FAQ

Q: What gases are used in the hose?

A: FM200

Q: At what pressure does the hose explode?

A: Around 322psi

Q: Does one hose fit all products?

A: No. Each hose is specially designed to order.

Q: Is there a warranty on installation and hose?

A: 5 years.

Can the hose last longer than 5 years

A: Yes. Callanan Fire Protection completes an inspection and will advise then.

Q. Is the hose self detonating

A: Yes, 100%

Q: What are the most common types of fire suppression systems?

Water Mist

  • A Water mist system emits a very fine water spray from purposely placed nozzles and suppresses the fire by cooling the flame and surrounding gases by evaporation, displacing oxygen by evaporation and decreasing radiant heat.

Chemical Agent

  • There are two main types of chemical agents, wet & dry chemical. Typically chemical agents reacts with a burning fuel source by forming a suds/foam/powder like blanket across it cutting of the fires air supply.

Inert Gases

  • An Inert gas (gas that is generally non-reactive with other substances) system cuts off the fires oxygen supply by filling the area with an inert gas which in turn puts the fire out by diluting the oxygen content in the room enough to stop the fire and prevent combustion.

Q: Is there a clear cut choice?

No.

But there are clear items to consider when choosing a fire suppression system. For example,

  • Purpose (What are we protecting?)
  • Environment
  • Safety
  • Speed of Action
  • Storage Space
  • Cost

Q: What do we offer?

When fighting a fire there are four means used to extinguish a fire.

  1. Reduction or isolation of fuel
  2. Reduction of heat
  3. Reduction or isolation of oxygen
  4. Inhibiting the chain reaction of the above components

Callanan Fire protection utilises a gaseous agent known as FM200 to diffuse fires by inhibiting the chain reaction of the fire triangle (Fuel, Heat, and Oxygen).

This is installed using our spot accurate fire system using our engineered Proteng Hose. The FM200 Gas is stored in a specifically engineered Proteng Hose which when affected by fire/heat, bursts releasing the gas inside almost instantaneously stopping the fire.

Q: What is FM200?

Hexaflurpropan or as its better known FM 200 basic properties are:

  • Clear, colourless, non-conducting gas, without traces nor waste material after use.
  • Usable in areas with the presence of people.
  • Is suitable for protecting IT or telecommuncations devices, archives and data.
  • After use the protected area has to be venitlated.

The fire extinguishing concentration of FM-200 allow it to be used as a total flooding agent in normally occupied spaces for the protection of Class A (Solid), Class B (Liquid & Gas), and Class C (electrically energized hazards. FM-200 is also suitable for use as an inertion agent in explosion suppression applications.

Q: How do I know if this is safe for my needs?

The Proteng Hose primary purpose is to stop any ordinary combustible, electrical or flammable liquid fire. The more valuable the asset that you wish to protect (Yes, this includes people) then it makes sense to use a FM-200 fire protection system.

Unfortuntley there is no fire suppression unit where the “One size fits all” approach applies therefore careful consideration of all legal obligations and standards for each particular situation must be adhered to.

Applications not appropriate for a FM-200 system include;

  • Applications involving chemicals that are capable of self-oxidizing or generating their own oxygen even without the presence of air, such as gunpowder and cellulose nitrate
  • Compounds that are very unstable and can spontaneously combust, such as hydrazine (rocket fuel) and many peroxides.
  • Processing facilities or areas using pure powdered forms of metals.
  • Fires fuelled by reactive metals such as lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, titanium, zirconium, metal hydrides, and the radioactive elements uranium and plutonium require a different extinguishing strategy.
  • And any other applications where questionable chemicals are part of the fire hazard.

Q: What are the benefits of a clean agent fire suppression system such as FM-200?

  • Safety
    • A clean agent fire suppression system can be installed for both occupied and unoccupied rooms. In combination with its quick extinguishing and people-safe features, this system makes a strong case for protecting your most valuable resources – your employees.
  • Waterless Protection
    • The clean agent stored in the Proteng hose is harmless to both your employees and equipment. This means it will not damage electronics, files, or irreplaceable collectibles. This also means that there is usually very little clean up or residue after the fire has been put out.
  • Fast Acting Protection
    •  The system reacts within seconds. It will diffuse the fire quickly and minimize the amount of soot and smoke.
  • Concentrated Fire Damage
    • Because clean agent systems are so fast acting, damage from fire is usually limited to the specific machine or area that caught flame.
  • Minimized Downtime
    • How long would it take for you to resume business after a fire? With a clean agent fire suppression system, there should be little downtime for getting your business back in action. The fire should be detected and extinguished within seconds, there is no residue or water damage to clean up, and the fire damage should be contained to a small space.
  • Environmentally Friendly
    • Clean agent systems are safe for the environment and have minimal o-zone depletion potential.

Q: Why don’t I just use CO2 Fire Suppression Systems? What is the difference?

Carbon Dioxide primary focus is to attack the oxygen content in the atmosphere.  Introducing CO2 into the fire zone, displaces oxygen levels which in turn extinguishes the fire. Whilst C02 is also a clean agent fire suppression system (very little clean up), high levels of C02 can be harmful to humans and cannot be used in high traffic areas where personnel may be.

Respondents to a CO2 type fire must follow strict guidelines upon entering the location where CO2 has been emitted.

Whereas FM-200 poses no acute or chronic hazard when it is handled in accordance with the MSDS and exposure is maintained below the recommend exposure limits.

For further information regarding FM-200 please download, read & understand the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).