State-of-the-art firefighting using high-pressure water mist technology is becoming more and more common for the protection of buildings, industry, rail and road tunnels as well as metros and trains. This article specifically addresses applications for residential areas, production plants and important infrastructure for energy supply such as protection of transformer stations or hard-to-reach areas such as narrow cable shafts.
AQUASYS was founded in 1993 as part of a technology group and is a pioneer in the development and manufacture of high-pressure water mist (HPWM) firefighting systems. Since then AQUASYS products have been helping to maintain the availability of our high-quality infrastructure worldwide. As a reliable Austrian manufacturer, systems integrator and partner, AQUASYS plays its part in providing safe and efficient fire protection in line with the company’s mission – ‘firefighting is responsibility’.
AQUASYS systems are used in special situations where there may be different fire loads at the same time, and even under critical conditions, HPWM systems offer unique possibilities for active firefighting through their innovative spraying technology and high-quality materials. These customised and environmentally friendly firefighting solutions ensure that the system is quickly ready for use again after an activation. In addition, they require very little maintenance.
HPWM for protecting the ‘lifelines’ of critical infrastructure
Reliable protection of areas such as switch rooms and cable ducts, or areas with liquid fire loads such as hydraulic rooms, are extremely important for the availability of the entire plant of a company, because they represent the lifelines of industrial facilities. If there is a fire, the fine water mist quickly removes the heat from the fire and cools the surrounding area. It also suppresses smoke and flames, which enables the emergency services to access the centre of the fire quickly and safely. The low water consumption due to the finely atomised AQUASYS water mist is a decisive advantage and makes the systems suitable for solid, liquid and cable fires, server racks, high-voltage systems and much more.
Individual spray concepts and minimum water requirements are another reason why energy suppliers opt for HPWM technology for the fire protection of their very valuable installations, such as transformers. Since the company was founded, AQUASYS has worked intensively on the efficient protection of transformer systems, cable tunnels and machine rooms. Numerous successful real-fire tests impressively confirm the effectiveness of the HPWM systems. This is why important energy suppliers from Austria, Dubai, Egypt, India and all the way to Mexico rely on HPWM from AQUASYS – fire protection made in Austria!
HPWM benefit for high-rise buildings, historical buildings and libraries
AQUASYS HPWM also proves its strengths in the building sector. The components and small-diameter stainless-steel pipework used enable easy fitting or retrofitting in historical buildings with minimal structural intervention. Recently, a HPWM installation was completed in a museum in Turkey. The high-pressure nozzles distributed over four storeys protect not only the exhibition areas and the extraordinary building structure but also the restaurant areas, and therefore offer maximum safety and minimum risk of fire or water damage, especially for the unique exhibits.
‘In all these situations, the goal of fire suppression systems is to contain fires at the moment they break out, while simultaneously maintaining a safe environment in the immediate vicinity. HPWM has proven to be a reliable technology in recent years and is a major contributor to increasing safety and helping our customers achieve their financial goals,’ summarises Sales Group Manager Michael Bindreiter.
For more information, go to www.aquasys.at/en
