
There are three common clean agent fire suppression systems to choose from, including FM-200, 3M™ Novec™ 1230, and Inergen Clean Agent Fire Suppression System. All systems use gases that are safe for the environment and humans, but they utilize different ways of suppressing a fire.
CO2 Fire Suppression Systems
If a building has rare or little occupancy, they may use a CO2 fire suppression system instead of a clean agent system. These systems are only used in buildings with very low occupancy, as carbon dioxide can result in health risks for anyone exposed, and can even be deadly. Clean agent systems are much more common, as they use gases they aren’t harmful to humans.
3 Main Parts Of The System
A clean agent fire suppression system is commonly made up of three parts: smoke detectors, the control panel, and notification devices. The smoke detectors work as usual and will detect a fire before it has time to escalate into an uncontrollable event. The smoke detector will send a signal to the control panel, which then alerts the notification devices and activates the release device to suppress the fire. The notification devices are there to warn occupants of the fire, and alert people in the area when the clean agent is about to be released.