Hi All, Some advice with this would be much appreciated. We are carrying fire risk assessments for a large hospital site. Among the areas identified at risk, is a large I.T. Server room, fitted with a gas – suppression system. This system was installed in 2005, and among other problems identified (No FFE, No compartmentation) is that this system has never been serviced and / or maintained since its installation in 2005. The company that installed this system has since gone bust. Having not had much experience with suppression systems, is there anything else that I should be looking at in this room? I.E. standard of cabling? Any thoughts / advice would be much appreciated. Thanks Cheers HB

I totally agree, as an enforcing officer for a local fire authority I can confirm that Article 17 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that such systems should be tested and maintained in efficent working order and in good state of repair. No testing and maintenance since 2005 will certainly goes against this principle and the system should be maintained in line with British standards. Rayrapp is also correct regarding the lock system, depending on whether the system is total flooding or local application lock-off devices must be fitted and a strict procedure adopted for persons who may work in or around the area, something like a 'Hot Permit' system. Finally, installations used to be charged with HALONS which have now been banned as they are very nasty, certain specialist applications may still have Halons in them so the specialist advise is critical with this one as an uncontrolled discharge could land you in a heap of trouble.

I don't have time to reply really :) But mirror above - it's important to get this right as if the system fails the result is either a fire or fatality from asphyxiation!! Have seen same situation on chemical plant office - I implemented permit to work system for entry into the room immediately as system could not be safely isolated. Our fire alarm contractor was able to leak test the room and service the equipment. We then upgraded door security and entry protocols so you could only gain access once system was isolated - and again insisted all work within room was completed under our permit to work system (as for any other confined space) IT hated this :) A Google search gives several examples of people who could help. top of the list is http://www.computerprote...ces/fire/gas-drenching.. maybe the big well known names in fire would be a good place to start?

If you are considering a new replacement system Oxygen Reduction is a good one. It introduces nitrogen to reduce the oxygen content enough so that fire cannot be sustained, and maintains a breathable atmosphere.

In short you will need to have the suppression system serviced - recommended twice per annum plus a room integrity 1 per annum plus an electrical protection service twice per annum SBH