Automatic fire extinguisher systems could not only control a building fire but also extinguish fires well before the fire department could even arrive on the scene. It does this without needing any human intervention.
Automatic fire extinguisher systems are one of the best commercial fire systems available today. They come in two types, pre-engineered and engineered systems. Also, the extinguishing agents will depend on the building it is designed to protect.
Automatic fire extinguisher systems ensure maximum safety and protection against uncertain fire breakouts. These extinguishers are designed to function independently by detecting and extinguishing the fire.
Once the heat from an ignited fire reaches a certain temperature limit, the extinguishing system releases an agent that suppresses it. The glass bulb or ampule is made of heat-sensitive materials; hence, once it detects the rising temperature, the glass will burst off, releasing the agent to extinguish the fire.
These automatic fire extinguisher systems could be in the form of powder, liquid chemicals, or gas. These devices disperse the solution once a fire is detected. The chemical agent in these automatic fire extinguisher systems keeps the fire from reigniting again.
Fire sprinkler systems disseminate water over a fire from above at the onset of any fire. The system has a water supply system connected by pipes fitted with fire sprinklers that sprays water over the fire. That is one of the older systems available, but it is extremely reliable.
A water mist system works at the start of a fire by discharging a fine spray of water droplets over the fire. The system removes heat and acts to displace oxygen from any raging flames, hence suppressing the fire. As an automatic fire extinguisher system, this system has a water supply system connected by pipes, and the sprinkler is similar in several ways; the only difference is how the water is dispersed from the sprinkler.
These automatic fire extinguisher systems utilize a dry chemical powder to extinguish a fire. This system is ideal because the area will not be damaged by water. This powder immediately extinguishes flames and is best suited to fight fires fueled by chemical agents and liquefied gases. Still, it works well against almost any type of fire.
These systems use a chemical gas agent to extinguish a fire. The ingenious aspect of the system is that it leaves no water, chemicals, or oily residues behind after a fire. This system could rapidly extinguish a fire with no damage to high-value assets.
These automatic fire extinguisher systems could not only protect your property but can also lower your insurance costs. That is especially important for any company owner. Commercial properties undergo routine fire safety tests, and these fire safety systems can help any business pass meet rigorous standards.
Naturally, automatic fire extinguisher systems must be checked annually to ensure they are fully operational. Checking your fire systems quarterly is recommended for optimal performance.
Once per year, a professional fire sprinkler contractor like us at Texas Fire & Safety Equipment can inspect the system and make sure that it’s in peak condition. The documentation of all inspections and maintenance of your automatic fire extinguisher systems should be kept on site.
We have already covered the most important reason to have automatic fire extinguisher systems on your property: human safety. According to NFPA, fire sprinklers could reduce the risk of death from fire by 85 percent, a statistic highlighting the life-saving efficiency of fire sprinklers in other buildings and settings.
Fire is among the most devastating natural forces known to all. It devours everything in its path, and in most instances, its presence causes a ripple effect of damage. It spreads immediately but can advance and escalate at great speeds given the right (or wrong) building materials or environment.
To top it all off, it could take hours to put out a structure fire, depending on what is burning and the size of the structure and the fire.
In short, everyone's priority is human safety (rightfully), so while firefighters work endlessly to save lives and constantly do their best to contain a fire and extinguish it as quickly as possible, no amount of heroism could "rescue" things such as equipment, machinery, appliances, specialty tools, chemicals, computers, files, servers, and whatever other valuable things might be inside a building.
Even neglecting the building's contents for a moment, think of the sheer amount of damage done to the structure itself! Depending on the structure's shape and size, it's not unlikely for a single fire to cause a total structure loss. No matter how you look at it, most building fires are likely consuming thousands of dollars by the minute.
Automatic fire extinguisher systems substantially mitigate property loss and damages. Property damage in buildings with automatic fire extinguisher systems is lessened by approximately 71%, according to NFPA.
That is because fires in buildings with automatic fire sprinkler systems were contained to the origin room 97% of the time! Stopping the fire from growing bigger and spreading to other rooms of your facility or structure is undoubtedly key to minimizing property damage.
Since automatic fire extinguisher systems are instantly activated in case of a fire, very little expertise will be required to operate the system. The system can also use inert gases or chemicals to fight the fire. That is an assurance that the system will not pose a health hazard to human beings.
One of the surprising benefits of automatic fire extinguisher systems is that they offer enormous gains to our continuous efforts of 'going green'. That means the fire is often extinguished within a few minutes of its onset before it's had an opportunity to fully develop or spread to seek out additional fuels to consume.
By extinguishing a fire in its infancy, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced greatly, sometimes as much as 99%. The release of nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases are all combustion byproducts harmful to the environment.
A more obvious environmental advantage of fire sprinklers is reduced water consumption. A house fire typically needs the discharge of over 3,500 water gallons from the fire department, but the normal fire sprinkler system discharging water for ten full minutes would use less than 300 gallons of water. In general, the fire department's fire hose uses about 90% more water on a fire than a fire sprinkler system would.
Many other environmental benefits have less substantial impacts but still contribute to the overall eco-friendliness of fire sprinklers: They decrease the release of particulate matter that would otherwise directly affect the air quality, which not only intensifies respiratory conditions but can also contain hazardous and carcinogenic material due to the burning of certain plastics, chemicals, and materials.
By eliminating or reducing this hazardous material that commonly results from a building fire, the amount of polluted and toxic runoff going into nearby lakes, aquifers, and streams is also reduced.
Also, because stopping a structure fire from getting out of control is preventing the amount of structural damage, automatic fire extinguisher systems are inadvertently keeping tons of damaged building materials out of landfills.
Another indirect environmental benefit is in the fire sprinkler's statistical reduction in the use of high-fuel-consumption fire response vehicles; fire engines use an average of five gallons of diesel fuel per hour on idle, aircraft such as fixed-wing planes used as aerial firefighters as well as helicopters used for rescue or fire suppression consume three to seven gallons of fuel per hour. Even the fire rescue trucks use over two gallons per hour.
By extinguishing a fire early, or at least keeping it contained until firefighters can respond, automatic fire extinguisher systems are reducing or eliminating almost all of the unavoidable environmental hazards of a large structure fire.
The bulb in the automatic fire extinguisher systems contains a heat-sensitive liquid that expands when it gets hot. When the liquid reaches a set temperature, the bulb bursts, and the contents of the automatic fire extinguisher systems go to work.
The NFPA recommends that property owners have experienced fire protection experts, like us at Texas Fire & Safety Equipment inspect all automatic fire extinguisher systems at least four times annually to make sure that their fire safety system will deploy properly in case of a fire emergency.
Automatic fire extinguisher systems are fire safety equipment that can suppress or extinguish a fire emergency without having to depend on human intervention.