not only are you safer, but your equipment will be much less likely to be damaged when the fire is detected many times quicker than an average human. Insurance companies can often be difficult to work with in the event of an emergency because they will believe that you should have something installed to prevent any worry.

Yet, if you install a system and it causes less damage to your business, insurance companies will be fair, as you had something installed in the first place to prevent this from causing eternal damage.

Types of Fire Suppression Systems

Among the many alternatives you have to protect yourself from harmful fires, there are a multitude of fire suppression systems that can be installed to suit your personal needs. Here are the main types of fire suppression systems:

• Inert Gas Fire Suppression Systems
• C02 Fire Suppression Systems
• Watermist Fire Suppression Systems
• Commercial Fire Suppression Systems
• Sprinkler Fire Suppression Systems
• Chemical Gas Fire Suppression Systems
• Condensed Aerosol Fire Suppression Systems

All of the above use opposing methods to attack the fire triangle and these systems will suit different placements and environments when looking to double down on fire safety within your workplace or home. 

Some are more environmentally friendly than others, using clean agent fire suppression as opposed to gas suppression systems. 

Some will suit electrical equipment more than gas-powered equipment and vice versa. Speaking to an expert about what system you would require is what we here at MEP Fire would recommend - as you never know what could happen within a typical day. 

If you feel like speaking to an expert about what system you should install in your workplace or home, we’d love to hear from you and give you our professional opinion. Thus, you can install a system that will provide optimum health and safety - no matter where you are.

How Long Does it Take to Install a Fire Suppression System?

In regards to how long it takes to install a fire suppression system, this depends on whether it is a pneumatic or electrical system. Pneumatic systems only take up to 4 hours to install, whereas electrical systems take multiple visits - taking up to 16 hours for a full installation. 

Of course, the length of time is determined by the quality of installation, the professional experience that the person installing the system has and also the dexterity that it takes to install the system into a particular part of your commercial or domestic building. 

Therefore, you can never be too sure about the exact timeframe that it will be finished. Yet, these are the ballpark numbers to expect when hiring a professional team to come out and help with the procedure.

Final Thoughts

Fire extinguishing systems and services in our opinion are something that every business needs to consider when looking for security in their home or workplace. You can’t replace a life and preventing this with smart automation systems should be something you’re looking to do immediately when starting a company or protecting your loved ones. 

We hope that this has given you more purpose when it comes to health and safety as one small and sudden fire can change the lives of many. Make that change today and make the investment in your very own fire suppression system.