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The advantages of replacing hose reels with High pressure Watermist units
The NOMs Fire officers have examined this system and ideally would have wished to fit a nozzle in each cell, run off a high pressure water circuit controlled from outside the wing. However this is not cost effective in a retro fit scenario. Changing systems is problematic at the best of times, however changing the fire suppression systems in a prison is doubly so. As this system is so effective and causes minimal damage it is advantageous to replace existing fire reels despite the inconvenience and cost. Nottinghamshire Prison Staff To Serve Time In Higher Education Most wings are equipped with hose reels for fire suppression and a cabinet mounted water mist system has been designed to be retrofitted into these spaces. The cabinet contains the reel with the high pressure hose, a pump, controls and water supply. It is the same width as existing hose reel cabinets and slightly taller. This design saves time and money on installation. As long as a single phase 25amp electric supply can be delivered to the site of the cabinet then it can be fitted as a direct replacement. If the existing hose reel is built into a wall then the new cabinet fits over the recess. The manufacturers advise that a two man team can fit two of these units in a day. The governing factor is the run of the electric supply. A worse case scenario is that the wing distribution box is at the opposite end to the hose reel point. In these cases the works dept have usually preferred to fit the cabling themselves. In reality the cable run is usually less than 10 metres. The electrics within the cabinet are contained within an IP rated waterproof and dust proof box.
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Developed from their Mobile 8 unit and working to the same principals and high standards the Modular Hose reel system has several important advantages: The cabinets are all designed for high security applications with personnel safe rounded corners and are designed to be free of ligature points and hiding places. An in-cell fire is extinguished by inserting the lance and nozzle through the cell door and rotating the lance to cover the inside of the cell. Poor vision is not a problem as the system extinguishes the fire by filling the cell with a fine water mist. Typically a cell fire can be extinguished with less than 35 litres of water and in less than 5 minutes. Water damage is negligible and the threat posed to life and property by the fire and the water is minimal. An unhelpful inmate cannot do much to prevent the process because the plume of water does not need direct access to the base of the fire to work. By comparison a standard hose reel will deliver 35 - 50 litres of water a minute. In the course of extinguishing a blaze with a conventional hose reel, hundreds of litres can be used increasing water damage and affecting cells below and adjacent. Additionally an inmate has the ability to be very obstructive. Because the watermist system extinguishes the fire by cooling and then, as the water is converted to steam, by oxygen depletion at the flame front a safe and effective method for fire control and extinguishment is achieved. It has historically been used for many years to combat fires in a wide range of applications ranging from small oil fires in a chip fryer to large megawatt fires in machinery spaces with large amounts of burning fuel and heat. Watermist systems are used to protect high risk and high value property such as libraries, historic buildings, archive stores and IT data centres. Local application by hand held lance is also commonly used by fire services around the world to fight heath land fires with minimum amounts of water. A typical waste paper bin fire can be extinguished in seconds using less than one litre of water and will also greatly reduce the amount of smoke spread into other areas. Because only water is used it is safe for use in public or manned areas. Training is simple and effective and provided by the manufacturers. |
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In the last edition we discussed a fire suppression system that works by delivering atomised water into the area of a fire and extinguishes it by cooling and smothering. It also greatly reduces the harmful effects of smoke as the fine water droplets absorb the smoke particles and push them to the floor where they can be mopped up.
Typically the water supply to the existing fire hose reels is 2-6 bar pressure, which will produce a jet of water similar to a garden hose. Unfortunately it will have a similar effect as a garden hose in that it will deliver a lot of water in a jet. By contrast the Watermist unit will produce a mist of fine water droplets and is proven to be far more effective in extinguishing a blaze. The system is also effective against fires outside cells. The standard hose reels have a 35 metre reach; these high pressure variants have a range of lengths from 35 to 60 metres.