Vessel Fire Safety Regulations (SOR/2017-14)

346 (1) For the purposes of subsection 339(2), in the case of a fixed gas fire-extinguishing system that uses a gas other than carbon dioxide, “certified for marine use by a product certification body” is to be read as “certified for marine use by a product certification body in accordance with the standard NFPA 2001, entitled Standard on Clean Agent Fire Extinguishing Systems,”.

(2) The quantity of gas in a fixed gas fire-extinguishing system that uses a gas other than carbon dioxide and that serves a machinery space must be sufficient to protect the space. The required quantity of gas must be calculated using the minimum expected ambient temperature in the space, the minimum design concentration of the gas and the net volume of the space.

(3) The minimum design concentration of the gas is the greater of

• (a) the concentration that is 30% above the minimum extinguishing concentration of the gas, when that concentration is determined by a cup burner test, and

• (b) the extinguishing concentration of the gas, when that concentration is determined by full-scale testing.

(4) The net volume of the machinery space is its gross volume, including the volume of the bilge, the volume of the casing and the volume of free air contained in compressed air receivers that can be released into the space in the event of a fire, minus the volume of objects in the space.

(5) If the fixed fire-extinguishing system uses halocarbon as the extinguishing agent, the system must release a sufficient quantity of the agent to allow 95% of the minimum design concentration of the agent to be reached in 10 seconds or less in the machinery space. If the system uses an inert gas as the extinguishing agent, the system must release a sufficient quantity of the agent to allow 85% of the minimum design concentration of the agent to be reached in 120 seconds or less in the space.