Dear Sue and everyone
By "fire prevention" systems I am assuming that you mean fire detection &
suppression systems. The system type that I could bore for England about
is the "Hi-Fog" or water fog system (supplied, when I last looked, by Wood
Group Fire Systems, Fireater House, South Denes Road, Great Yarmouth,
Norfolk NR30 3QP tel:01493-859822, fax 01493-858374).
This system is the one used by London Transport for fire suppression in its
underground stations post-the Kings Cross Disaster, and I came across it
when London Transport Archivist, and looking into systems to fit in the
refurbished vault storage at 55 Broadway.
I have subsequently overseen its fitting in the Railtrack York Records
Centre (where I was gratified to note a fleeting glimpse of the LT archives
installation in Wood's propmotional video) and am soon going to be
considering it for some refurbishment work in my new job here at the NRM.
The system works by spraying out small quantities of water at very high
pressure so that the water atomises. The water spray thus takes on the
fire suppressant qualities of both water and a gas extinguishant - cooling
the fire and also excluding oxygen. The water is so atomised that it can
be used successfully on oil fires, and it acts (according to Wood Groups
test) incredibly quickly.
The quantity of water used is so small that, other than the material
actually on fire, all archival material in the area that is boxed in the
normal way will be largely unaffected by the water spray (apart from a
short-term rise in relative humidity) as most normal archive boxes will be
capable of protecting their contents from water penetration. As the
quantity of water is so small, no additional drainage arrangements are
necessary in the storage area, and, of course, as it's water that is being
used no additional ventilation is required to remove the extinguishant
after a discharge.
If you'd like to see an installed system you could contact Katherine Thomas
at LT, or me (for access to the Railtrack system in York).
Regards
Richard
==================================================
Richard Taylor
Curator, Archive Collections
National Railway Museum
Leeman Road
YORK YO26 4XJ
Tel 01904-686289
Fax 01904-611112
Email [log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|
