Active fire protection

Active Fire Protection (AFP) is an integral part of fire protection.AFP is characterized by items and/or systems that require a certain amount of movement and response to work, as opposed to passive fire protection.

Categories of active fire protection

Manual fire suppression

Manual fire suppression includes use of fire blankets, extinguishers or riser systems.

Fire blanket

A fire blanket is a fire-resistant material designed to be placed over a fire to extinguish it.Small fire blankets are good for the initial stages of a fire.They are usually made of fiberglass or Kevlar.Larger ones can be found in laboratories and factories, and are designed for wrapping people in clothes that catch fire.

Fire extinguisher 

A fire extinguisher is a device that contains and discharges a substance that can extinguish or extinguish a fire.These handheld devices come in a wide range of sizes, but the most common are portable fire extinguishers, often weighing a total of 15kg.These can be easily handled and operated by one person and can be wall mounted, on a fire extinguisher trolley or mounted inside a cabinet. Fire extinguishers are one of the most common manual fire suppression devices and are required for all commercial buildings and vehicles.The fire extinguisher can be used without training and is suitable for small fires in the initial stage.The most common fire extinguishers are ABC extinguishers, found in most offices and homes.It can be used for ordinary fires, liquid fires and electrical fires. There are also special fire extinguishers for kitchen fires and for burning metal.

Standpipe

Standpipes are installed in most large, multistory buildings.There are two types of standpipes: dry and wet.Most standpipes are dry systems and cannot be used by the public.Dry systems require a fire engine to pump water into the system.Most dry systems do not have pre-connected hoses and require firefighters to bring in the hose.In wet systems, there is always water in the pipes and they can be used by anyone.Wet systems will have hoses so building occupants can try and extinguish fires.Wet systems are becoming less common with the increase in number of sprinkler systems being installed.

Automatic fire suppression

An automatic control device is any form of suppression that does not require human intervention, including fire sprinkler systems, gaseous cleaners, or automatic foam suppression systems.Most automatic suppression systems will be found in large commercial kitchens or other high risk areas.

Sprinkler systems

Fire sprinkler systems are installed in all types of buildings, commercial and residential.They are usually located at ceiling level and are connected to a reliable water source, most commonly municipal water supply.A typical automatic sprinkler system operates when heat at the site of a fire causes a fusible link or glass component in the sprinkler head to fail, thereby releasing the water from the sprinkler head.This means that only the sprinkler heads at the fire location actuate not all the sprinklers on a floor or in a building. However, certain systems, such as deluge systems, do spray water from all heads in the same zone upon actuation.Sprinkler systems help to reduce the growth of a fire, thereby increasing life safety and limiting structural damage.

Gaseous clean agent

Installing gaseous cleaners causes less fire and water damage than sprinklers, for example in computer rooms.The system works by flooding an area with gas that interferes with the fire tetrahedron.

Foam suppression system

Automatic foam suppression systems come in three main forms low expansion, medium expansion, and high expansion.

Low expansion

Low expansion foam expands less than 20 times its original size.These systems can be installed in a variety of places but are commonly found in places where hydrocarbons are stored.Low expansion foam systems when using film forming work by making a blanket of foam over the burning liquid to both cool it down and suppress the vapors.

Medium expansion

Medium expansion foam expands between 20 and 200 times its original size.These can be installed in outdoor settings like transfer stations or for use in open pits.Medium foam is used outdoors because it is denser than high expansion and will not blow away as easily.It works by covering what is on fire in a thick blanket of foam to smother it and suppress vapors.

High expansion

High expansion foam expands between 200 and 1000 times its original size.These systems are commonly installed in large volume areas like airplane hangars, mine shafts, and ship holds.These systems are normally installed inside and make a very light foam. They extinguish the fire by rapid smothering and cooling.Its rapid rate of expansion enables it to fill large areas with foam rapidly. When used on LNG tanks they provide an added insulation layer that helps reduce the vapor rate.

Electronically controlled

Nozzles that are powered by electrical energy that is generated and supplied by fire detection and control devices and are typically closed.