Deluge systems (water spray extinguishing systems) are specialised fire fighting systems developed for extinguishing fires in high fire hazard areas prone to rapid fire propagation.
Deluge system is very similar to a sprinkler system; the difference compared to the sprinkler system is that in the former only the spray nozzles in the vicinity of the fire, while in the deluge (water spray) system all spray nozzles are open, and when the system is activated, water spray is simultaneously dispersed from all nozzles. This system has large capacity water sources as it requires the water to be dispersed rapidly over a large area in a relatively short period, resulting in very rapid and efficient fire extinguishing.
Protection employing deluge (water spray) systems is used to protect facilities which require cooling or rapid fire extinguishing, such as:
- petroleum industry,
- fuel tanks,
- transformers,
- façades,
- cable ducts,
- recycling plants,
- paint shops,
- theatres.