FIRE WATER SYSTEM RELIABILITY IN INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

Reliability of fire protection systems is often discussed, written about, and even put into codes and standards. However, reliability is seldom considered for the fire protection system as a whole. Why does this happen and why should the designer consider the system as a whole\ulcorner Existing codes and standards incorporate the concept of reliability usually In the form of key component redundancy for some parts of a system. The "Fire Safety Concepts Tree" presented in the National Fire Protection Association Guide 550, Guide to the Fire Safety Concepts Tree, provides a starting point for considering the performance of a water based fire suppression system. Considering fire protection objectives for water based fire suppression systems, means of evaluating system reliability can be developed. This development requires identification of system components that are significant to the overall system reliability.