A Boss Fire Protection technician reaching up to the fire suppression piping under a commercial kitchen hood

A kitchen fire suppression system connects to the building fire alarm through a micro switch in the system’s release, so the moment the hood system fires, the building alarm sounds too. NFPA 96 requires that connection wherever a fire alarm system serves the occupancy the kitchen is in, and it requires the system to shut … Read more

Older, dusty fire suppression gas cylinder on a wall bracket in an old telephone and computer equipment room.

A halon fire suppression system can legally stay in service, but no new halon has been made or imported in the United States since 1994, the gas cannot be vented for testing or servicing, and every refill now comes from recycled halon. That leaves an owner three honest choices, which are to keep it maintained, … Read more

Welder working on a steel beam as sparks fall onto a fire-resistant blanket, while a fire watch worker holds a red extinguisher nearby.

A hot work permit is the written sign-off a building gives before anyone welds, cuts, brazes or grinds on site, after the area has been checked and made safe. Under OSHA’s welding rule it names the precautions, puts a ready fire extinguisher at the work, and often calls for a fire watch that stays at … Read more

Server racks down a data room aisle with a clean agent discharge nozzle, a smoke detector and pipe on the ceiling above.

Server room fire suppression is a fixed system that floods the room with a clean agent. That is a gas that puts a fire out without water, without powder and without leaving residue on the equipment. It protects the servers and the data on them from both the fire and the cleanup a sprinkler would … Read more