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Any room which hosts flowing electrical current or electrical switchboards, is exposed to a risk of short-circuiting which can lead to a build-up of heat and subsequently the outbreak of fire. In the majority of cases, electrical switchboards are necessary for production processes and therefore indispensable for many companies. Fires in these sensitive areas (rooms) can jeopardise the existence of companies or at least lead to a disruption of operating procedures.

 

 

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Thus for example, the failure of a control room in an airport control tower or the breakdown of the server system of a mobile telephone provider can have disastrous consequences.

A comprehensive fire protection system and the installation of automatic extinguishing systems, is therefore essential. A fire must be detected and suppressed at its incipient stage.

 

 

Fire detection and extinguishing method:

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  • The fire must be detected as early as possible.
  • The extinguishing technology used must not damage the electrical appliances. The extinguishing system must not be water-based as this may lead to greater water damage than fire damage.

 

 

 

 

The fire protection system for rooms with electrical appliances could be designed as follows:

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  • An early detection of the source of fire (even before the fire breaks out) through the use of aspirating smoke detectors.In order to prevent a false activation of the extinguishing system, optical smoke detectors are also installed in the rooms. A combination of signals from the aspirating smoke detection system and the optical smoke detectors is used to activate the extinguishing system.
  • A gas extinguishing system is the only effective and safe option. For costs reasons, a chemical extinguishing gas (FM200 or NOVEC1230) is used for small rooms. For larger rooms, an inert gas (argon, nitrogen and mixed gas) often tends to be more cost-effective. If the protection is only limited to the cable floors, a water mist system can alternatively be planned.