Citation

Linteris GT. Fire Technol. 2011; 47(1): 1-68.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10694-009-0109-5

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The NFPA 2001 standard on the use of clean agents for the suppression of fires arose from the phase-out of Halon 1301. Standard methods exists for specifying the amount of clean agent required for Class A and Class B fires, but the recommendation for Class C fires (those involving energized electrical equipment) defaults to the Class A values. While this may be appropriate for some Class C fires, there is concern that higher agent concentration may be necessary if energy is added to the fire by the electrical source. A number of test methods have been proposed to determine the amount of agent required to suppress fires in energized electrical equipment; however, there has been no broad agreement on a test method to include in NFPA 2001 for Class C fires. Further, some of the test methods suggest that the current recommended total flooding concentration is sufficient, while others suggest that higher concentrations may be necessary for some fires. This report reviews the role of energy augmentation in the suppression of fires over condensed phase materials. A test protocol is suggested which can quantify the effects of added energy on the suppression process.