A fire suppression system is an engineered group of units that are built to

extinguish fires through the application of a substance. Most commonly, a fire

suppression system has built-in components that detect fires at the beginning
stages through heat, smoke, and other warning signals. These are attached to an
alarm system that will alert you when the fire has been detected and initiate steps
for action to further suppress the fire. The majority of fire suppression systems
will automatically release the application of an external substance to extinguish
the fire after the detection and/or alert. However, some fire suppression systems
have a manual application release.

Wet Systems: In wet systems, the overhead sprinkler piping connected is filled
with water under pressure. When a fire causes one or more of the connected
sprinklers to activate, water immediately discharges from the sprinkler head.
Wet pipe systems are the most common type of fire sprinkler system and the
simplest. Because of their simplicity, they are very reliable and require less
installation and maintenance. These are usually the first choice in fire sprinkler
systems because they’re easy to work with, modify, and are often more reliable.
However, these systems cannot be installed in environments were the temperatures
reach below 40 degrees F. And of course there can be severe property damage if
there’s a leak or other malfunctions in the piping, especially if the area the
sprinklers are protecting has sensitive equipment or documents.
Dry Systems: These do not have water in the direct non-heated sprinkler piping,
but only pressurized air or nitrogen. The pressurized air holds back the water
supply at a main dry-pipe valve. When a fire occurs and the sprinkler activates,
the air pressure drops and the main dry-pipe valve opens to release the water into
the piping system to discharge from the sprinklers.
These fire sprinkler systems are thus designed for environments with freezing
temperatures like walk-in refrigerators, loading docks, and warehouses. Because of
its special air pressure needs and other components, dry pipe sprinklers are more
complex than wet fire sprinklers and are thus more costly to install and maintain.
Because water must travel from the valve to the piping and sprinklers, there can be
a delay of up to 60 seconds in fire suppression. Dry fire sprinkler systems also
have certain design restrictions as to their individual system size and thus can
make additions to the system very difficult or not possible. These systems can,
however, be an addition to a larger wet pipe sprinkler system and just used in the
environments that see freezing temperatures.

A fire sprinkler system is a simple, but key, active component of a domestic or

commercial building’s fire protection system.
Installed in ceilings or side walls, the system consists of a water supply, a water
distribution piping system and sprinkler heads. The sprinkler discharges water
automatically when a fire is detected, though it is not triggered by smoke. It
controls or extinguishes the fire, so is both a fire detection and suppression
system.
sprinkler systems have been around since the late 19th century, when they were
pioneered by Hiram Stevens Maxim. They are now extensively used worldwide, with
over 40 million sprinkler heads fitted each year. A system will generally involve
water being held under pressure in a network of pipes running through a building.

A fire detection system (sometimes called a fire alarm system) is a system of

integrated fire detection devices controlled from a central control panel. Whilst
smoke and heat detectors are effective at alerting people in the immediate vicinity
of where the smoke is detected. Only a fire detection system will alert people
throughout your entire building, giving them enough time to get to safety. The
system can also be setup to summon emergency services and broadcast emergency
evacuation messages.
Early detection also plays a significant role in protecting the safety of
emergency response personnel. Property loss can be reduced and downtime for the
operation minimized through early detection because control efforts are started
while the fire is still small. Most alarm systems provide information to emergency
responders on the location of the fire, speeding the process of fire control.