‘Dry’ water mist system unveiled by Jewel Fire Systems
Published: 29 July, 2011
A new total ‘flooding’ fire suppression system has been developed to provide fire protection for a wide range of high risk industrial environments, using a water-based technology which ensures little or no collateral damage.
The T-Series is a fire suppression system from specialist manufacturer Jewel Fire Systems. It uses Dry Water Mist technology – over 120 billion droplets per litre of water – which not only ensures swift and efficient extinguishing of a fire but also significantly reduces and, in most cases eradicates, post-fire collateral damage.
The T-Series applies the mist to the area affected by a fire, using as little as three litres of water per minute rather than the 40 to 100 litres per minute employed by conventional sprinklers. This significantly reduced volume ensures that minimal or no flood damage occurs during or after discharge. Smoke damage is also minimised as the mist adheres to the gases and free radicals produced by a fire, weighing them down to the surface of the surrounding area.
The Dry Water Mist is expelled at true low pressure as a clean agent, with no chemicals, and is completely safe for discharge in a confined space or in highly populated areas, even if prolonged exposure is likely.
In areas where a specific fire threat exists, such as a particular machine or process, the system can apply the Dry Water Mist directly onto the fire. Also, because it is completely safe as an extinguishing agent, it can be used for total area coverage. This means that is ideally suited to a wide range of industrial applications, including generators and plant rooms. /more
The T-Series has independent third party certification from FM Global and can be used on most fires (Classes A, B, C, D1, E and F), including Liquid (Class B) and Electrical (Class E).
In terms of electrical fires, the Dry Water Mist ensures there is no thermal shock or electrical conductivity resulting from the discharge, meaning it is completely safe for use in such applications, unlike many other water-based systems.
The system can be linked to a fire alarm control panel and, even in the event of a false alarm, accidental discharge will not result in the consequential damage that can be caused by many systems even when a fire has not occurred.
In addition to extinguishing a fire quickly, efficiently and with no contamination, the Dry Water Mist also cools the fire to prevent re-ignition, with the ‘mist-curtain’ created around the source of the fire protecting the surrounding area and any personnel that are in the vicinity.
As a water-based technology, it is also a 100 percent environmentally friendly fire suppression solution and is not subject to any of the regulations governing systems which employ fluorinated greenhouse gases.
