Fire Protection Systems vs. Life Safety Systems

It is not uncommon for the terms “fire protection systems” and “life safety systems” to be used interchangeably. Within industry, it is not unusual for all forms of systems, equipment, and features protecting people and assets from the effects of a fire to be categorized under the umbrella of “fire protection systems.” In some arenas, both systems are generalized under the term “fire safety” systems.

While there is some overlap between fire protection and life safety systems, there are some very important distinctions as well.

Life Safety Systems

As the name implies, life safety systems are those systems and features which protect people, usually in a structure, from a fire or the products of combustion. Life safety systems focus on:

Notification Systems
These are devices that notify people of a fire—e.g., smoke, flame, and gas detectors. Manual pull stations, public address systems, and fire suppression activation alarms are also included in this category.

Egress Features
Egress features are those which help people evacuate during a fire and include a wide variety of items such as: exit signs, emergency lighting, evacuation plans, protected stairwells, and panic hardware on doors.

Smoke Control Systems
Some facilities use sophisticated smoke control systems which ventilate the products of combustion to protect facility occupants from the dangerous effects of fire gases, improve visibility, and give persons more time to evacuate.

Backup Power Systems
In case of power failure during a fire, batteries and backup generators power critical systems and ensure that safety systems—e.g., alarms and lighting—function during a power outage.

Fire Protection Systems
Fire protection systems detect, control, and extinguish fires to minimize damage to buildings and property. They can be broadly divided into two categories—passive and active systems.

Passive Fire Protection Systems
Passive fire protection systems are features that are built into a building and are designed to resist the effects of fire. They typically use fire-resistant building materials and have been rated to withstand the effects of fire for a specified period of time, e.g., two-hour fire rated wall panels or doors.

Passive fire protection can also include special compounds which are used to seal penetrations through a fire-rated floor or wall. Fireproof coatings on steel beams are another example of passive fire protection.

Active Fire Protection Systems
Active fire protection systems perform some sort of action to notify occupants of a fire, suppress or extinguish a fire, or contain a fire and/or the movement of smoke.

Fire Detection Systems
This is an example of the overlap between life safety and fire protection systems. It includes the various types of detectors and alarm systems which notify personnel and emergency responders of the presence of a fire.

Fire/Smoke Containment Systems
These systems attempt to stop the spread of fire or smoke. This category includes automatic, self-closing fire doors, self-closing dampers in HVAC systems, and smoke control systems—another example of the overlap between life safety systems and fire protection systems.

Fire Suppression Systems
Fire suppression systems are designed to suppress or extinguish a fire. Depending upon the type of risk to be protected, there are numerous types of fire suppression systems available. Most fire suppression systems are automatically activated by some form of fire detection device. Some common examples of fire suppression systems include:

• Sprinkler systems
• Condensed aerosol systems
• Foam systems
• Water mist systems
• CO2 systems
• Gaseous systems
• Dry chemical systems
• Wet chemical systems

Within the category of Fire Suppressions Systems, many can be further categorized by their area of coverage, as follows

Local vs. Total Flooding Fire Suppression Systems
Local fire suppression systems protect a small area or hazard by a focused discharge of agent directly onto the source of the fire. Examples where local fire suppression is commonly used include: paint mixing stations, electrical panels, CNC machines, engine compartments, and electric motors.

Total flooding fire suppression systems protect entire areas or rooms by flooding the space with a fire suppression agent. Spaces which often utilize this approach can include: electrical rooms, switchgear or control rooms, generator rooms, battery energy storage systems, elevator machine rooms, marine engine rooms, and museums.

Condensed Aerosol Systems
An emerging fire suppression system that is used primarily for total flooding and small enclosure applications is condensed aerosol. Condensed aerosol is governed by NFPA 2010 and uses a fine particulate matter to extinguish fires.

Condensed aerosol extinguishes fires by interrupting the chemical chain reaction necessary for a fire to propagate. Its simplicity, effectiveness, and adaptability afford users cost-effective fixed or portable fire suppression.

Condensed aerosol has many advantages over legacy gaseous systems in that they have none of the environmental or health downsides and are not facing any restrictions in production. Further, these systems are also far easier to install, require less infrastructure, and have no complicated testing requirements.

Conclusion

Comprehensive fire safety systems require a blend of life safety and fire protection systems. Both are necessary to effectively protect personnel and assets from the effects of a fire. Understanding the difference between the two is imperative for safe and efficient fire safety planning. Fire safety professionals are also well advised to consider condensed aerosol in their fire protection mix because of its effectiveness and safety in operation.