PLACENTIA AND LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA— When it comes to fire suppression systems, there are four possible suppression agents that can be used to put out a fire: dry chemical, wet chemical, halon and carbon dioxide.

Each of these agents is designed for use in specific applications.

When it comes to restaurant kitchens, wet or dry chemical agents are used in fire suppression applications, said Massoud Farazandeh, CEO of Nationwide Fire Protection Corp., which he founded in 1989. NFP is a Placentia and Bay Area fire protection company that specializes in fire suppression systems for restaurants and commercial kitchens throughout the United States.

Because kitchen hood systems are situated above fryers, grills and other cooking appliances and they help exhaust cooking odors and grease, they are an ideal location for installing fire suppression nozzles that can discharge a fire suppression agent in the event of a fire in or near a grill or fryer.
“The area above kitchen hoods is prone to grease buildup, which means that fire nozzles are a necessity,” said Farazandeh, a Bay Area fire sprinkler system expert. “Grease acts as fuel in the event of a fire.”

Wet and dry chemical systems smother a fire. Routine inspections are necessary to ensure this type of system functions properly when necessary.
Halon is considered a “clean” agent, meaning that it leaves no residue behind when a fire suppression system is activated. However, it was recognized in the 1980s as an ozone-depleting compound.

These days, installation of halon fire suppression systems is allowed in applications where it can be demonstrated that other alternatives are not viable. These systems tend to be used in high tech areas such as computer rooms that cannot tolerate extensive collateral damage from fire suppression systems.
Besides its ozone-depleting properties, another major drawback to using halon is that recharging these systems is expensive, Farazandeh said.

Carbon dioxide systems traditionally are used for protecting areas such as solvent rooms, according to information posted on the University of Wisconsin- Madison website. This is what is known as a “total flooding” system, which requires the door and vents to the room where the system is discharged to remain shut when the system is activated.

Although highly effective, this system is dangerous if a person is trapped in the room because it displaces oxygen when discharged. Due to that fact, carbon dioxide suppression systems have a pre-discharge alarm, which gives people working in the area time to get out before any carbon dioxide is released.

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