User's Manual

Design
P/N 81-CO2MAN-001 3-3 September 2013
3-4.2 Local Application System
A local application system is designed to apply carbon dioxide directly to a fire in an area or
space that essentially has no enclosure surrounding it. Such systems may be used to
extinguish surface fires in two-dimensional (Paragraph 3-6.2) or three-dimensional
(Paragraph 3-6.3) hazards.
3-4.3 Hand Hose Line Systems
A hand hose line system is designed to supplement fixed fire protection systems or to
supplement first response portable fire extinguishers for the protection of specific hazards for
which carbon dioxide is the extinguishing agent.
3-5 TOTAL FLOODING SYSTEMS
3-5.1 Introduction
A total flooding system shall consist of a fixed supply of carbon dioxide, permanently connected
to a fixed pipe network, with fixed nozzles arranged to discharge carbon dioxide into an
enclosed space.
3-5.1.1 ENCLOSURE
For total flooding fire protection, the enclosure around the hazard must be essentially
continuous, with as few uncloseable openings as possible, so that an extinguishing
concentration can be developed about the hazard. When openings cannot be closed prior to or
at the start of discharge, an additional quantity of carbon dioxide shall be discharged to
compensate for agent lost through uncloseable openings.
For surface fires, if the quantity of carbon dioxide required to compensate for the openings
alone exceeds the quantity required for total flooding with no openings, then the suppression
system may be designed using local-application methods.
For deep-seated fires, any uncloseable openings shall be restricted to the ceiling or on the
enclosure walls bordering the ceiling. This is to permit the carbon dioxide concentration to be
maintained for a sufficient period of time to allow any smoldering to be suppressed and to allow
the material to cool below its re-ignition temperature. In situations where the openings do not
allow the concentration to be maintained during the required cooling period, additional agent
should be discharged over an extended period of time to compensate for losses through the
openings (See Paragraph 3-10).
WARNING
Carbon dioxide is present in the atmosphere. It is also a normal product of
human and animal metabolism; human life cannot be sustained if this carbon
dioxide is not expelled from the body. The concentration of carbon dioxide in
the air governs the rate at which the carbon dioxide produced by the human
metabolism is released from the lungs. An increasing concentration in the air
where humans are present, therefore, can cause serious personal injury or
death.
WARNING
Total flooding systems shall NOT be used in normally occupied enclosures
except in accordance with the provisions allowed by NFPA 12 (most current
edition).