Protecting protectors
Published: 11 June, 2009
Nine new control centres for the entire English Fire Service are due to open in the next two years – Industrial Fire Journal experienced first hand the extensive fire protection systems in place.
The saying “once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all” applies here because each of the nine regional control centres (RCCs) has been built to identical technical specifications. This includes a main control room with a 20-foot ceiling and an impressive central screen that is nearly as high as the ceiling itself. However impressive the “front of house” is, it is the back office where the real power sits. The computer server – which is nearly six-foot high – will connect this RCC to its eight sisters in real time.
From July 2010 the South West RCC will handle all emergency fire calls in a geographic area of nearly 24,000 km2, with a distance from end to end of over 350 km. Not only that, but like all the RCCs, it will hold detailed information of all the assets of fire and rescue services throughout the UK, as well as be able to track their movements via GPS.
South West Fire Control’s Business Support Manager, Nigel Meadows, and Facilities Services Manager Paul Lambert, told IFJ how the server room is protected. “We use argonite – a mixture of nitrogen and argon – in the main equipment rooms. It’s a manual system with automatic detection,” explains Meadows.
Argonite, an environmentally friendly (zero ozone depleting potential and zero global warming potential) alternative to Halon, is used in high value areas where water, foam or powder would be unacceptable – eg telecoms facilities, gas turbines, petrochem plants, archive stores. It is seen as an attractive extinguishing alternative because it leaves no post-fire residue and is effective against nearly all fire hazards.
The facilities in Taunton use VESDA (Very Early Smoke Detection Alarm) detectors, which draw air into a pipe network leading into a laser detection chamber. If smoke or other particles are detected, the laser light is scattered and identified by the sensitive receiver system.
Both systems are maintained by Chubb Fire, who “live test” the systems on a quarterly basis, says Lambert: “But on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis we test the fire alarm system. We also test the fire integrity of the room where the argonite is placed. Gas systems are reliant on rooms being at the right pressure, otherwise the gas will escape through air locks.” And with discharge of the argonite costing in the region of £10,000 ($15,000), it is a precious resource.
Should a fire break out in the main room of the control centre (or elsewhere in the building) however, it is not argonite that would be released but watermist. “We wouldn’t use watermist in the server rooms because of the potential damage, whereas the cost may be considerably less if we lose a few dispatch PCs and the network will ensure that calls are still answered,” concludes Lambert.
