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Every year, fires cost Americans millions of dollars, damaging homes, businesses, documents and property that's often irreplaceable. Consider the records at a bank or the treasures in a museum. Fire science researchers have been trying to find a way to put out fires faster, with less damage to property. Now, they've come up with a new kind of fire suppression system -- no water needed!
Historic treasures from the national museum of patriotism are stored in this warehouse, awaiting a move to a new building -- a safer building. Operations director George Wieder says a fire would be disastrous.
Between the smoke and the water damage and the flames, it would be hard to imagine anything surviving.
For any business, or any person, with irreplaceable items or documents, damage from the water used to put out a fire can be as devastating as the smoke and flames.
The liquid in this tank is a new, clean fire suppression agent called sapphire.
The vapor stops fire in its tracks by interfering with how a fire burns -- stopping hot particles from turning into flames. Suppressing the fire and preventing it from rekindling.
Fire engineers say sapphire is a cleaner alternative to old fire suppression chemicals like halon (hay-lon), that were banned because they deplete the ozone layer and contribute to serious environmental issues.
With no damaging effects on water soluble inks and a zero ozone depletion rating, fire scientists say this could be they key to protecting irreplaceable documents, historic treasures … and the environment.
FIRE STOPPER
ABOUT SAPPHIRE: The SAPPHIRE Suppression System consists of sensors that detect hot particles before they are able to ignite a large fire. It deploys a chemical agent to stop the combustion. The system is stored in tanks and deployed through a ceiling mounted system that looks like an ordinary office sprinkler. The fluid dispensed through them is colorless, odorless, and when released into the air, it vaporizes. The vapors suffocate burgeoning fires by keeping oxygen away from the flames, removing a necessary component from blaze before damage can be done. Because the system contains no water, it does not cause water damage, making it attractive to museums and other archives.
ABOUT FIRE: The ancient Greeks considered fire to be one of the major elements in the universe, along with water, Earth and air, but fire isn't really matter. It is a side effect from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and a fuel like wood or gasoline. Extreme heat is needed to raise the fuel to a high enough temperature for it to ignite. Fire is dangerous because the chemical reactions that cause it, keep it going. The heat of the flame keeps the fuel at ignition temperature so it will burn as long as there is fuel and oxygen. To extinguish a fire, you need to remove heat, oxygen, or fuel. Fire extinguishers can either remove heat by dumping water on the fire, or remove oxygen by smothering the fire with carbon dioxide or a dry chemical foam or powder containing baking soda. Baking soda will start to decompose from the heat of a fire and release carbon dioxide to smother the flames.
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