Fire protection in Server Room

[streaker69]

I've been in areas where there were Halon and CO2 systems. Of course the emergency air masks were OUTSIDE of the room, not where the Halon system was. I asked what is the plan if the Halon system is activated.

"Hold your breath and run." was the reply.

I can understand that. It's probably that they don't want anyone under the impression that it's safe to be in there when the system is activated.

[Barry]

I've been in areas where there were Halon and CO2 systems. Of course the emergency air masks were OUTSIDE of the room, not where the Halon system was. I asked what is the plan if the Halon system is activated.

"Hold your breath and run." was the reply.

It's not too bad, unless the room is on a raised floor, and you're under it. Both gasses are heavier than air, so the hold you breath and run idea is okay. The thing to remember is to close the door when you get out. Wouldn't work for my server room, it has a big ass vent on the door. The thing to remember with water bases systems, is the water is usually just sitting in the pipes. Those pipes are usually iron. So the first hundred gallons or so is really nasty stagnant rusty water.

[thorin]

I would agree with this, but I would also argue that if you have the cash to put in a really nice data center, then you should also have budgeted for a non-water suppressant system.

Something that removes the oxygen from the room is going to put out a fire faster than water, and not be as much of a mess to clean up, so your recovery time is going to be a lot less.

For a full fledged data center I totally agree.

I was thinking more of the couple hundred square feet room on one floor of a building housing at most a few dozen machines....

[streaker69]

For a full fledged data center I totally agree.

I was thinking more of the couple hundred square feet room on one floor of a building housing at most a few dozen machines....

Just doing some quick research I found this to be interesting for small installations:

Fireraser fire suppression system for small spaces and in-cabinet fire protection.

I'm going to check on pricing. We only need to cover 200sq feet, so it probably wouldn't be too bad. But we may end up getting multiple units for things like our PLC cabinets, VFD's and such.

Water hitting 480V three phase is never a pretty site.

[Barry]

Just doing some quick research I found this to be interesting for small installations:

Fireraser fire suppression system for small spaces and in-cabinet fire protection.

I'm going to check on pricing. We only need to cover 200sq feet, so it probably wouldn't be too bad. But we may end up getting multiple units for things like our PLC cabinets, VFD's and such.

Water hitting 480V three phase is never a pretty sight.

Fixed that for you.

[streaker69]

Fixed that for you.

Mine would also be correct, since the site wouldn't be too pretty after the resultant short caused them big capacitors to explode.

Didn't I tell you about the 480V 2000A lines that shorted out during the summer? We had smoke pouring out of manholes and the switchgear room was filled with smoke. Trust me, the site wasn't pretty.

[Barry]

Mine would also be correct, since the site wouldn't be too pretty after the resultant short caused them big capacitors to explode.

Didn't I tell you about the 480V 2000A lines that shorted out during the summer? We had smoke pouring out of manholes and the switchgear room was filled with smoke. Trust me, the site wasn't pretty.

So you're saying that site wasn't a pretty sight?

[beakmyn]

So you're saying that site wasn't a pretty sight?

Pretty much that's what he's saying but what a sight it was.

[bofh28]

To prevent fire just lower the oxygen level to 15%. Standard air is about 21% oxygen. At 15% you can't have fire, but is safe for humans.

Data Centers Breathe Easier with Less Oxygen - PC World

[radioraiders]

I had worked for a defense contractor many years ago when Halon was still legal. In their mainframe room they had signs that basically said that if the firealarm sounds you have 30 seconds to leave the room before the firedoor goes down and halon is dropped. If you're in there at 31 seconds, you're dead.

When I was in the military all our equipment was in mobile vans. If it started buring, just jump out, 31 seconds, 32 seconds, didn't matter, whatever you felt like

To prevent fire just lower the oxygen level to 15%. Standard air is about 21% oxygen. At 15% you can't have fire, but is safe for humans.

Data Centers Breathe Easier with Less Oxygen - PC World

I heard David Carradine was doing some top-secret research in that area before his untimely death