St Paul Fire Suppression Company Discusses Fire Protection for Important Data

SAINT PAUL, Minn. - May 25, 2016 - PRLog -- Brothers Fire & Security, a fire suppression and security company serving the Twin Cities area, installs fire suppression systems in commercial and residential buildings. They want to discuss the different types of fire suppression and which is the best solution for protecting sensitive data and technology.

Owners or managers of businesses containing sensitive data and equipment have a challenge when choosing fire protection. Various forms of fire suppression systems are available, and some are better than others at protecting technology, paperwork and important data.

Brothers Fire & Security would like to cover the three most popular varieties of fire suppression for businesses, so owners have the important information necessary to have the proper fire protection installed.

Wet pipe is probably the most familiar fire suppression system. This involves water sprinklers that are installed in commercial buildings. Water runs through the pipes at all times, and gushes out through the sprinkler heads when heat or smoke tips them off. Although great at putting out a fire, water is damaging to electronics, computers and related hardware. Servers, storage devices and accompanying bits of critical infrastructure could all need to be replaced should a water sprinkler system be activated in their storage area.

Dry pipe or pre-action is another type of fire suppression. This is similar to the wet pipe system; however, the water is not kept in the pipes continuously. Instead, the water is restrained from constantly being in the pipes in order to prevent potential dripping or leaking. This system is commonly used in unheated warehouses or attics, where there is potential for water freezing in the pipes. This protects electronics from water damage when there is no fire. However, should the sprinklers be activated, the water damage will still occur. The only difference will be a slight delay as the water makes its way to the sprinkler head. So in the case of a fire, water damage will still be done.

The third option for fire suppression is gaseous agents. These agents do not unleash water as the wet and dry pipe fire systems do. Instead, they release a gaseous agent that denies the fire of heat or oxygen. Agents such as FM-200, HFC-227ea and HFC 125 remove heat from the fire. This is similar to what water does; however, these agents won't destroy equipment. Carbon dioxide and Inergen are two other agents used that remove oxygen from the environment, thus snuffing out the fire before it has time to grow. Using gaseous agents as fire suppression allows the fire to be extinguished without harming sensitive data.

Brothers Fire & Security has been in the commercial fire suppression business for more than 20 years. They specialize in designing, installing, maintaining, repairing, servicing and monitoring fire suppression and security systems. For more information on fire suppression in St Paul, visit http://www.brothersfire.com/fire-suppression-systems-st-paul/.