Testing, Certification & Training
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Introduction to Fire Protection Enclosure Air Leakage Testing
Blower doors are large calibrated fans that were developed in the 1970s to test the air leakage of houses for energy conservation work, but the recognition of the stratospheric ozone problem in the 1980s led to a new application of this air tightness testing technology. Halon 1301, a gaseous fire protection agent, was found to have one of the highest ozone depletion potentials, and a significant source of halon discharge into the environment was found to come from the testing of Halon total flooding fire protection systems. In a typical application, such as a computer room, the acceptance test for the system involved a "discharge test" where the fire protection system was triggered, a full load of Halon was discharged into the room, and the residence time for the Halon in the room was measured. When the ozone depleting potential of these acceptance tests was discovered, there was a need for a new type of acceptance test that did not involve the discharge of Halon 1301 into the atmosphere.
Industry experience in air leakage test equipment development enabled the invention of a test that solved this problem. The "enclosure integrity test" involves measuring the total area of the holes in the protected room with a blower door, assuming a worst-case distribution of leaks across the enclosure surface, and computing the worst-case leakage of the fire protection gas mixture through those holes. Testing was incorporated into the NFPA 12A Standard for Halon 1301, and it has since been modified for Halon alternative gases in the NFPA 2001 Standard.