FM-200 Discharge Saves Communications Room
An APL installed FM200 fire suppression system was discharged into a call centre’s main communication room saving a business based in the Scottish Borders from a potentially disastrous fire.
APL were alerted to the incident by the call centre manager, who, unsure of why the system had activated requested that an APL engineer attend the site to check the system. Within hours an APL engineer was in attendance and had established that the system was in full working order, albeit that the FM200 gas had discharged. At the same time an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) engineer attended the site and discovered that the UPS had caused the discharge. The capacitors in the UPS had exploded causing extreme heat to be generated and melt the metal racking holding the capacitors. The build-up of smoke triggered the detectors and discharged the FM200 extinguishant into the Comms Room, extinguishing the fire and alerting the fire brigade before any damage to the protected area was caused.
The call centre manager, on discovering that a fire had been avoided, said “Who knows what the damage would have been had we not had the FM200 system installed to kill the fire before it got started. This really demonstrates the value of the system, which all too often is looked on as a ‘nice to have’, rather than a ‘necessity’.”
This incident clearly demonstrates not only the importance of having a fire suppression system installed, but also the need regularly maintained the system to ensure that it is in good working order and capable of doing the job that it was designed for. APL are specialists in the niche market of design, installation, commissioning and maintenance including, room integrity testing, of gaseous suppression systems.
For further information on how to protect your business please contact Stuart Harrison of Automatic Protection Limited on either 01899 220330 or stuart@autoproltd.co.uk. Or visit our website at www.autoproltd.co.uk.
