Fire suppression agent FS 49 C2®
Encyclopedia
Fire suppression agent FS 49 C2® is an environmentally engineered, human safe, fast extinguishing Clean Agent fire extinguishing gas for gaseous fire suppression
installed in a suited fire suppression system
.
The Clean agent FS 49 C2® is thermal extinguishing gas that extinguishes fire without removing the oxygen
from the air. This makes it possible to extinguish a fire with people in the room surviving at extinguishing concentrations. That is a big difference in comparison to use a Carbon Dioxide
(CO2) based fire suppression system
which is deadly to humans when released.
FS 49 C2® acts similar to as an inert gas
. The heat produced from the combustion process is absorbed by the extinguishant. This mechanism is consistent with the observation that there is no decrease in the fire heat release rate as long as the amount of extinguishment agent added, is below a certain limit, and as soon as more extinguishment agent is added the fire is then extinguished.
The difference from inert gases and FS 49 C2® is that it takes less gas to suppress a fire, and therefore less space is consumed by storage of gas to a fire extinguishing system. How much space saved will depend on the pressure used when filling the cylinder. It may vary between a 50-90% saving of storage space.
The gas consists of Tetra Flouro Ethane, Penta Fluoro Ethane and Carbon Dioxide
(CO2).
Extensive research has led to the development of a clean gaseous fire extinguishing agent FS 49 C2®, physical properties of which are similar to those of Halon 1301.
The agent causes considerably less damage to the environment. The main component of FS 49 C2 is the most widely used replacement gas for refrigeration systems, characterized by zero Ozone Depletion Potential
(ODP) factor.
The FS 49 C2 is suitable to replace Halon 1301 as a "drop in" upgrade of existing Halon systems.
If a room is filled 12% by FS 49 C2® it is sufficient to suppress a flame based fire.
The time a system use to release the gas into a room is:
Marine based installations: 8 seconds.
Land based installations: 10 seconds.
Even though the FS 49 C2® gas itself doesn't leave dangerous gasses after being released into air it is recommended to use a SCBA - Self-contained breathing apparatus when entering a room after a fire because after a fire process it will release different potential harmful gasses into the air.
UNEP banned the use of Halon gases in the Montreal Protocol
treaty in 1987 due to the Ozone depletion
and the Ozone depleting effect of Halon gases.
The development countries were granted with extension in their permit to still be using Halon
until 2010. It is after 2010 considered important by UNEP that also the development countries replace their Halon
with Ozone friendly alternatives according to the signed treaty.
In Europe FS 49 C2® is distributed by Brassbell and Bejaro. In Latin America and the Caribbean FS 49 C2® is distributed by Incosafety Corp.
Information on Incosafety Corp's product pages
Gaseous fire suppression
Gaseous fire suppression is a term to describe the use of inert gases and chemical agents to extinguish a fire. Also called Clean Agent Fire Suppression. These Agents are governed by the NFPA Standard for Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems - NFPA 2001 in the USA, with different standards and...
installed in a suited fire suppression system
Fire suppression system
Fire suppression systems are used in conjunction with smoke detectors and fire alarm systems to improve and increase public safety. Suppression systems are governed by the codes under the NFPA 13 handbook.-Types:...
.
The Clean agent FS 49 C2® is thermal extinguishing gas that extinguishes fire without removing the oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
from the air. This makes it possible to extinguish a fire with people in the room surviving at extinguishing concentrations. That is a big difference in comparison to use a Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
(CO2) based fire suppression system
Fire suppression system
Fire suppression systems are used in conjunction with smoke detectors and fire alarm systems to improve and increase public safety. Suppression systems are governed by the codes under the NFPA 13 handbook.-Types:...
which is deadly to humans when released.
Thermal fire suppression
FS 49 C2® acts similar to as an inert gas
Inert gas
An inert gas is a non-reactive gas used during chemical synthesis, chemical analysis, or preservation of reactive materials. Inert gases are selected for specific settings for which they are functionally inert since the cost of the gas and the cost of purifying the gas are usually a consideration...
. The heat produced from the combustion process is absorbed by the extinguishant. This mechanism is consistent with the observation that there is no decrease in the fire heat release rate as long as the amount of extinguishment agent added, is below a certain limit, and as soon as more extinguishment agent is added the fire is then extinguished.
The difference from inert gases and FS 49 C2® is that it takes less gas to suppress a fire, and therefore less space is consumed by storage of gas to a fire extinguishing system. How much space saved will depend on the pressure used when filling the cylinder. It may vary between a 50-90% saving of storage space.
Consistence
The gas consists of Tetra Flouro Ethane, Penta Fluoro Ethane and Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
(CO2).
Extensive research has led to the development of a clean gaseous fire extinguishing agent FS 49 C2®, physical properties of which are similar to those of Halon 1301.
Halon Replacement
The agent causes considerably less damage to the environment. The main component of FS 49 C2 is the most widely used replacement gas for refrigeration systems, characterized by zero Ozone Depletion Potential
Ozone depletion potential
The ozone depletion potential of a chemical compound is the relative amount of degradation to the ozone layer it can cause, with trichlorofluoromethane being fixed at an ODP of 1.0. Chlorodifluoromethane , for example, has an ODP of 0.055...
(ODP) factor.
The FS 49 C2 is suitable to replace Halon 1301 as a "drop in" upgrade of existing Halon systems.
If a room is filled 12% by FS 49 C2® it is sufficient to suppress a flame based fire.
The time a system use to release the gas into a room is:
Marine based installations: 8 seconds.
Land based installations: 10 seconds.
Even though the FS 49 C2® gas itself doesn't leave dangerous gasses after being released into air it is recommended to use a SCBA - Self-contained breathing apparatus when entering a room after a fire because after a fire process it will release different potential harmful gasses into the air.
The Montreal protocol ban of Halon gases
UNEP banned the use of Halon gases in the Montreal Protocol
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion...
treaty in 1987 due to the Ozone depletion
Ozone depletion
Ozone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere , and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon...
and the Ozone depleting effect of Halon gases.
The development countries were granted with extension in their permit to still be using Halon
Halon
Halon can refer to:* Haloalkane, or halogenoalkane, a group of chemical compounds consisting of alkanes with linked halogens. In particular, bromine-containing haloalkanes.* Halomethane fire extinguishing systems...
until 2010. It is after 2010 considered important by UNEP that also the development countries replace their Halon
Halon
Halon can refer to:* Haloalkane, or halogenoalkane, a group of chemical compounds consisting of alkanes with linked halogens. In particular, bromine-containing haloalkanes.* Halomethane fire extinguishing systems...
with Ozone friendly alternatives according to the signed treaty.
Distribution
In Europe FS 49 C2® is distributed by Brassbell and Bejaro. In Latin America and the Caribbean FS 49 C2® is distributed by Incosafety Corp.
External links
Information on Brassbells product pagesInformation on Incosafety Corp's product pages