CDA, clean agents like fm200, argonite, etc are more appropriate for low hazard, class A, small fires like computer rooms. They dont work well with deep seated fires, and combustible liquids so that is why most computer rooms will also have sprinklers (often pre-action) as a back up. The fear of water by the IT guys is misplaced. Thermal, and smoke are a greater enemy. Anyway, if you have a tank, with diesel fuel, and the potential for a 3d spreading pool fire, sprinkles are a better fit. I dont know the details of your situation, but that is my .02.
You are correct Newton. I have to ask, your signature says "Automotive". Are you in that field? Auto mfg is one of the few occupancies i have never worked on. In CA, we had an old GM plant in the Van Nuys area that closed down many years ago. I dont believe there are any left in our state.
Long ago and far away but never officially; just one offs and custom stuffs like valve covers, motor mounts etc. I can't seem to change my discipline on this board and didn't want to abandon my account having had it for ten years or so. Done that, telecom, fire protection and who knows what else before I retire.
5.4.1 The flame extinguishing or inerting concentrations shall be used in determining the agent design concentration for a particular fuel. For combinations of fuels, the flame extinguishment or inerting value for the fuel requiring the greatest concentration shall be used unless tests are made on the actual mixture.
5.4.2* Flame Extinguishment.
5.4.2.1 The flame extinguishing concentration for Class B fuels shall be determined by the cup burner method described in Annex B.
CAUTION:Under certain conditions, it can be dangerous to extinguish a burning gas jet. As a first measure, the gas supply shall be shut off.
B.1 Introduction. Total flooding fire extinguishing systems are widely used for protection of enclosures where flammable materials, including liquids and gases, are processed or stored.1 The fire extinguishing agent used in such a system can be a gas or a liquid under storage conditions. When released into the atmosphere of the protected space, the agent disperses, evaporating if initially a liquid, to form a mixture of air and gaseous agent. Successful fire suppression occurs when the agent concentration exceeds the minimum extinguishing concentration (MEC) by a sufficient margin, or safety margin, to cause rapid flame extinguishment. Use of excessive amounts of agent may be undesirable for reasons related to total system cost or, often more important, the need to avoid creating an agent-air atmosphere that is harmful to people due to hypoxia, agent toxicity, or both. In the case of flammable liquid hazards, the minimum design concentration (MDC) of a gaseous agent is specified in national and international standards as the MEC times a safety factor. This test method uses the cup burner to determine, for a given fuel, the MEC of a gaseous agent. The cup burner method is inherently empirical. The theoretical and parametric aspects of flame extinguishment in this procedure have been addressed by many authors and is the subject of ongoing research. A few recent references are given in the endnotes to this annex.2,
