Expanding suppression

摘要

Automatic fire suppression is well established in businesses ranging from restaurant kitchens to data centres, and a range of technology is available. By contrast, only manual suppression methods such as fire extinguishers and blankets have any real presence in domestic premises, very few of which have residential sprinkler installations. On reflection, it is a little surprising that only manual firefighting solutions, which require an occupant to step up and take action, are found in homes. Yet in workplaces, where training can be guaranteed, there tend to be automatic protection systems. This is even more surprising when we take into account that Approved Document B (ADB) allows significantly improved open plan layouts where fire suppression is provided.