There are several clean agent fire extinguishers on the market that are rated for class A, B and C class fires yet will not damage sensitive electrical equipment. These extinguishers leave no residue and require no clean up after discharge. Two examples are the “Cleanguard FE 36” extinguisher manufactured by Ansul and the Halotron I manufactured by Amerex.
HALOTRON I is a “Clean Agent” HydroChloroFluoroCarbon
(HCFC) discharged as a rapidly evaporating liquid which leaves no residue. It effectively extinguishes Class A and B fires by cooling and smothering and it will not conduct electricity back to the operator. Halotron is pressurized with Argon gas and is an EPA and FAA approved agent suitable for use on Class A, B and C fires. It has a low GWP of 0.04 – 0.24, low ODP of 0.014 (twelve times lower than the EPA maximum allowable ODP of 0.20) and a low Atmospheric Lifetime (31⁄2 to 11 years). Halotron is intended for use in areas formerly protected by Halon 1211 hand portable extinguishers such as computer rooms, telecommunications facilities, clean rooms, data storage areas, offices (for protection of sensitive electronic equipment), boats and vehicles.
DuPont™ FE-36™ is proving to be the standard in-kind replacement for Halon 1211 in portable fire extinguishers. DuPont™ FE-36™ has comparable performance and efficiency to Halon 1211, lower toxicity, as well as zero ozone depletion potential. In a portable fire extinguisher, DuPont™ FE-36™ is discharged as a stream of gas and liquid droplets that penetrate into the fire area, ceasing the combustion process through heat absorption and a chemical interaction. DuPont™ FE-36™ is also a replacement for Halon 1301 in local application systems, such as modular systems.
Typical clean agent applications:
– Computer rooms
– Data and document storage
– Communication facilities
– Hospital operating rooms
– Control rooms
– Electronic manufacturing
– Museums
– Laboratories