AiNET _ Fire Suppression

http://www.ai.net/data-centers/fire-suppression

To control fire and the risk of fire, data centers feature fire protection/suppression systems
with passive and activedesign elements, and implement fire prevention programs.

Passive fire protection elements include the installation of firewalls around the data center,
so a fire can be restricted to a portion of the facility to enhance the capabilities of active fire
protection systems and limit exposure domains. For data centers, firewalls are only part of
the fire protection strategy to protect heat-sensitive electronic equipment because
conventional firewall construction is only rated for flame penetration time, not heat
penetration. There are additional protections of vulnerable entry points into the server room,
such as cable penetrations, coolant line penetrations and air ducts.

For early detection, VESDA smoke and ion detectors provide early warning of a developing
fire by detecting particles generated by smoldering components prior to the development of
flame. This allows investigation, interruption of power, and manual fire suppression using
hand held fire extinguishers before the fire grows.

In some cases, a preaction fire sprinkler system is provided to control a full scale fire should
one develop.
Clean agent fire suppression gaseous systems are installed to suppress a fire earlier than the
fire sprinkler system. A clean agent is an electrically non-conducting, volatile, or gaseous
fire extinguishant that does not leave a residue upon evaporation.

AiNET data centers utilize both HALON 1301 and FM-200 clean agent systems. Halon is a
liquefied, compressed gas that stops the spread of fire by chemically disrupting combustion.
Halon protects data centers and communication rooms throughout the IT industry; it has
numerous military applications on ships, aircraft and tanks and helps ensure safety on all
commercial aircraft. To reduce CFC release potential, FM-200 is a very effective clean agent
dispensed into the hazard as a colorless, vapor that is clear and does not obscure vision.
For enhanced protections within the existing multilayered fire protections, private suites
as fireproof vaults with a Class 125 rating meet or exceed NFPA 75 standards.