We will be considering nine (9) fire prevention and fire fighting devices. As stated, these devices are involved either in fire prevention or fire fighting.
At the end of this article, you will get to know some fire prevention and fire fighting devices which may not have been familiar to you. Each of the devices is followed with a brief summary of how it is used, what it looks like and other necessary information.
Here are the list of the fire prevention and fire fighting devices:
- Water-Foam sprinkler
- Mobile Foam unit
- Dry Powder trolley mounted type fire extinguisher
- Foam chamber
- Inline foam inductor
- Sprinkler
- Trailer mounted foam monitor (Foam concentrate storage)
- Fire alarm
- Fire fighting double headed hydrant valve
9 Fire Prevention And Fire Fighting Devices
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Water-Foam sprinkler
Foam systems uses a mixture of water and a low expansion foam concentrate to extinguish fires in buildings. The fire pump distributes the water & foam mixture via the pipe-system and discharges the foam spray via the foam sprinkler heads.
The foam systems are connected to a water supply through a valve that is opened by the operation of a smoke or heat detection system. The foam is injected in the pipe, after the fire-pump, from a foam bladder tank to allow it to be mixed with the water. Very efficient for high profile fire in factories, and big industries.
2. Mobile Foam Unit
Highly versatile and fully self-contained mobile foam units, ideal for rapid deployment of foam to flammable liquid fires and chemical spills. It has an advantage of easy mobility
3. Dry Powder trolley mounted type fire extinguisher
The blanketing effect of dry power provides a swift fire fighting action by cutting the atmospheric oxygen connection with the fire, Thereby, preventing the re-ignition of flames. It is mounted on a trolley for easy movement when in use.
4. Foam Chamber
Foam chambers are air-aspirating foam discharge devices that are used to protect various types of flammable liquid storage tanks including open top floating roof tanks and cone roof tanks with or without internal floaters.
The foam chamber consist of a foam expansion chamber and an integral foam maker with a stainless steel screened air inlet. Each chamber includes an orifice plate, two inlet gaskets, vapor seal assembly, cover gasket, and an outlet gasket.
READ: Fire Fighting Using Foam: The Three Most Important Things To Consider
A removable orifice plate located at the flanged inlet to the foam maker is sized to deliver the required flow rate of foam solution at a specified inlet pressure.
5. Inline foam inductor
Inline inductors are suited for most foam concentrates. The inline inductors suck the foam concentrate in the required proportion and make for the proper admixture.
6. Fire Sprinkler
The sprinkler system is installed in buildings incase of fire. There are different types of sprinklers:
Pre-action sprinkler: Pre-action fire sprinkler systems are filled with air and water, and these components are allowed to pass through when the smoke alarm or detector goes off.
Dry Pipe: Dry pipe sprinklers are similar to pre-action systems as they use pressurized air in the pipe which exits before water escapes. This causes a minute delay in water discharge but is ideal for buildings with low temperatures so the pipes do not freeze.
Wet Pipe: Wet pipe fire sprinklers constantly have water in them. This allows for a quick reaction to a fire and is the most common type of sprinkler installed in buildings.
Deluge: These types of fire sprinkler systems also need a smoke or heat detector like the pre-action system. A deluge system has open nozzles that can be used when a fire hazard is present.
Foam water sprinkler systems:
A foam water fire sprinkler system is a special application system, discharging a mixture of water and low expansion foam concentrate, resulting in a foam spray from the sprinkler. These systems are usually used with special hazards occupancies associated with high challenge fires, such as flammable liquids, and airport hangars.
Water spray
Water spray systems are operationally identical to a deluge system, but the piping and discharge nozzle spray patterns are designed to protect a uniquely configured hazard, usually being three-dimensional components or equipment (i.e. as opposed to a deluge system, which is designed to cover the horizontal floor area of a room). The nozzles used may not be listed fire sprinklers, and are usually selected for a specific spray pattern to conform to the three-dimensional nature of the hazard (e.g. typical spray patterns being oval, fan, full circle, narrow jet).
How the sprinkler works
Each closed-head sprinkler is held closed by either a heat-sensitive glass bulb or a two-part metal link held together with fusible alloy. The glass bulb or link applies pressure to a pipe cap which acts as a plug which prevents water from flowing until the ambient temperature around the sprinkler reaches the design activation temperature of the individual sprinkler head. In a standard wet-pipe sprinkler system, each sprinkler activates independently when the predetermined heat level is reached. Thus, only sprinklers near the fire will operate, normally just one or two. This maximizes water pressure over the point of fire origin, and minimizes water damage to the building.
7. Trailer mounted foam monitor
High Flow Mobile Foam Water Monitors are rugged and dependable devices designed for use where high flows of water or foam are required. The monitor is easy to place into operation. Worm gear drive hand wheels control elevation and horizontal movement. The nozzle is a constant flow device and changing the nozzle discharge pattern from straight stream to wide-angle fog during operation will not alter the flow. The remote jet pump controllers supplied with water from the monitor water supply system are utilized to pick up foam concentrate and feed a rich foam solution through a fire hose to the foam diffuser at the nozzle where it mixes with the main monitor water supply.
8. Fire Alarm
A fire alarm system has a number of devices working together to detect and warn people through visual and audio appliances when smoke, fire, carbon monoxide or other emergencies are present. These alarms may be activated automatically from smoke detectors, and heat detectors or may also be activated via manual fire alarm activation devices such as manual call points or pull stations.
READ: How Often Should You Test Fire Alarms In The Workplace?
9. Fire fighting double headed hydrant valve:
These valves are used for regulating the flow of water in various fire fighting applications. These valves are manufactured from best quality stainless steel, which is obtained from trusted vendors of the industry.
Made out of Gunmetal or Stainless Steel, 4’NB Flanged inlet, Standard size: 63mm, As per IS: 5290. Type ‘B’
Features:
- Sturdy construction
- Corrosion resistant
- Ability to withstand high pressure
- The basic materials used in manufacturing Gun Metal Hydrant Valve are well tested to ensure its safety.
You can shop for most of this devices at Indiamart.
