[Nhcoll-l] Sprinkler system in wet collections

[John E Simmons]

You have gotten some very good advice so far. Building on what Dirk said, I
want to point out that there are several drawbacks with gas and foam fire
suppression systems:

1-The storage tanks required to store the gas or foam take up a lot of
room, room that could otherwise be used for collections, labs or offices.

2-Recharging the tanks after an incident is very expensive. The failure
rate (meaning a false release of foam or gas) is a little higher than that
of water sprinklers, but the main problem is that a small fire or heat
source will trigger the release of all of the foam or gas, whereas with a
water system only the sprinkles near the heat source will be triggered.

3-The amount of foam or gas available is limited to the amount in the
storage tanks, but a water system will be able to function as long as it is
connected to the water supply, and a water system can be easily shut off in
the event of a false release, but this is much more difficult with foam and
gas.

4-Foam and gas systems are best in situations where the majority of
the objects and materials will be severely damaged by water. In a fluid
preserved collection, there are much less of those objects and materials.

5-It is difficult to clean up after a fire, but a water system leaves
behind less contaminants than most foam or gas systems if the pipes are
regularly flushed.

6-A water system has the added advantage of diluting alcohol to a safer
level very quickly, which foam and gas do not do.

7-Arguably the best type of system is water mist, which uses far less water
than a sprinkler system:

https://www.nfpa.org/news-blogs-and-articles/blogs/2022/06/24/water-mist-systems-overview

https://www.bluelightsafety.co.uk/whats-the-difference-between-a-sprinkler-system-a-water-mist-system/
--John

John E. Simmons
Writer and Museum Consultant
Museologica
*and*
Research Associate, Earth and Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery
Penn State University
*and*
Investigador Asociado, Departamento de Ornitologia
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima


On Thu, Feb 5, 2026 at 11:55 AM Bo Delling <Bo.Delling at nrm.se> wrote:

> Dear all
>
>
>
> I have a few questions about fire safety in wet collection facilities,
> especially regarding sprinkler systems with or without foam. I start with
> the questions, followed by some background information
>
>
>
> 1.                   Do you have a sprinkler system in your wet
> collection? (Y/N)
>
> 2.                   If yes, is it pure water or are foaming chemicals
> added?
>
> 3.                   What is the allowed quantity in litres of 70-80% EtOH
> in your collection?
>
>
>
> At NRM in Stockholm, we have an underground storage room with max 200 000
> litres of EtOH. Security includes different alarm systems connected to the
> fire brigade. We also have sensors for EtOH vapour, starting forced
> ventilation, already at a concentration of 10% of the ignitable
> concentration. Finally, we also have a water sprinkler with foaming
> chemicals added.
>
>
>
> We have some problems with the maintenance of the sprinkler system,
> especially the system supplying foaming chemicals. We are about to start a
> dialogue with the fire safety authorities in Sweden, to perhaps get rid of
> the foam, and it would be great to have some international feedback.
>
>
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Bo
>
>
>
> *Bo Delling Ph. D*
>
> Curator of fishes
> Zoology
> Swedish Museum of Natural History
> Box 50007 | SE-104 05 Stockholm | Sweden
> +46 8-5195 4240 | +46 723970978
>
>
>
>
>
> [image: Logotyp för Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet]
>
> [image: Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Forskar, Bevarar och Förklarar, NRM.SE]
>
>
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