Sunday, May 3, 2009

Why You Need Automatic Fire Extinguishers

By Brian Blaze

No matter who you are or where you live, having a reliable fire safety system is of the utmost importance. In most places, this means investing in automatic fire extinguishers, which are very reliable and can provide you with fast fire suppression should a fire occur. There is quite a bit to know about automatic fire extinguishers, and know what is available to you can help you make the choices that will save your property and company.

How these Extinguishers Work

The automatic fire extinguishers are usually installed in the ceiling along with a number of pipes and other cylinders. Sometimes the extinguisher is installed along with other parts of the system, such as sprinklers, to provide even greater protection against fires.

The main difference between these extinguishers and the traditional manual models is that the automatic versions come with sensors. The sensors are designed to detect an increase in temperature or the presence of smoke. When the sensors detect these changes, they release their suppressive substance, usually either powder or inert gas depending on the environment where the automatic fire extinguishers are going to be used.

What kind of automatic fire extinguishers can I buy?

Automatic fire extinguishers, as mentioned above, come in different forms based on the substance they release in order to quell the fire. Some of the extinguishers use powders while others use inert gas. The powder forms can use a wide range of chemicals which are meant to interfere in the chemical reaction between the heat, fuel, and oxygen. When that reaction cannot be made, the fire cannot be sustained.

On the other hand, there are automatic fire extinguishers that use inert gases to take away th oxygen that was feeding the fire. Carbon dioxide gas might be used for this purpose or a combination of Argonite and Inergen might serve.

What fire extinguisher is right for me?

Those are the two main types of automatic fire extinguishers that are available, so make sure that you choose the one that best suits you. First, do you want automatic fire extinguishers or do you want the manual model? Automatic fire extinguishers work the best in an enclosed space. When dealing with areas like this, the fire can do a great deal of damage and it needs to be stopped right away.

If you are protecting computers or other sensitive equipment from fire, you should use the inert gas automatic fire extinguishers. These do not leave any residue behind which could damage the computers. In other locations, such as the marina, within a car, or in confined rooms with no sensitive equipment, the powder forms are the more desirable of the two.

Having your automatic fire extinguisher installed by a professional who is experienced with fire safety systems such as these is critical. You do not want to be relying on the extinguisher to activate only to discover at the crucial time that a problem has occurred with the installation. At that point, the damage will already have been done. Consider testing the system ahead of time to make sure everything is fully functional.

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1 comment:

  1. An automatic fire extinguisher as mentioned, needs to be used in chemical heavy businesses where a fire can spark and spread at any given time in certain areas.

    Las Vegas Sales Fire Extinguisher

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