Fire Suppression for your IT Solution Presented by Alex Knost aknost@radford.edu www.radford.edu/aknost

Contents Drawbacks of Traditional Sprinklers Photographs of examples Alternatives to Sprinklers Final Thoughts

Part I: Why Not Traditional Sprinklers? Sprinklers use water A lot of water (15-40 gpm) Firefighters use even more water when they arrive A typical fire engine can pump 1500-2000 gpm Water and building materials don’t mix Water and IT hardware don’t mix either.

Water in Action: Blacksburg Middle School March 14, 2016: Thunderstorm in Blacksburg Lightning strike on roof at BMS Roof ignited, prompting massive response Water Damage forced closure of several classrooms

Photographs taken June 2016. Left: A tarp covers the portion of the roof that firefighters had to cut away to access and extinguish the roof fire Right: Classrooms 8A6 and 8A7 nearly devoid of ceiling tiles that were removed due to water damage

A tarp hangs from the drop ceiling in classrooms 8A5 and 8A6

Part II: Alternatives to Water Systems Inert Gas Clean Agents

Inert Gas Systems Gases that displace oxygen are discharged into the room Oxygen level reduced Normally ~21% Reduces to 11% - 15% Typically use Nitrogen or Argon

Clean Agent System Uses carbon dioxide or other chemicals Often safe for occupied spaces Many do not leave residue or damage equipment Pictured right: Diagram of Kidde FM-200 installation Image source: https://www.controlfiresystems.com/media/uploads/htmlimages/2016/06/30/Suppression_System_Layout.jpg

Stat-X Animated Demo

Part III: Final Thoughts Consult with your fire department Entry Plan – how will firefighters get into the building/room? Ensure compliance with other codes Close the Door! Keep doors closed when possible Closed doors inhibit spread of fire/smoke Saves Lives Protects Property See Close the Door! A Civilian’s Guide to Saving Lives and Property on my website for further information URL for website on last slide of this presentation

Final Thoughts (cont) – Fire Drills Save Lives! Planning an office fire drill Consult with your fire department Is your Fire Alarm system monitored? Executing an office fire drill Time the evacuation Following up Have a security camera system? Review the footage after the drill to identify and correct mistakes. Fire alarm systems, like security systems, can be monitored by a subscription-based service. When a monitored fire alarm system is activated, an alarm signal will be sent to the monitoring center. An operator at the monitoring center will dispatch the fire, rescue, and police resources deemed necessary. To prevent unnecessary dispatch of emergency services, learn how to notify your monitoring service of a drill so that they place your system into “testing mode”, and then to resume normal monitoring after the drill is concluded. Also learn how to report a false and unplanned alarm to your monitoring service in order to prevent unnecessary dispatch of emergency services. Evacuation time – elapsed time between time that the fire alarm system is activated and the time at which the last occupant leaves the building

Visit radford.edu/aknost /fire_suppression for links to references