|  Uncontrolled fire has always been an enemy of mankind. Of the many methods in substances used to prevent, control and extinguish fire, the FE-227/FM-200 fire suppression agent offers unique advantages over traditional suppressants. It is safe for people, safe for assets and is an environmentally preferred alternative to Halon.
Safer people
The intended use for FE-227/FM-200 is to “flood” an enclosure with a gas concentration sufficient to prevent or suppress the fire. Similar to Halon 1301, FE-227 or FM-200 is safe for use in occupied areas. It has thoroughly evaluated the properties of HFC-227ea (the chemical name for FE-227/FM-200) and concluded that limited exposure to the agent at recommended design concentration poses no health safety risk. The EPA and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) classified heptafluoropropane or HFC-227ea (FE-227/FM-200) as acceptable for total flooding of normally occupied spaces at control concentrations and egress times.
Safe assets
FE-227/FM-200 is electrically nonconductive, non-corrosive, and free of residue. As a gaseous agent, FE-227/FM-200 quickly distributes throughout the protected enclosure suppressing the fire. Operations can resume as soon as any fire damage is repaired, particularly if early detection methods are in use. As a clean agent, FE-227/FM-200 mixes thoroughly in air and does not leave behind any residue which would cause damage or pose a post fire cleanup problem. This means less collateral damage and minimal business interruption reducing the potential cost of any fire incident.
Safer for the environment
Unlike Halon, FE-227/FM-200 does not contain chlorine or bromine and therefore has zero ozone depletion potential (ODP). Like many fluorine-based gases, FE-227/FM-200 has some global warming potential. However, the overall effect is minimised by a low usage rate compared to other fire suppressant media and an extremely low rate of fire instances requiring release into the environment. In addition, when a FE-227/FM-200 fire suppressant system reaches the end of its useful life, the agent can be reclaimed for use in other systems. FE-227/FM-200 acts as a long-term insurance policy providing improved security of the people and assets with minimal impact on the environment.
The value of FE-227/FM-200
FE-227/FM-200 is intended to prevent and suppress fires in situations where conventional suppressing agent such as water, dry chemical and carbon dioxide are unacceptable because they may cause collateral damage, significantly interrupt business productivity or present a safety risk. These situations exist primarily where there is electrical or sensitive electronic equipment servicing a critical operation, the loss of which would not only be the value of equipment but also the cost of business interruption. Other situations involve delicate or irreplaceable materials such as those found in museums, libraries and historical sites.
Normally fires are extinguished by oxygen deprivation or cooling with water. However, FE-227/FM-200 uses other unique mechanisms to prevent and suppress the fire. The dominant factor is the ability of FE-227/FM-200 to absorb, at a molecular level, this heat energy from the combustion reaction. When heat is absorbed the reaction cannot sustain itself and combustion ceases. Fires in atmospheres containing FE-227/FM-200 prevented or suppressed at a lower concentration of agent than predicted by heat capacity calculations. This is attributed to the ability of FE-227/FM-200 to form free radicals, which chemically interfere with a chain reaction of the combustion process, thereby aiding extinction. These mechanisms make FE-227/FM-200 a truly unique type of agent to operate more efficiently than those relying predominantly on oxygen depleting processes. This enhanced efficiency translates into a reduced amount of hardware and space required the storage compared to other extinguishing agents.
FE-227 is a trademark of E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Company.
FM200 is a registered trademark of Great Lakes Chemical Corporation.
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