Active Versus Passive Fire Protection - Getting the Balance Right

A key question often asked when trying to evaluate the effectiveness of a fire protection system is how to strike a balance between active and fire protection measures. Active fire protection is required to manage process fire scenarios whilst passive fire protection is fundamental to preventing escalation.  This paper will explore the means through which a designer or operator can arrive at the optimum balance of active and passive fire protection measures through the application of sophisticated, risk based fire modeling techniques. Additional considerations that should be included in reaching decisions regarding an optimum balance, such as detection, drainage, isolation and blowdown systems, and emergency response timings will be discussed.