Substation Fire Protection 101

Substation fire protection may not be the most exciting of topics, but it is critically important because a single substation fire can cause widespread power outages.  It’s a domino effect that could have a lasting impact on customers, employees and the company’s overall reputation.  So, let’s talk about it!

Best Practices for Substation Fire Protection

One of the most critical pieces of equipment in a substation is a power transformer.  Unfortunately, this equipment, especially oil-fired transformers, represents the biggest substation fire risk.  Oil-fired transformers often contain about 10,000 gallons of oil, more than the average gasoline tanker truck.  That’s certainly a lot of fuel for the fire!

There are several industry standards that are relevant for substation fire protection.  These industry standards are generally provided by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the National Fire Protection Act (NFPA). Here is a summary of the top-3 tactics for substation fire protection:

• Ensure proper physical separation between transformers, other equipment and building structures (per NFPA 850)
• Use fire wall barriers (per IEEE 979)
• Select the right fire suppression system: deluge system, fixed water spray system, water mist system, or pre-action water mist system.  Standard NFPA 15 (Chapter 7) and NFPA 750 provides additional guidance for fixed water spray systems specifically.

The best fire suppression systems are probably HI-FOG water mist systems.  These systems utilize high pressure and special spray heads that disperse the water in tiny droplets, using much less water while still retaining its fire-reducing efficacy.  The tiny droplets spread over a wider area and absorb the heat faster.  HI-FOG systems also feature immediate activation, easy installation, and a high degree of scalability.  In the final analysis, anything that improves reliability is a welcome addition to the emergency preparedness handbook, so to speak.  Substation fire protection is yet another way to reduce outages and keep customers and regulators happy.