Water look-alike fire suppression system

The Sapphire Fire Suppression System uses a chemical agent that fights fires without causing any damage to electronics, works of art, irreplaceable artefacts and other critical assets.

The system provides solutions for hospitals, museums, libraries, telecommunications centres and other facilities seeking to protect critical assets that could be damaged by ordinary fire suppression systems.

It uses 3M Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid, which looks exactly like water, but does not cause the type of damage associated with water when putting out a fire. It chemically interferes with the fire combustion process, therefore bringing it to a halt. It also works faster than a water sprinkler system, which is designed to work when it detects an actual flame. The systems detect fire at invisible levels, identifying particles of combustion before they turn into flames.

The systems offer central storage and modular design solutions that can work in tandem with existing building fire alarm and suppression systems. The agent is stored in pressurised containers as a liquid and vaporises when discharged. Other benefits of the system include an atmospheric lifetime of only five days, versus 33 years for the closest chemical alternative, as well as zero ozone depletion.