First call for fire suppression systems Marioff

first call for fire

suppression systeMs

Marioff is the world’s leading provider of water mist fire suppression systems. This global company supplies unrivalled, high-tech fire suppression systems for a diverse range of applications on land, sea and air. Its patented Hi-Fog water-mist protection systems use far less water than traditional sprinklers and are much more flexible than any other fire suppression system available, as Philip Yorke reports.

Marioff was founded in Vantaa, Finland in 1985 by two Finnish entrepreneurs whose mission was to not only protect people, but also their property. The brand name ‘Marioff’ was derived from an amalgamation of the words, Marine and Offshore and the company has since become a leading global supplier of water mist fire protection systems.

At sea, Hi-Fog systems are installed on almost every large cruise ship in the world and on land it protects a wide variety of structures including tunnels, hotels, stations, energy facilities, heritage buildings, data centres and hospitals. This core group supports a global network of subsidiaries and agents and employs a highly skilled workforce of mechanical, hydraulic and electrical engineers.

Today Marioff is an integral part of the US giant UTC Fire & Security, which itself is a division of United Technologies Corporation (UTC), and the parent of such companies as Pratt & Whitney, Otis, Sikorsky Helicopter and Carrier.

unique protection for Data Centres

Fires in modern data centres are a harsh reality. Such fires result, not only in serious amounts of direct damage, but also in costly indirect damage. This includes downtime associated with server outages and expensive clean-up costs from the fire. These fires are not only dangerous, they can also significantly disrupt modern life.

Traditionally, data centres are protected by gas fire suppression systems. Modern gas compounds are effective agents that are safe for the delicate equipment in data centres. However, gas-based fire suppression systems can be costly, and the price of a gas agent itself can represent a large part of the total. The advantages of modern, ultrafast, targeted fire detection cannot be fully exploited using gas fire suppression systems. Fortunately today, other highly efficient solutions are available.

Marioff’s water mist fire suppression systems use, as the name suggests, one of the world’s most effective fire suppression methods; clean water. The effectiveness of water is fully manifested when spraying it as a mist from sprinklers and saturating the fire with water vapour.

Marioff’s Hi-Fog system effectively cools any combustion zone, precipitates smoke and protects the surrounding equipment and building structures from heating. Fine water molecules hanging in the air around the fire zone absorb heat radiation, thus preventing the fire from spreading. Water damage is minimal because water mist accumulates slowly on surfaces. At the same time, pure water has a distinct advantage - it is completely safe for people.

It should also be noted that Marioff’s water mist systems, unlike gas fire suppression systems, do not require high levels of enclosure integrity. Whether the door to the hall will be closed after evacuation or will remain open is irrelevant. The water mist will work equally

efficiently either way. This also reduces the build cost, making water mist a more attractive financial solution.

Moreover, Marrioff’s unique Hi-Fog system’s flexibility also allows it to be used in a broad range of applications from historic ‘retro-fits’ to the world’s most modern structures.

Tall order

Today Marioff’s unrivalled HI-FOG® fire suppression systems protect Europe’s tallest building. It is the tallest and northernmost skyscraper in the world. It boasts nine-story-tall media screens on its special, ventilated facades. It also has a planetarium hovering over the atrium of the courtyard, and a theatre hall with 494 seats that can be converted from an amphitheatre to a ballroom with panoramic viewing decks under its tower spire. This is the futuristic Lakhta Centre, which is a new, multifunctional complex located in Saint Petersburg, Russia and is where the Gazprom Group is also headquartered.

A public office building of this scale must be built as secure as possible. Fire safety is the Achilles’ Heel of high-rise buildings, and fire protection is one of the first priorities at all stages of design, construction and operation of the building. Fire protection for such a complex project had to be planned with technologies that are modern, effective, reliable and convenient to install and operate.

Marioff’s HI-FOG® high-pressure water mist fire suppression systems were chosen by the project’s designers at an early stage. These systems offer exceptional suppression efficiency, but consume far less water, which is an important advantage for the design of complex engineering systems, especially for buildings of such an impressive scale as The Lakhta Center.

Both the fire suppression system and manual handgun water mist system in The Lakhta Center are HI-FOG systems, exclusively manufactured by Marioff, the undisputed global leader in high-pressure water mist fire protection technology. A dedicated full-scale fire test confirmed that the technical solution meets all given parameters set for the project.

Fire protection of facades using HI-FOG nozzles were tested at a special stand, using full-scale fragments of the facades and a large number of wooden stacks as a combustible load. Test results have proven the effectiveness of facade fire protection and helped to increase fire resistance of the numerous facade elements.

optimising costs

Thanks to Marioff’s latest Hi-Fog technology, the customer has been able to optimise costs and substantially reduce the weight of the building, which is important for such a huge high-rise building. The Lakhta Centre project is extraordinary, and there are few fire suppression projects of this scale in the world. The contract included four pumping stations, 355 kilometres (221 miles) of high-pressure pipelines and 57,000 sprinklers.

Work on the Lakhta Center’s fire suppression system was a challenging task even for Marioff, not only in terms of developing unique technical solutions, but also in production and logistics. n

For further details of Marioff’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.marioff.com