Fire protection

I said it before, where would I be without the Internet? Here we are in Panama, while a maritime hub, not exactly the center of maritime technology. The Panama Canal, while impressive and very smartly designed is over 90 years old and that's about the last time anything big happened on the local maritime scene.

So, getting info on what we need to make our project happen involves many hours of Internet surfing.

While surfing, I learned I would need a sprinker system in the guest accommodations. I had hoped to use the FirePro system but is not allowed for use in accommodation spaces as it creates a fine white mist which would not help guests to find their way to the exit in case of a fire. Too bad! It's a great concept (see other article in this section). But sprinklers make everything very wet. Many times, they do more damage than the fire itself! But, so I learned, there's an alternative. Water mist systems. They use about 70% less water, work more efficient, assure less smoke damage, require smaller piping and are environmentally friend: they use water after all.

So far I've found only two companies that manufactures these systems. A finish one, Marioff, seems to be the major manufacturer and they have a very informative website. Check out Marioff's Hi-Fog system. Can you believe they even offer gold-plated sprinklers, especially made for use in mega yachts?

A US-company, Fike Corporation also has a water mist fire protection system but I'm not sure yet if it meets class requirements. While they seem to serve the marine industry, there's no referral to type approval of their micro mist system.

And I ran into a German company, Fogtec that also manufactures water mist applications for marine use. Also a very informative site. Do check out their water mist history section. You can even watch videos of their product in operation! Those guys know how to use the Internet to inform their prospective clients. Sehr gut !

The following links also provide useful information about the history and use of water mist systems:

• water mist fire systems for shipboard use
  (somewhat dated but very informative with comparativeinfo)


• High pressure water mist fire protection off-shore


• Water mist: old method, new technology

My only concern so far is that these systems are expensive or so I am told. At least they look expensive :-). But remember, we're not using the gold-plated ones.

I wonder if there are alternatives for passenger spaces that are also SOLAS approved. Still surfing and e-mailing to find that out.

Fire fighting systems

Today I came accross a great new way to fight fires: aerosols. They are an ozone friendly, cost effective, halon alternative. Firepro extinguishing aerosol generators use the latest generation of the stable SBK aerosol forming solid compound (containing no pyrotechnic substances).

Upon activation the solid compound is transformed into a rapidly expanding, highly efficient and highly effective fire extinguishing aerosol, based on Potassium salts. It's friendly to humans, equipment and furniture, easy to install and has nearly no maintainance.

How it works
Conventional fire extinguishing agents use the following methods to extinguish fire:

• Suffocation method (depletion of oxygen levels in air below 15% at normal pressures extinguishes fire)


• Cooling method (heat absorption)


• Removal of fuel
  
  

FirePro aerosol on the other hand, extinguishes fire by inhibiting the chain chemical reactions present in combustion on a molecular level.It removes the flame free radicals and extinguishes fire without depleting oxygen.

In a typical fire, atoms and fragments of unstable free radicals react between them in the presence of oxygen. This continues until the burning fuel is depleted or the fire is extinguished by other means.

On activation of the FireProAerosol Generator its solid compound is transformed into an aerosol consisting mainly of Potassium salts (e.g. K2CO3) H2O, N2 and CO2.

The gas type 3D properties of the aerosol particles facilitate their even and fast distribution as well as their flow into the natural convection currents of combustion.The solid particles of Potassium salts a few microns in size, suspended in an inert gas, display an extremely high surface to reaction mass ratio - increasing efficiency and reducing the quantity of material required.

When the aerosol reaches and reacts with the flame, Potassium radicals (K*) are formed mainly from the disassociation of Potassium salts e.g. K2CO3.The K* bind to other flame free radicals (hydroxyls) forming stable products such as KOH. This action extinguishes fire without having to deplete oxygen.

Check the website of FirePro for more info or even better the multilingual website of their Dutch distributor for some videos showing this product in action. Pretty cool.

Unfortunately, we can only use this technology in our engine room. It's currently protected by a Halon system but when it requires replacement, FirePro is the way to go. At any case, we plan to use it inside generator sound casings. Should we ever have a fire starting there, it can be killed before we have a real fire.