“Fire safety’s future is green” asserts fire suppression specialist Ceasefire

When it comes to being environmentally conscious, being green is the best future for the planet and, indeed, fire safety practices and products. The colour green has long represented positivity. At traffic lights, green means ‘Go’. It also stands for nature, growth, renewal, health and safety. It’s synonymous with environmental sustainability.

Regarding the argument for fire safety being a sustainable practice, Tracy Vecchiarelli wrote for the National Fire Protection Association: “During a fire event, building materials are damaged, property is lost, water is wasted and pollutants are released into the environment through the air and water.” That being so, how do we make fire safety better and more efficient while adhering to the ‘green standard’?

Here in the UK, the current industry standard for fire safety systems and extinguishers is outlined within the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Building Regulations 2010, with the 2019 edition incorporating 2020 amendments [Requirement B3 and Appendix E (for England)]. In view of the Grenfell Tower disaster, the call for stricter design codes, certified fire safety ratings and environmentally sound building materials in the UK is now loud and clear.

The US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system is a “methodology for evaluating building design from several perspectives – sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality – which are broken down into design prerequisites and credits.”

Green codes and green ratings

It’s important to note the differences between green codes and green rating systems like the US Green Building Council’s LEED. The codes establish minimum requirements and the rating systems set goals to achieve certification.

More robust industry-wide certification in the UK is the way towards safe design, sustainability and fire safety regulation.

One emerging area of research is the nexus of fire safety and sustainable design. First, there’s the concern that sustainable design features may cause unintended increased fire risk or hazards and, second, that building fires themselves cause environmental harm. It’s much easier to be green now, specifically in the construction and fire safety sectors, and there are several options to achieve the green standard.

Considering the question of the environmental impact realised by automatic sprinklers, an FM Global report produced in conjunction with the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition in April 2010 found the following (by testing one room with an automatic sprinkler system and one without):

*The use of sprinklers reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 97.8%

*Sprinklers limited the area of damage to the room of origin and reduced fire damage by up to 97%, while the non-sprinklered room’s fire would have spread beyond the room of origin before the Fire and Rescue Services could arrive

*The amount of water used in the sprinkler fire was 50% less than the water used in the non-sprinkler fire and could reduce the water volume to fight a home fire by up to 90%

*It’s possible to reduce the amount of water pollution discharged into the environment as a result of fire

The proof was conclusive, in fact. Fire sprinklers could help reduce the environmental impact of a fire event and contribute to sustainability goals.

High pressure systems

An International Fire Protection blog found that water mist systems using high pressures of 35-120 bar (500-1,740 psi) disperse 10%-20% of the water that sprinkler systems do while operating at less than 12 bar (175 psi).

The materials we use to construct buildings for dwellings and non-dwelling use are changing. As we are constantly striving to improve with new developments, we create composites and discover new material formulas. Since discovering that asbestos and plastic are no longer the magical products we once thought, and that some metals buckle or melt under certain temperatures, finding new products that are environmentally friendly and still perform under pressure is key.

Terri Willis, former CEO of the World Green Building Council, has stated: “Green building is seen by the industry as a key business benefit. Yet, as sustainable construction starts to scale up, driving clear energy and environmental benefits due to changes in materials, products and design, some new challenges are coming to light.”

Green walls and roofs

As the world accepts green concepts, such as fitting green walls and roofs into the designs of commercial and apartment high-rises and even individual homes (and not just as an aesthetic quality, but for functionality and practicality), processes and accreditations must change to adapt.

With the resurgence of timber and new wood composites hitting the construction industry, and innovative design concepts, studies and rigorous testing must be undertaken to prevent failure of these materials/designs and avoid resulting tragedy.

While a good idea, green practices in fire safety such as the use of stormwater, and especially when water resource is limited, come with their challenges, such as sediment blockage and corrosion within the fire suppression system. In case of fire catastrophe, it’s smart to use green fire safety systems, otherwise known as ‘clean agent’ suppression systems. There are two main types of clean agent suppression systems that can be discussed: watermist fire safety systems and epoxy-lined fire extinguishers. In terms of the latter, the UK fire industry standard currently uses a plastic lining for its fire extinguishers which could be improved to be more eco-friendly.

A force of its own, water is a powerful agent that cools a fire’s heat by 2.6 MW per litre per second. To achieve this fire suppression, you need “hundreds of litres of water... or a technological revolution in firefighting that gives water 400 times the power.” This is why the likes of Ceasefire’s GreenMist system, a rotary produced to mix the two elements of “water and air in a pre-set proportion to generate a fine mist of 40-60 micron molecules” is needed to cool down a raging fire.

‘Smart’ water

GreenMist’s design uses minuscule beads of water to increase the surface area coverage and perfects the more traditional sprinkler systems which produce much larger water drops and waste litres of the precious commodity. Basically, “the smaller the particles of water, the further they spread and the faster they cool” (saving hundreds of litres of water, people’s property and, potentially, many lives in the process).

The secret to green fire safety is in the dispersal design of the nozzle, replicating a ‘blanket effect’ to cover an area of ten feet or more. Within seconds, the microscopic mist transforms into steam and cools the flame and evaporates gases. Rapid evaporation and smothering of flames deprives the fire of its crucial, life-sustaining element (ie oxygen) and so thwarts its survival.

Another feature of the Ceasefire system is that it mitigates the added risks of electrocution and flooding, making the extinguishers applicable to different fire types, specifically classes A, B, C and F and electrical fires. Such an intelligent system receives the ‘green tick of approval’ because its environmental formula doesn’t consist of chemicals or synthetic materials (eg plastic) and it alleviates the risk of excess water damage and wastage, therefore limiting any ‘collateral damage’,

Ceasefire’s wet and non-stainless extinguishers are epoxy spray-coated internally. The epoxy coatings surpass British Standard testing as they are Loss Prevention Certification Board) approved and also Marine Equipment Directive (‘Wheelmark’) approved. The Wheelmark approval has also been gained for the mild steel units lined with epoxy spray coatings.

The Marine Equipment Directive approval requires additional salt corrosion testing which the epoxy coating has successfully passed, making the Ceasefire extinguishers more versatile and reliable as they stand up to tougher conditions. The Ceasefire brand meets the crucial green standard with its alternative non-plastic lining, which is a fully tested and approved environmental benefit.

In essence, then, going green – and staying green – in terms of fire safety is all about considering the environment, opting for sustainable practices and products and saying ‘Yes’ to epoxy-lined fire extinguishers and water mist systems over and above sprinklers where and when appropriate.

*Further information is available online at www.ceasefire.co.uk