Print this pageProtection of essential equipment
In any mission-critical space, such as a server room, or Telco facility the flames of a fire are only one aspect of the risk. The contamination caused by smoke is another. In a mission-critical facility, it is important that smoke from a fire within a cabinet is detected early.
> Action can then be taken to stop the smoke:
- leaving the cabinet,
- entering the facility,
- contaminating other systems or processes and ,
- possibly activating main alarms and suppression systems.
According to the USA Federal Commission of Communications, 95% of all fire damage within facilities housing electronic equipment is nonthermal. The gaseous by-products of fire from PVC and digital circuit boards cause corrosion of equipment. This corrosion can have long term effects on service provision, as components on circuit boards slowly succumb to the corrosion and equipment fails as a result.
> With electronic equipment being a common cause of fire, it makes sense to place smoke detection as close to the equipment as possible. Providing cabinet protection for signal processing equipment improves the detection of incipient fires and therefore reduces response time.
Above or inside cabinets - your choice
The flexibility of the VESDA smoke detector pipe network allows for sampling to be placed above cabinets or inside them. The choice depends upon whether the cabinets are vented, what access there is to cabinets and the airflow in them.
Above cabinet sampling
Convection-cooled equipment cabinets are common in server rooms and Telco facilities. Placing a sampling pipe directly over the ventilation grille of the cabinets will detect smoke as it is drawn upwards with the airflow.
In-cabinet sampling
Cabinets without venting can have smoke detection placed inside them. By running tiny capillary tubes into the cabinets, air samples can be taken very close to electronic equipment. This gives the earliest possible warning of a potential fire threat.
Learn more
Very Early Warning Smoke Detection why and how it's applied to Mission Critical Facilities
This White paper (PDF) describes the fire risks faced by mission-critical facilities within Telcos, Banks, Utilities etc and how very early smoke detection can be applied to minimize the risks.
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