There are Nozzles that can solve this issue with Inergen & FM200 systems, such as the awesomely named Hush Nozzle - http://www.fire-protection.com.au/news/hush-nozzle
On Thu, 13 Dec 2018 at 12:15, Seamus Ryan <[email protected]> wrote: > >> From all I’ve read and had recounted to me it is not a pleasant > experience and would possibly cause a burst eardrum or too in the process. > > It is probably less of an issue these days with the uptake of SSD's, but > it is also worth noting the impact to HDD's this can have. > > Seamus > > ------------------------------ > *From:* AusNOG <[email protected]> on behalf of Nicholas > Hobbs <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Thursday, 13 December 2018 12:54 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [AusNOG] [AUSNog] : Re Data Centre Fire Suppression Safety > > > Hi all, > > > > Re the Equinex/NEXTDC bit; > > Depends a bit on the detail. Water is cheaper to install and maintain > based on the unlikely event you ever have to use it. I’m not a big fan of > mixing water and electricity though, unless you guarantee you can isolate > the power first. > > > > Modern gas systems (Inergen, FM200) etc which is what the NextDC ones > sound like, are Oxygen depleting, but gererally speaking, down to around > 10-12% Oxygen. Enough to maintain life, but not enough for fire to continue > burning. This is about same amount of Oxygen at Everest base camp, > beathable, but not something you’re going to want to run a marathon in! > There are specific calculations made based on the volume of the space and > the height to which you want to protect. Gas does becomes quite an > expensive proposition for large spaces. > > > > From all I’ve read and had recounted to me it is not a pleasant experience > and would possibly cause a burst eardrum or too in the process. Having seen > an accidental discharge (during a fire system maintenance process where > someone accidently swapped the isolate and emergency discharge relays!) in > a small comms room, there were no lasting effects to the room and all > active equipment kept running. Visibility does become an issue as its like > being in a pea souper fog. > > > > https://www.nist.gov/document-8749 for reference on Inergen. Google will > pop up the FM200 one too. > > > > > > In our modest sized data centres we have a 1 minute delay timer from VESDA > detection of a fire (requiring multiple sensor confirmation) to firing of > the gas. Once confirmed, loud hailers and flashing LED signs go off, making > it impossible not to know to that you need to evacuate. > > Our one minute is based on the maximum time it would take someone to walk > to the exit from the furthest point in the room plus a 30 second buffer. > > Entry doors have large signs and instructions on what to do which are > covered on induction of the very limited number of people allowed in there. > > All of our installs (oldest is 8 years, newest is 2 years) had to be > signed off and approved by building and fire inspectors and receive > maintenance inspections every 6 months and monthly fire panel operation > tests. There was a standard they had to be signed off to, but can’t recall > it at the moment. > > > > I’m not across how halon systems we loaded/dispersed, or what system was > used in Antarctica (but as it is a power generator room mentioned, assuming > they’re still using Halon.), however our systems discharge via an explosive > firing pin at the bottle head which is a pretty binary state system and > means the pipes are empty. They also have a hardwired pressure sensor that > alarms (and sets off the evacuation alarm) if there is a pressure change in > the bottle. Best practice also has the bottles in a separate room to the > data room. > > Pure speculation, however Antarctica’s temperature may have caused unknown > factors such as a fractured pipe or valve from extreme exposure over time, > or as it was a power generator building, there may have even been a > flashover event causing a ‘valid’ discharge. > > > > Nick > > > > > *Nicholas* *Hobbs* > *Chief Technology Officer* > *Epworth HealthCare* > > Phone: > > (03) 9426 8840 > > Fax: > > (03) 9097 0062 > > Mobile: > > 0417 438 322 > > > epworth.org.au <https://www.epworth.org.au> > > [image: Epworth Logo] > > *From:* Christopher Hawker [mailto:[email protected]] > *Sent:* Thursday, 13 December 2018 11:22 AM > *To:* Paul Wilkins <[email protected]>; [email protected] > *Subject:* Re: [AusNOG] [AUSNog] : Re Data Centre Fire Suppression Safety > > > > We all will be safe in Equinix DCs, as they don’t use Halon: > > > > “We use dry pipe fire suppression, which means there’s no water in the > pipes until it’s needed to put out the fire. We think water is superior to > using the firefighting chemical compound Halon, because water Is less > damaging to technology and Halon can destroy circuit cards.” > > > > Source: > https://blog.equinix.com/blog/2014/03/26/we-must-protect-this-house-against-disaster/ > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__blog.equinix.com_blog_2014_03_26_we-2Dmust-2Dprotect-2Dthis-2Dhouse-2Dagainst-2Ddisaster_&d=DwMGaQ&c=jQ6ay83CVmgj5V11xW3UtQ&r=XSpfCkuf0gREgFjFByhNqraj4jS59-taMO3up43SKvc&m=O8q8e7jPwBXgiTPzGQ04UZdS4GIhELvgE5vEAWLS_Fs&s=NulTIo5GXGMyc6NdItwQO3iS7ANu5lrAIG3yGjHbWT0&e=> > > > > Can’t say the same for NextDC (M1 at the very least: > > > > “This is because gas is a mixture of argon and nitrogen that suppresses > fire by depleting oxygen in the the data hall.” > > > > Source: > https://www.nextdc.com/blog/m1-argonite-fire-suppression-gas-cylinders > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nextdc.com_blog_m1-2Dargonite-2Dfire-2Dsuppression-2Dgas-2Dcylinders&d=DwMGaQ&c=jQ6ay83CVmgj5V11xW3UtQ&r=XSpfCkuf0gREgFjFByhNqraj4jS59-taMO3up43SKvc&m=O8q8e7jPwBXgiTPzGQ04UZdS4GIhELvgE5vEAWLS_Fs&s=xqL__k_IViamNwFJvZU3yZD89GQukJZbjqNfBXo3CqM&e=> > > > > CH > > Sent from my iPhone > > > On 13 Dec 2018, at 10:53 am, Paul Wilkins <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Every data centre has a fire suppression system. We're not used to > thinking of this as a hazardous environment, but consequent to two techs > being found dead working on a fire suppression system in Antarctica > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.theguardian.com_world_2018_dec_12_antarctica-2Dtwo-2Dtechnicians-2Ddead-2Dmcmurdo-2Dstation-2Dross-2Disland&d=DwMGaQ&c=jQ6ay83CVmgj5V11xW3UtQ&r=XSpfCkuf0gREgFjFByhNqraj4jS59-taMO3up43SKvc&m=O8q8e7jPwBXgiTPzGQ04UZdS4GIhELvgE5vEAWLS_Fs&s=nAxwziO7XT3VjNOkiN2qYMyZdVO0F6mqvnTMKCbjCvE&e=>, > I find myself wondering yet again, why there aren't more stringent controls > around the fire suppression systems in data centres: viz - when you enter a > data centre, how confident can you be you're not going to be quietly > asphyxiated? > > Kind regards > > Paul Wilkins > > _______________________________________________ > AusNOG mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.ausnog.net/mailman/listinfo/ausnog > <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__lists.ausnog.net_mailman_listinfo_ausnog&d=DwMGaQ&c=jQ6ay83CVmgj5V11xW3UtQ&r=XSpfCkuf0gREgFjFByhNqraj4jS59-taMO3up43SKvc&m=O8q8e7jPwBXgiTPzGQ04UZdS4GIhELvgE5vEAWLS_Fs&s=KehjUt7bhI1JV1dP9LxGZnk-YGJj-Fm96DMe6wBmPZA&e=> > > > ------------------------------ > > This e-mail message and accompanying data may contain information that > is confidential and subject to privilege. 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