Data Center Fire Protection Challenges Highlighted at FSSA February 23, 2015
Posted by shawnpci in Fire Protection, Fire Systems, FSSA, NICET, Uncategorized.Tags: clean agent, clean agents, data center, Data Centers, fire, fire alarm, fire protection, fire suppression, fire suppression systems, Fire Suppression Systems Association, Fire Systems, FM Global, hot aisle cold aisle, insurance underwriters, life safety, NFPA, Protex Central, water mist systems
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FM Global, a recognized leader in loss prevention services worldwide, presented Challenges of Data Center Fire Protection to the delegates attending the Fire Suppression Systems Association’s 33rd Annual Meeting in Clearwater, Florida.
Robert Kasiski, a senior engineering specialist with FM Global, provided an engaging presentation of data center market statistics including total estimated worldwide data center floor space of over 286,000 square feet across over 509,000 centers. Additionally he noted that new technology and best-practices are increasing the need to be vigilant in providing proper fire protection coverage.
Kasiski noted that lithium ion batteries are becoming more prevalent in UPS rooms that support data centers. These alone present issues to assuring adequate protection from fire. Another emerging challenge deals with the myriad cables throughout a center that present one of the signle largest combustible loads. He noted that the practice of “retire-in-place” for legacy cables only compounds issues.
Noting that new server imersion technologies are being explored in data centers to mitigate cooling issues, Kasiski indiated this is an area of increasing research interest for his firm.
Several video clips of FM Global fire tests were shown involving cables, cable trays and other combustibles. The results of these tests were of great interest to the delegates.
The presentation concluded with Kasiski listing key issues going forward to be addressed not only by FM Global but the data center and fire protection communities including: understanding the consistency of change within a data center; identifying unrecognized hazards and accepting that current fire protection schemes may not meet the everchanging needs.
The Annual Meeting continues through Tuesday, February 24th.
FSSA’s 33rd Annual Meeting Underway February 22, 2015
Posted by shawnpci in Fire Protection, Fire Systems, FSSA, Good Stuff to Share, Iowa Alarm Association, Mass Notification Systems, NICET, Uncategorized.add a comment
President, Eric Burkland, welcomed over 190 delegates to the opening session of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Fire Suppression Systems Association at the Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Burkland thanked all those in attendance for making the effort to attend and support the robust health of the organization.
With 17 new members during the last year and an upswing in revenues from dues, annual meeting fees, increased publication sales and promotions of the new training program, Burkland reported on the significant strides the association as made in the last 12 months.
Several committee reports followed Burkland’s opening remarks including Steve Carter, the FSSA’s current treasurer. Carter recapped several financial highlights and credited the membership with promoting addtional new members as well as supporting the on-line training program and publications.
Dan Hubert, chair of the Technical Committee, shared his committee’s activities by outlining the numerous tasks that the Board of Directors has charged them with including new Guides covering Hazard Analysis/Hazard Protection; “Clean” Gaseous Fire Extinguishing Agents; and two additional separate Guides on Water Mist and Hybrid Systems. Hubert also promoted the fact that several existing Guides are in their 3rd edition: Pressure Venting and Pipe Design. The Testing Guide for use with Special Hazard Fire Suppression Sytems is in its 4th edition.
FSSA’s Codes and Standards Oversight Committee Chair, Derek Wester, presented a comprehensive overview of FSSA’s participation on over 23 NFPA committees and noted that there are currently seven vacancies on various committees that FSSA needs to fill. Wester also announced that an added benefit of FSSA membership will be exclusive access to all NFPA committee meeting recap notices filed by FSSA representatives. This invaluable resource will help keep FSSA members up-to-date on specific committee actions and new developments within the codes and standards committees represented.
The expanding awareness of public policy by the FSSA was reviewed by Bill Eckholm, committee chair. Eckholm touched on numerous international agreements involving climate change and their affect on the special hazards industry. Along with the several protocols being watched, Eckholm highlighted two efforts in the U.S. that warrant members’ attention: Senate Bill 2911 seeking to authorize EPA to regulate short-lived greenhouse gases using the SNAP and the Super Pollutants Act. Eckholm invited all members to be vigilant with keeping FSSA’s headquarters appraised of any local or state initiatives affecting the industry as well.
The final committee report was offered by Joe Ziemba, chair of the Marketing Committee. He summarized the many efforts now underway to promote the FSSA to new and diverse audiences. The overall goal of the committee’s efforts is being led by P E G: Promote; Educate and Grow. In each task, the committee seeks to advance awareness of the FSSA in various formats and venues. Promotion of industry Guides as well as the On-line Training Program are beginning to take shape with this committee’s efforts. A future activity involves development of FSSA sponsored webinars which will focus on various topics important to the industry.
The 33rd Annual Meeting continues tomorrow, Monday, February 23rd.
Industry Gathers for 33rd Annual FSSA Meeting February 20, 2015
Posted by shawnpci in Change Leadership, Fire Protection, Fire Systems, FSSA, NICET, Uncategorized.Tags: alarm, Change Leadership, clean agent, clean agents, Data Centers, explosions, fire, fire protection, fire suppression, Fire Systems, FSSA, hot aisle cold aisle, life safety, NFPA, Protex Central
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Over 190 members of the fire suppression systems industry are gathering in Clearwater Beach, Florida to participate in the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Fire Suppression Systems Association at the Sandpearl Resort.
The three-day event will feature presentations from the Association’s Technical Committee Chair, Daniel Hubert, as well as the Association’s Technical Director, Tom Wysocki. Association president, Eric Burkland, will recap recent developments and improvments in the Association’s new on-line Training Program.
FSSA’s involvement with NFPA Code and Standards development will be highlighted by Derek Wester who provides oversight of the Association’s participation. Bill Eckholm, chair of FSSA’s Public Policy Comittee will report on recent committee activities.
The opening session’s Keynote Presentation will be by Geno Church, Chief Word of Mouth Inspiration Officer of Brains on Fire. His presentation, THE PASSION CONVERSATION, changes one’s perspective on marketing by explaining the three motivations for why people talk about businesses and causes.
Other topics of interest to be presented will include updates on NICET, challenges in data center fire protection, exposure limits of HF in museum and archive applications as well as innovations in industrial explosion protection.
As always, several networking events are planned throught the course of the event.
For more information about FSSA and its annual meeting, visit www.fssa.net.
The meeting runs through Tuesday, February 24th.
DSM Business Record Highlights NOVEC 1230 January 24, 2015
Posted by shawnpci in Fire Protection, Fire Systems, FSSA, Good Stuff to Share, Iowa Alarm Association, NICET, Uncategorized.add a comment
Shawn Mullen, SET, President and Chief Energy Officer of Protex Central, Inc., was recently highlighted in a column by David Elbert of the Des Moines Business Record.
The focus of the article was the “magic” of 3M’s Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid.
Yes Virginia, Data Center Fires Really Do Happen November 26, 2014
Posted by shawnpci in Fire Protection, Fire Systems.Tags: alarm, clean agent, clean agents, Data Centers, Fenwal, fire, fire alarm, fire alarm systems, fire protection, fire suppression, fire suppression systems, Fire Systems
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Responding to recent comments from a facility manager that fires in data centers are rare, Onward and Upward offers a recap of three such fires that have happened in the previous 11 months with details on each.
♦ A fully-powered, but unused transient-voltage surge suppressor (TVSS) failed in the Hoover State Office Building’s basement l
evel data center on the afternoon of February 18, 2014. The failure caused significant damage to the unit and produced smoke throughout the room. A quick-thinking employee activated a manual release station that discharged over 2,400 pounds of FM-200 clean fire-suppressing agent throughout the room and raised floor. In addition, the agent release also triggered the emergency-power-off circuit dropping power to critical equipment.
The Des Moines, Iowa fire department responded within minutes of receiving the signal from the building’s automatic fire alarm system. Upon arrival, the fire was extinguished and personnel were assessing the fire damage and working to restore operations.
♦ The catastrophic failure of a capacitor caused dense smoke to be generated within the cabinet of an uninterruptible 
power supply (UPS) unit at a central Iowa data center on March 19, 2014. The FM-200 clean agent fire suppression system incorporated a VESDA air-sampling smoke detection system that quickly sensed the smoke and automatically released 385 pounds of agent. The fire was extinguished by the time local fire teams arrived on the scene.
While the facility itself was unaffected by smoke damage or the clean agent discharge, it took over a day and a half for personnel to locate the failed component deep within the UPS unit.
♦ The malfunction over-heating of evaporator coils on a self-contained computer room air-conditioner ignited collected dust and paper filaments in the raised floor of a Des Moines area data room. The slow smoldering of the materials was sensed by a smoke detector located under the raised floor on the evening of September 18, 2014. A second smoke detector confirmed the smoke condition and initiated the discharge sequence that notified the building’s automatic fire alarm system and released 274 pounds of FM-200.
The small data room was unoccupied at the time of the event. When facility and fire department personnel arrived, the fire was extinguished and there was no damage caused by the agent’s discharge.
While it maybe uncommon to have three events occur within a short time span, it’s clear that it’s not uncommon for fires to occur in data centers. Each of these incidents could have easily gotten out-of-hand and escalated into major disruptions for these facilities. However, because of forethought by prudent operators and well-designed and maintained clean agent fire suppression systems, the effects of each of these fires was minimized so that mission-critical functions could return to normal.
Contractors And Installers Have Role In “Rethinking” Fire Safety, Too. April 6, 2014
Posted by shawnpci in Fire Protection, Fire Systems, Iowa Alarm Association, NICET.2 comments
The following letter was submitted to the Des Moines Register in response to the April 6, 2014 article, Des Moines to “rethink” fire safety.
The April 6th Reader’s Watchdog article, Des Moines to ‘rethink’ fire safety, provided a timely revisiting of the importance of building and fire codes in the ashes of the former Younker’s fire.
March 28, 2014 fire destroys former Younker’s flagship store in downtown Des Moines.
Des Moines and its capable fire department are to be recognized in taking prudent action by adopting the International Fire Code and for employing two fire protection engineers. While these actions are commendable, they are not the only efforts that have been undertaken to protect the citizens of Des Moines and Iowa.
In 2004, the Legislature enacted licensing for fire protection systems contractors and installers (Chapter 100C).
Law requires contractors and their employees engaging in the layout, installation, service or testing of fire protection systems be licensed by the State Fire Marshal’s office. A contractor’s responsible managing employee must attain certification in fire protection from the National Institute for Certification of Engineering Technicians. Individual workers, too, must show certification for their respective disciplines.
Currently, over 110 contractors and 670 individual professionals are certified.
Left unregulated and ignored, fire is an equal opportunity disaster. With vigilant attention to codes and standards by authorities, owners, contractors and their employees, all Iowa residents benefit from continually rethinking fire safety.
Popular Installers’ Townhall Continues at FSSA February 25, 2014
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The popular installers’ townhall meeting was held on the last day of the the 32nd annual meeting of the Fire Suppression Systems Association at the Lowes Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego.
Over 75 installer member companies attended the morning meeting. A wide range of topics were covered including seismic bracing, training expenses, recruiting techniques, third party safety compliance services, shor-term labor demands, DOT Globally Harmonized Systems implementation issues, and the new healthcare requirements.
Participants offered examples and real-life experiences on several of the topics. Many attendees learned of new ways of looking at old problems. The 90 minute session went quickly as members exchanged views, ideas and opinions.
The 32nd annual meeting concludes today, February 25th.
Metal Fire Hazards Discussed at 32nd FSSA Meeting February 24, 2014
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The Monday morning session of the 32nd annual meeting of the Fire Suppression Systems Association featured three presentations on fire hazards associated with metals.
Keith Kreitman, Fire Chief of the Redding, CA Fire Department, presented on the hazards associated with fighting live metal fires from the fire service’s point of view. He cited numerous fires involving metals in chip or powered form. Water-based suppression of these incidents was shown to accelerate and intensify the fires. Kreitman explained that traditional fire fighting techniques hold that with enough water application, a metal fire can be extinguished. However, he noted that approaches are changing and that in many cases allowing a metal-based fire to burn itself out is the best course of action. Follow the link below to view some of the dramatic videos that Kreitman shared with the group.
Mahmood Tabaddor, with Underwriter’s Laboratories, reviewed the numerous tests that UL is conducting on lithium-ion batteries. These types of metal-based batteries are becoming more widely used and present fire protection challenges in both the manufacturing and usage of these batteries. Additionally, he noted that the numerous types of battery configurations present testing challenges.
Katherine Adrian of Tyco Fire Protection and Doug Meyers of Minimax USA offered a joint presentation on challenges addressed by commercially available solutions to fight metal-based fires. They referenced guidance provided by NFPA 484 Standard for Combustible Metals. They also highlighted industries where class D fires are common. Emphasis on the importance of housekeeping throughout processes was noted as one of the most important ways to mitigate class D fires. They discussed that active fire suppression of class D fires is best achieved by inert gases by lowering the available oxygen to the fire to below 4% residual.
The FSSA’s 32nd annual meeting concludes on February 25th.
Industry Networking Featured At 32nd Annual FSSA Meeting February 23, 2014
Posted by shawnpci in Fire Protection, Fire Systems, FSSA, Good Stuff to Share, Mass Notification Systems, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Industry networking is a featured benefit of the 32nd annual meeting of the Fire Suppression System Association at the Lowes Coronado Resort in San Diego, California.
Over 170 participants have gathered for the two and a half day event. Keynote presentations along with focused breakout sessions present opportunities for members to meet, interact and discuss. Trending industry topics being presented include new proposals for the NFPA 2001 standard requiring reclaimed agent purity certification.
Other presentation are centered on an end-user’s perspective of clean agent gaseous systems as well as fire protection options for the petroleum, oil and gas production industries.
Keynote speaker, Tim Wackel, has offered many tips and insights on the continual training necessary to be a top notch sales performer. The informative and entertaining presentation has re-energized members with several positive and professional ways to engage customers. To learn more about Wackel’s perspective visit: The Tim Wackel Group
The 32nd annual meeting continues through Tuesday, February 25th.
FSSA’s 32nd Annual Meeting Set To Begin February 21, 2014
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The 32nd annual meeting of the Fire Suppression Systems Association is set to begin tomorrow, February 21, 2014 at the Lowes Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, CA.
The meeting will feature keynote presentations and seminars on a variety of industry related topics including recent updates on NFPA codes and standards, FSSA’s expanding on-line technician training program, end-user perspectives of clean agent systems, agent purity in reclamation process, fire protection options with metal fires and networking opportunities.
Over 180 attendees are expected to attend the three day event. The annual meeting concludes on February 25, 2014.
Onward and Upward 