What is a Fire Suppression System? Types, Cost, and Prevention Tips
Fire Suppression is the process of putting out a fire.
A Fire Suppression System is a set of parts designed to put out a fire.
The most common example of a fire suppression system is a fire extinguisher.
Now that we've covered the basics, let's give you some more information about fire suppression systems, how they protect you, and why they are actually the second line of defense against fires.
Fire Suppression Systems 101
To understand fire suppression systems we have to first talk about how fires actually work.
For a fire to burn it requires 3 parts. Firefighters call these three parts "The Fire Triangle"
Understanding the Fire Triangle for Fire Safety
The Fire Triangle is 1. Heat 2. Oxygen 3. Fuel
-
Heat - Heat could be from a spark, a stove, friction, or electricity
- Oxygen - Oxygen is just that, air
- Fuel - Fuel is anything that burns, wood, furniture, gasoline, etc...
All three elements must be present for a fire to start or keep burning.
Fire Suppression is the process of cutting one of the three elements out of the fire.
Fire Suppression systems break the fire triangle, extinguishing the fire.
How Fire Suppression Systems Stop Fires
Different fire suppression systems break different elements of the Fire Triangle to put out the fire.
If you had a grease fire on your stove, you could place a lid on the burning pot. This cuts oxygen from the triangle, putting out the fire.
The fire sprinklers you see in apartment buildings try to make the fuel too wet to burn, which removes fuel from the triangle and puts out the fire.
Some automatic suppression systems spray out a thick layer of foam to cool the surface area of a fire, cutting heat and oxygen to extinguish the flames.
Elements of an Automatic Fire Suppression System
A fire extinguisher or fire blanket is a fire suppression system. But it probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind.
When most people think of a fire suppression system, they think of an automatic system that detects a fire and responds without anyone having to do anything.
While different systems are designed for different hazards, most systems have the same basic components.
Detection
Every automatic fire suppression system needs a way to detect a fire. Some detect heat, others detect smoke, while others are simply wicks that activate when the wick burns.
Suppressant
This is the key difference for the effectiveness of the system. The system stores a suppressing agent and deploys it on the fire after detection. The suppressant can be liquid chemicals, gas, foam, water, etc.
Distribution
Once activated, the suppressant has to reach the fire. Sprinkler systems use pipes and sprinklers. Other systems use a ramp to drop powder or a hose to spray liquid or foam.
While every automatic fire suppression system requires these three elements some include other features as well. These could be:
- Smart alarms/notifications
- Manual activation allowing for deployment before detection
- Mounting systems (stove mount, microwave mount, wall mount, and more)
Fire Suppression or Prevention: Which Should You Choose?
We've talked about what suppression is and how automatic systems work. However, there's another key piece to the fire safety puzzle... fire prevention.
Think of it this way:
Fire Suppression - This is like the emergency room in the hospital. It is absolutely necessary for emergency situations, but nobody wants to visit often.
Fire Prevention - This is like combining frequent check ups with healthy living. It's important to review often, and implement healthy habits. Prevention keeps you out of the emergency room (needing fire suppression)
Both are 100% important, but preventing a fire before it happens can reduce the amount of time, money, and cleanup from a fire suppression system.
Benefits of Fire Prevention and Fire Suppression
| Benefits | Prevention | Suppression |
| Action |
Proactive (works before a fire starts) |
Reactive (stops a fire after ignition) |
| Damage | Eliminate damage entirely |
Minimize fire/smoke damage |
| Life Safety | Reduces chance of fire occurring |
Allows for more time to evacuate |
| Goal | Stop fires before they happen |
Stop fires before they spread |
As you can see, prevention and suppression are competing strategies. They should be used together to optimize fire safety.
The one and only problem with suppression is that relying only on suppression means you've already had a fire start.
The Main Types of Fire Protection and Suppression Systems
Water-Based Suppression Systems
Again this is the most familiar fire protection system. These are broken into two categories:
Wet Pipe - Pressurized water is stored in pipes and released upon detection.
Dry Pipe - Pressurized air is stored in the pipes. When a fire is detected, a valve is released allowing water to flow through the pipes to the sprinklers.
Wet pipe systems are relatively cheap (when compared to other large-scale suppression systems). Dry pipe systems are significantly more expensive and complicated.
Each type are typically used in larger commercial buildings, but can be installed in homes as well.
Gas Suppression Systems
This type of fire suppression is more complicated, and thus much more expensive to install and maintain.
Gas suppression systems work by storing pressurized gas. When a fire is detected the gas is released, removing oxygen and reducing heat to extinguish flames.
These systems are not used in homes, but rather museums, data centers, and server rooms.
Gas suppression involves suffocating the fire, which also means a human risk for suffocation as well
Chemical Fire Suppression Systems
This is the most common form of home fire suppression. This includes stove top canisters and fire extinguishers.
Again there are two main types of chemical suppression systems.
Dry chemical systems - These release a powder chemical agent that smothers flames
Wet chemical systems - These spray a liquid or foam chemical agent over the area to extinguish the fire.
These can vary in cost depending on the covered area. The most common are simple stove top systems seen in homes and apartments throughout the world.
Fire Prevention Systems
Most fire prevention systems target one main area, the stove. This is because kitchen fires make up around 75% of all residential building fires in the USA.
These systems prevent fires by detecting fires before they ignite through smoke or heat.
Smoke detection works because food will smoke around 300F whereas it has to be around 700F for it to become a fire.
Heat detection systems are significantly more expensive and less reliable. Smoke detection systems are affordable and highly effective.
Fire prevention systems are able to determine the difference between normal cooking smoke and a real fire risk.
What is the Cost for Fire Protection Systems
One important factor for fire protection systems is cost. Fire suppression and prevention systems have different costs for you to consider.
Some factors that determine cost:
Scope of protection - A sprinkler system throughout your home will cost more. One just installed in the kitchen will be cheaper.
Type of suppression - Water based suppressant is cheaper to maintain, but when it activates can cause water damage. Chemical agents expire earlier, but cleanup is often simpler than water.
Maintenance/replacement - Suppression systems have maintenance costs. Additionally, when the system activates you will have to replace or recharge it.
Comparing Costs for Fire Protection Systems
| Product | Install Cost | Additional Costs | Est. Total |
| Water Suppression (Wet) | ~$2/sq ft new construction | ~$4/sq ft retrofitting |
Piping $0.4-$8/ft of piping | May need ~$5000 tank | Inspection/maintenance $100-$2000 |
$6000 - $30000 |
| Water Suppression (Dry) | ~$4/sq ft new construction | ~$8/sq ft retrofitting |
Same as Wet | Air compressor ~$2000 | Valves ~$3000 |
$10000 - $45000 |
| Gas Suppression | ~$4 - $8/sq ft |
Alarm integration ~$2500 | Maintenance ~$2250 |
$5000 - $100000 |
| Chemical Suppression Kitchen (Wet) | $500/ fire |
Replacement costs |
$500 |
| Chemical Suppression Kitchen (Dry) | $60 - $120/ fire |
Replacement costs |
$60 - $120 |
| Fire Prevention | $249 |
(Optional) Monitoring $60/yr |
$249 - $300 |
Fire Prevention, the First Line of Defense
Fire suppression systems are designed to stop a fire after it starts. Fire prevention focuses on making sure the fire never starts in the first place.
The most effective fire safety strategies use both. Prevention reduces the chance of a fire occurring, while suppression limits damage if one does.
Fire prevention isn't just about installing equipment. It also includes safe cooking habits and addressing hazards before they become emergencies.
After nearly two decades as a firefighter, Peter Thorpe noticed a common pattern at cooking fire calls. In many cases, the fire hadn't fully developed yet, but smoke had already filled the home.
"We got called out to cooking fires once a shift. At almost every call I noticed that there weren't flames, just tons of smoke.
This got me thinking, if we could detect smoke and cut heat to the stove, we could prevent thousands of dollars in damage.
And FireAvert was born."
That observation led to the creation of FireAvert, a stove safety device designed to help prevent cooking fires before they grow.
Rather than suppressing, the system monitors for signs of dangerous cooking conditions and automatically cuts heat when it detects abnormal smoke.
FireAvert also encourages safer cooking habits.
It can track cooking activity, helping users avoid common risks such as leaving burners on or cooking on high heat longer than necessary.
Prevention and suppression serve different roles, but together they provide a stronger, layered approach to fire safety.
Fire Protection - Suppression & Prevention Together
Protecting your home requires a combination of safe habits, and the right equipment in place.
Your home should have a working smoke detector.
You should be aware of cooking time and temperature.
You should be actively working to prevent kitchen fires.
You should have the right automatic fire suppression system installed.
If you're interested in getting a FireAvert Auto Shutoff device for you home click here to shop now.
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