Viking conducted extensive testing throughout 2025 on its FM Approved and UL Listed Oxeo inert gas fire extinguishing systems. Widely used to protect critical assets and damage-sensitive environments such as data centers, telecommunications facilities, and control rooms, these systems provide fire protection without leaving residue.

Why these tests matter

Clean-agent fire suppression systems are commonly specified for applications where business continuity, sensitive equipment, and high-value assets must be protected. Whether using nitrogen or heavier inert gases such as IG-01, IG-55, and IG-541, designers must ensure the extinguishing concentration can be maintained long enough to effectively suppress a fire. These agents provide protection against Class A, B, and C fire hazards, while argon-based solutions can also be used for certain Class D fire risks.

However, real-world enclosures are rarely perfect. Many facilities contain unclosable openings such as voids, ventilation ducts, and corridors that cannot be permanently sealed.

Historically, these conditions often required additional extinguishing agent capacity to maintain the required concentration and hold time.

The testing program

Viking’s testing program set out to answer a key question:

The Results

Across all tested elevations and room configurations, no additional nitrogen was required to maintain performance for design concentrations up to 50% in rooms with unclosable openings in a room with 0.5% openings of the total enclosure boundaries, including walls and floors. The reason behind is that Nitrogen is closest in density to ambient air. Thus, it remains in the protected space longer and is less likely to escape through unclosable openings than heavier gases.

• No additional nitrogen is required for small unclosable openings.
• Tested guidance simplifies the specification of inert gas systems in imperfect enclosures.
• Reduced nitrogen requirements can lower storage needs and help deliver a more cost-effective solution.

This provides several benefits for fire protection engineers and designers:

For designers protecting data centers, server rooms, telecommunications facilities, and other critical environments, the testing further demonstrates Oxeo’s ability to deliver sustainable, and cost-effective fire protection.vations.

Learn more

Interested in learning more about Oxeo inert gas fire suppression technology and the 2025 testing program?