Commercial Fire Blog

Pre-Engineered Fire Suppression Systems: Critical Defense for Special Hazards

Written by Commercial Fire Team | May 25, 2021 4:00:00 AM

NFPA standards mandate pre-engineered fire suppression systems for special hazards. These hazards involve flammable/combustible materials, liquids, and gases found in commercial kitchens, paint spray operations, data centers, electrical storage rooms, refueling areas, chemical plants, and more. That’s why a complete fire protection plan is necessary to protect your buildings, occupants, and employees.

 

A critical part of any fire protection plan protecting special hazards must include a pre-engineered fire suppression system. Besides being required, these systems provide an invaluable link in the “chain of survival.” These systems activate automatically or manually, they’re your first defense against fire when seconds count. And their benefits are many—

 

Fire Testing Ensures a System/Hazard Match

Developed to perform within a certain situation of known parameters, pre-engineered fire suppression systems meet NFPA and UL standards. They’re pre-tested, too, to ensure that they will extinguish specific fire types in special hazard situations.

 

User Friendly

Pre-engineered fire suppression systems are self-contained, and they work automatically without human intervention. That not only makes them convenient, but it makes them safe and reliable. They do, however, come with a manual override feature for immediate discharge and suppression of a fire.

 

When Seconds Count
Designed to provide early detection, with a quick response, pre-engineered fire suppression systems respond to fire at its earliest stage. There are also different types of detection packages to choose from, offering immediate or controlled delay responses, to fit your special hazard needs.

 

Cuts the Heat Source

Specific to commercial kitchen fires, gas or electricity to various cooking equipment (stoves, fryers, broilers, etc.) can continue heating the appliances, which can work against any effort to extinguish the fire. Pre-engineered fire suppression systems include shutoffs that automatically eliminate heat sources.

 

Reduces Damage

Because their discharge is applied directly to the fire, and not the entire room or area, Pre-engineered fire suppression systems protect life and property without the residual damage other fire protection systems can cause. Plus, pre-engineered systems are designed to completely discharge, discharging enough agent to reduce the damage from the fire.

 

Around-the-Clock Protection

Pre-engineered systems offer 24/7/365 protection. It doesn’t matter if it’s during business hours or after, these systems protect all of your important hazards, protecting your property, occupants, and employees around the clock.

 

Successful Fire Protection Lies in the First Few Moments

Knowing the value of pre-engineered fire suppression systems is paramount to understanding how effective they are at preserving life and protecting property. Once installed, you can rest assured that you have the best possible protection for the most common types of fires that occur with special hazards.

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Source, https://femalifesafety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/A-Closer-Look-Fire-Suppression-Systems.pdf, reviewed March 29, 2021.