Installation and Operation Safety 2
400/54 Premium Shielded NMR Magnet System Product Overview 25
Considerations for the Outbreak of Fire
Specific precautions regarding fire safety vary depending on
legislation and regulations in the country where the magnet
is installed. The considerations discussed in the following
sections are intended to help customers review their site fire
precautions following the installation of a superconducting
magnet. These considerations are advisory in nature.
There are two types of fire that can affect a magnet room –
small fires and large fires. In this document “small fires” are
defined as fires of a size that personnel can choose to fight
with a first aid fire extinguisher. “Large fires” are defined
here as major fires that only professional fire fighters are
qualified to extinguish.
Small fires. Most premises already have fire and emergency
procedures in place, in accordance with current safety
legislation. Make sure any fire extinguisher provided in a
magnet room, or taken into a magnet room in response to a
fire, is of nonferromagnetic construction. Otherwise, it can
become attracted to the magnet, causing personal injury, and
becoming useless for fire fighting purposes.
Large fires. Most premises already have fire and emergency
procedures in place, in accordance with current safety
legislation. For maximum safety, invite the Fire
Department (or Fire Brigade) for a liaison visit to inspect
the building layout and the hazards associated with
superconducting magnets. It is important for the Fire
Department (or Brigade) to understand – before attending a
major fire at a magnet lab – the hazards in addition to
flames and smoke that these installations represent. The
hazards to discuss with professional fire fighters include the
following:
Magnetic attraction of ferrous equipment. Assuming the
magnetic field warning signs are still intact when fire
fighters, most firemen do not understand the strength of
magnetic attraction that superconducting magnets generate.
These magnetic fields can attract firefighting equipment and
endanger the firefighters themselves.
Quenches. Quench ducts can fail in a large fire or be
broken by falling debris, liberating quench gases into the
magnet room, creating a risk of asphyxiation for any fire
fighters present. Magnet rooms with several vertical magnets,
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