FPA announces iMist as first company to pass its UKAS residential and domestic watermist systems test

The Fire Protection Association (FPA) has announced iMist as the first company to pass its UKAS accredited BS 8458 testing process for residential and domestic watermist systems.

Watermist systems are effective fire suppression systems but must be designed with the exact environment in mind. As the design of each system is often almost entirely unique, each system should be tested prior to installation.

Designer, manufacturer and installer of watermist fire protection systems for homes and residential buildings, iMist has became the first company to pass the FPA’s UKAS accredited BS 8458 Annex C range of residential and domestic watermist system tests.

iMist’s aim was to show that its system is effective in keeping a fire suppressed in a standard residential sized room, whilst not allowing the flames or heat to escape into adjacent rooms and keeping water damage to a minimum.

One of the biggest challenges they faced in achieving this was the activation time of the watermist nozzles, but in the latest design they were found to activate 40 seconds into the test on average, keeping the fire under control, and in some instances, extinguishing it altogether.

The independent testing facility at the FPA’s laboratory in Blockley, Gloucestershire is said to provide the ideal environment to run the tests, and offers customers the opportunity to watch the tests via a video camera system.

Tony Sims, iMist Founder commented: “It was important to us to get tested by a UKAS accredited facility – it gives our customers an independent stamp of approval for the iMist system and we are proud to have the only system that can claim this. We really valued the expertise and professionalism of the FPA team at Blockley and were of course delighted that our newly designed nozzle reacted so quickly and took the performance of the system to a whole new level.”

Jade Musto, Head of Suppression Systems at the FPA said: “Testing conducted by a UKAS accredited laboratory provides evidence of the effectiveness of a system, enabling manufacturers and designers to build trust with their customers and show them they are investing in a reliable system. At the FPA we strongly believe that third party testing is the best way to achieve this and we are delighted that iMist’s system has passed the test, demonstrating its performance in the event of a fire.”

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