A.G. Coombs Group Advisory Notes

Considerations for Gaseous Suppression Systems in Data Centres

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:31:00 +1100

Gaseous fire suppression systems are commonly used in data centres and other similar mission critical applications. The primary reason for their use is that compared to traditional systems such as fire sprinklers, the potential for non-fire damage to equipment or materials is significantly reduced. Furthermore post fire cleanup can generally occur much more quickly where a gaseous suppression system is present and has operated to extinguish a fire... read more...

Reducing Water Consumption of Fire Protection System

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:29:00 +1100

Due to prolonged drought in many parts of Australia there is a heightened community consciousness in relation to unnecessary water consumption. While water based fire protection systems are generally designed to be operated only when there is a fire, they need to be regularly inspected and tested to help ensure they will operate when needed. The inspection and testing regimes confirm both operation and performance of the system and although necessary,... read more...

False Alarms and Automatic Fire Protection Systems

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:29:00 +1100

BackgroundAround 30-50% of all brigade 'turnouts' are to monitored fire protection systems and it is estimated that well over 90% of those turnouts are classified as False Alarms, also referred to as Unwanted Alarms or Nuisance Alarms. Coupled with the increasing prevalence of monitored systems there is significant impact on Fire Brigade Operations and as such all Fire Authorities are placing an increasing priority on false alarm reduction.Irrespective... read more...

R22 Refrigerant Phase-out

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:59:00 +1100

Widely used in air conditioning systems in buildings, artificial refrigerants including chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) have long been identified for their ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP). In 1996 the internationally agreed Montreal Protocol established a schedule for the phase out of these substances. The more harmful CFC’s, including R11 and R12, are now virtually phased out... read more...

Green Fire - Ten Key Principles for Sustainable Fire Protection Systems

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 17:02:00 +1100

Fire Protection Services are one particular area of buildings that has not been fully explored with respect to sustainable design, maintenance and management. There is significant opportunity to reduce the amount of water they use over their life, to substantially lessen the extent of materials and other environmental impacts required for their installation and ownership, and to lessen the limitations that fire services can sometimes place on achieving... read more...

A Design Approach to Fire Protection in Data Facilities

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 18:00:00 +1100

A study by the National Archives & Records Administration in the US showed that 93% of companies that lost their data processing for more than 10 days filed for bankruptcy within one year of the incident.This Advisory Note provides a brief guide to a design approach for providing fire protection systems in data processing facilities.It must be noted that the minimum level of fire protection for the facility must meet Building Code requirements.... read more...

Replacement of the Australian Standard for Maintenance

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 13:18:00 +1100

The amended version of AS1851 - Maintenance of Fire Protection Equipment was published in September 2005. This new Standard replaces the previous AS1851suite of Australian Standards. Apart from consolidating the Standards suite into a single document there are broadly two significant changes.The first is a more rigorous testing regime at longer intervals than the previous Standard, and the second is the introduction of an annual survey of selected... read more...

Draft Replacement for the Australian Standard for Maintenance of Fire Protection Equipment

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 18:00:00 +1100

Public comments closed in November 2004 for the Draft Standard DR 04463 - Maintenance of Fire Protection Equipment. This new Standard is set to replace the existing Australian Standards suite AS 1851. Apart from consolidating the suite of Standards into a single document there are two significant changes.The first is a more rigorous testing regime at frequencies that are different to the current Standard, and the second is the introduction of an annual... read more...

Expected Changes to the Victorian Building Act and Changes to Essential Services Requirements

Sun, 01 Feb 2004 00:00:00 +1100

A revision of the Essential Services provisions within the Victorian Building Regulations (1994) has been expected for some time. The Building Regulations themselves are now about to be revoked and new Regulations are expected to be put in place in January 2005. Significant changes relating to Essential Services will form part of the new Regulations. The following developments are believed to be under consideration: The differentiation between Division... read more...

Managing Water Usage in Cooling Towers

Mon, 12 May 2003 08:49:00 +1100

Cooling towers are responsible for the consumption of large amounts of potable water. A cooling tower installation serving a large commercial building may consume in excess of 500,000 litres of water in a week through the evaporative effect alone. With concerns increasing over water consumption and its future scarcity water usage in cooling towers has become an important issue that we must manage. There are six ways in which water is used in cooling... read more...