Draft:Fire Eater (company)

Fire Eater is a Danish company specializing in fire protection solutions. When the negative effects of halon on the ozone layer became known in the mid-1980’ies, Fire Eater invented and patented a new and safer method of fire protection by using inert gases and lowering the oxygen level instead of using water, chemicals or halon.

History
Fire Eater A/S was founded in 1974 by Aage Laursen, a pilot who recognized the effectiveness of halon as a fire extinguisher for aircraft and the marine industry. Additionally, he entered into a collaboration with the English company Fire Eater, which specialized in halon systems for rally cars and pleasure boats.

However, as it became clear that solutions releasing halon were depleting the ozone-layer, this method of fire suppression was banned by the Montreal Protocol effectively from 1987. Another option widely used - CO2 fire suppression - has the disadvantage of being dangerous to humans if used in closed quarters.

Therefore his son Torbjørn Laursen kept studying the human respiratory system to find alternatives which would be safe to humans. In 1984 he invented IG 541 Inergen - a combination of 52 % nitrogen, 40 % argon and 8 % carbon dioxide. This method of gaseous fire suppression was patented in 1987.

The invention of Inergen was developed with financial help from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency and in the 1990'ies it was initially installed on several platforms in the Norwegian Offshore sector.

Method
An automated fire protection system which detects fire will release IG541 Inergen until the oxygen level is lowered from the usual 20.9 % to app. 12-15 %, which will suffocate the fire. This oxygen level is still high enough to be harmless to humans. As this solution does not use water or chemicals it is often used in data centers, museums or buildings worthy of preservation. It is also in widespread use in the marine or pharma-industries. In contrast to older generations of fire suppression systems, IG 541 Inergen does not contain halon and does therefore not contribute to ozone depletion.

In a few cases fire suppression system using Argonite og Inergen have caused damage to servers possibly due to the high pressure and noise level the gasses are released with. Later this problem has been addressed by installing noise mufflers.