Supplemental Fire Suppression for Electrical Cabinets

Approximately 30% of all fires are caused by defects in electrical systems, devices or equipment. It follows that fire protection of electrical equipment rooms and electrical cabinets is critical. According to the HDI-Gerling Risk Engineering Guideline for fire protection in electrical equipment rooms, “the measures prescribed in national standards (for instance of DIN VDE) or international standards (for instance of IEC) alone are normally not sufficient to cover and safely maintain fire protection for electrical equipment and service rooms.”

Now, there is a new class of fire suppression systems that close the protection gap between traditional systems such as automatic sprinklers and manual extinguishers. Known as supplemental fire suppression systems, they enable you to achieve complete protection by providing direct protection for specific objects, such as electrical cabinets.

What is “Object Fire Protection?”
It is the installation of a supplemental fire suppression system directly inside an enclosed space where there is a high risk of fire. It is recommended for the protection of electrical cabinets that are essential for business operation.

Electrical fires are usually started by incorrectly installed equipment that results in a thermal overload. Resulting arcs, short circuits, or transformer explosions can ignite adjacent insulation, oil-based fluids or other flammable materials, causing a fast moving, intense fire.

While business owners are usually diligent in following regulations that specify sprinkler and fire extinguishers, electrical cabinets are often unmonitored — giving a fire time to flare up into a serious blaze. Plus, sprinkler systems protect large areas, not individual electrical cabinets. Often, these are completely consumed in flames before a sprinkler system activates. This results in the loss of electrical service and extensive water or chemical damage to the surrounding area. As a consequence, the cost of damage from sprinkler activation can be as bad or worse than that of the fire itself. Business operation is interrupted, usually for an extended period of time.

Supplementary automatic fire suppression systems do not replace sprinkler systems. They extinguish a fire directly where it starts – before it triggers the overhead sprinkler system.

The best way to be sure your business doesn’t suffer long-term interruption while damage from sprinkler activation is cleaned up and electrical service is restored is to install supplemental object fire protection directly inside electrical cabinets. Fires are suppressed immediately, before they can grow. That’s why thousands of businesses worldwide are now installing supplemental object fire protection systems to protect electrical cabinets. Business owners have realized that these systems can save a lot more money than they cost.

Electrical service is essential to your business continuity, making it imperative to stop electrical fires before serious damage can occur. To help keep business interruption due to electrical fire at an absolute minimum, Rotarex Firetec has designed a FireDETEC fire suppression system specifically for electrical cabinets. Unlike other fire suppression system manufacturers who make one system and apply it to all situations, FireDETEC systems are engineered to achieve optimal performance in the unique environment found inside an electrical cabinet.

To learn more, please download the brochure "FireDETEC Electrical Cabinet Systems."