But Halon 1301 was thought to have significant environmental consequences due to its potential contribution to depleting the stratospheric ozone layer. With the phaseout of Halon 1301 production, effective in nearly all countries at the end of 1993, the quest for a replacement resulted in the introduction of a number of clean fire suppression agents to the marketplace. FM-200 stands alone as the leading choice for high-value asset fire protection with tens of thousands of successful installations worldwide. The margin of safety For the protection of people, sensitive and valuable facilities, other irreplaceable assets, and ultimately your business' survival, fire protection isn't a relative thing. It's an absolute. You want all the effectiveness you can get, as fast as you can get it. FM-200 provides you with a significant margin of safety that only time can buy.
Critical assets demand rapid fire suppression Fires grow at exponential rates until fully involved. Heat and smoke can seriously damage delicate electronics in just a few minutes. Deadly combustion products can reach dangerous levels quickly. U.L. and FMRC listed FM-200 systems are engineered to achieve minimum design concentations in 10 seconds or less, quickly extinguishing fires. Stopping the fire in the early, critical seconds can save millions of dollars worth of equipment and lost production. Some extinguishants can take up to 60 seconds to reach minimum design concentrations. Delays in extinguishment can add significantly to damage, repair costs, and down-time. FM-200's fast action and proven explosion inerting capabilities can prevent catastrophic consequences. Why it works so well FM-200's mechanism of extinguishing fires is active. Its primary action is through physically cooling the fire at the molecular level. FM-200 (HFC-227ea) belongs to the same class of compounds used in refrigeration, and, as such, is an efficient heat transfer agent. FM-200 literally removes heat energy from the fire to the extent that the combustion reaction cannot sustain itself. Additionally, there is a chemical extinguishing action contributed by FM-200. Trace amounts of free radicals are released in a fire, ultimately inhibiting the chain reaction of combustion. It prevents more than fire damage FM-200 not only prevents extensive fire damage, it virtually eliminates collateral damage to delicate equipment and instruments from the extinguishant itself. FM-200 is a clean gaseous agent containing no particulates or oily residues. With some other systems such as water, foam or dry chemicals, the extinguishant itself can be as damaging as the fire. FM-200 does not signicantly reduce oxygen levels and is safe for occupied spaces where your most important assets reside. After FM-200 is discharged, it can be removed from the protected space by simple ventilation, allowing you to resume normal operations quickly. Safe for the planet To be the clean agent of the future, FM-200 had to have rapid and effective performance, be safe for occupied spaces and delicate equipment, and be environmentally friendly. The essential environmental consideration was for the product to have a zero ozone depletion potential.
A clean agent of the future also had to look
beyond today to tomorrow's environmental issues. The impact of all human activities is emerging as one of the important environmental issues of the future, and is often measured in terms of global warming potential. Any valid evaluation of global warming must consider the direct and indirect contributions of the extinguishant, system and its operation. Since fire protection systems only discharge in the event of a fire, the use of clean agents for total flooding fire protection is considered to be essentially non-emissive. In the rare event a system does discharge, the rapid extinguishing performances of FM-200 mitigates the much more detrimental consequences of an uncontrolled fire. Even when used to extinguish a fire, FM-200's short atmospheric lifetime of 31-42 years assures a minimal direct contribution to global warming and rapid removal from the atmosphere. It's relative efficiency compared to Halon 1301 assures a minimal indirect contribution to global warming. FM-200's excellent efficiency minimizes the number of steel storage containers, reducing the often overlooked, but critically important, indirect contribution to global warming. Therefore, the system, as well as the agent, offers environmental benefits. |
