Gaseous fire suppression standards in Kazakhstan: СН РК 2.02-02-2023, СП РК 2.02-102-2022 and ТР ЕАЭС 043/2017
Gaseous fire suppression in Kazakhstan is designed using two documents. Section 9 of СН РК 2.02-02-2023, Fire automation of buildings and structures, sets system requirements. Section 5.4 and appendices Г, Д and Е of СП РК 2.02-102-2022 provide methods for calculating gas mass and pressure relief openings, and agent properties. Equipment itself must comply with ТР ЕАЭС 043/2017.
Which documents apply and how are they related?
Gaseous fire suppression requirements have several levels. The technical regulation sets general rules, construction standards define system performance, the code of practice explains calculations, and EAEU regulations govern the equipment.
| Document | What it regulates | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Technical regulation General requirements for fire safety (Kazakhstan Ministry of Emergency Situations order No. 405 of 17.08.2021) | General fire safety requirements for buildings and systems | Clause 150: gaseous suppression and smoke ventilation do not operate simultaneously. Clause 212: cylinders are checked and inspected before installation |
| SN RK 2.02-02-2023 (PDF) | Fire automation: where it is required and its requirements | Section 5, table 1: buildings and rooms requiring suppression systems. Section 9: requirements for gaseous systems |
| SP RK 2.02-102-2022 (PDF) | Methods for meeting СН РК requirements and calculation procedures | Section 5.4 and appendices Г (gas mass), Д (concentrations), Е (pressure relief opening), К (number of modules) |
| TR EAEU 043/2017 | Fire safety and fire suppression equipment | Module certificate. СН РК requires compliance with this regulation (clause 4.2.1) |
| ТР ТС 032/2013 | Equipment operating under excess pressure | Requirements for module cylinders as pressure vessels |
| Industrial safety rules for pressure equipment (order No. 358 of 30.12.2014) | Operation of pressure vessels | Cylinder inspection procedure |
| СТ РК 1167 | Classification of fire suppression systems | Referenced in clause 4.1.1 of СН РК |
Russian texts of СН РК 2.02-02-2023 and СП РК 2.02-102-2022 from the Unified State Fund of Technical Regulations are available in our section Documentation. Clause numbers in this article refer to these editions.
Where is a fire suppression system required and who selects the gas?
Kazakhstan's standards do not provide a separate list of rooms specifically requiring gas. Section 5, table 1 of СН РК 2.02-02-2023 lists buildings and rooms requiring automatic fire alarms or suppression, with area thresholds and categories. The designer selects the suppression method.
Under clause 4.2.58 of СН РК, the design organisation selects the system and extinguishing agent. It considers fire hazards, the type and distribution of fire load, material properties, layout and structure. Gas is selected where water or powder would damage equipment or documents: server rooms, electrical switchgear rooms, archives.
Under clause 5.4.1.1 of СП РК, gaseous systems are used for class A, B, C and E fires: solids, liquids, gases and electrical equipment. Clause 9.1.22 of СН РК prohibits gaseous suppression of:
- materials prone to spontaneous ignition and internal smouldering: fibrous, loose or porous materials, sawdust, cotton and grass meal;
- chemicals, mixtures and polymers that smoulder or burn without air;
- metal powders: sodium, potassium, magnesium and titanium;
- metal hydrides and pyrophoric substances.
What does section 9 of СН РК 2.02-02-2023 require?
Section 9 has five parts: system construction, nozzles, protected rooms, local volumetric suppression and control. The key requirements are summarised in the table.
| Requirement | СН РК clause |
|---|---|
| There must be enough gas to achieve the specified concentration in any protected room or group of rooms discharged simultaneously | 9.1.1 |
| The system meets the specified response time | 9.1.2 |
| The design calculates gas mass, hydraulics (pipe diameters, nozzle types and quantities, discharge time) and pressure relief opening area | 9.1.9 |
| Spare gas is stored in modules matching the installed units, in sufficient quantity to restore the system in any room | 9.1.18–9.1.20 |
| Modules on one manifold have the same type, size, charge and pressure | 9.1.26 |
| The reserve is connected to the system and has manual actuation; it switches to automatic control only after discharge or failure of the main charge | 9.1.28–9.1.30 |
| Modules using liquefied agents and propellant gas have propellant leak monitoring | 9.1.32 |
| Local actuation is prohibited when modules are inside the protected room; module actuators are locked | 9.1.36, 9.1.37 |
| Nozzles withstand 1.25 times the maximum vessel pressure and are not aimed at open apertures | 9.2.2, 9.2.6 |
| The room has no unjustified openings, preventing gas escape | 9.3.1, 9.3.2 |
| A pressure relief opening or device is installed if calculations confirm it is required | 9.3.3 |
| Room structures withstand pressure during system operation | 9.3.4 |
| Opening the door inhibits automatic actuation | 9.3.7 |
| Ventilation, air heating and air conditioning shut down before gas discharge | 9.3.8 |
| Remote actuation, open-circuit monitoring, an evacuation delay before discharge and indicated actuation inhibition | 9.5.1 |
General clauses in section 4 add warning requirements. Rooms with gaseous suppression are marked with signs (4.2.75). Activation triggers visual and audible warnings inside and at the entrance (4.2.76, 4.2.77), repeated in adjacent rooms whose exit route passes through the protected room (4.2.78). An Automatic operation disabled sign is installed at the entrance (4.2.79).
Spare stock and reserve requirements are explained in detail in the article Spare stock and reserve of gaseous extinguishing agent.
Which numerical limits does СП РК 2.02-102-2022 specify?
СН РК states the requirements in words, while the code of practice and its appendices provide numerical limits. These are the values most commonly needed for design and acceptance.
| Parameter | Value | СП РК clause |
|---|---|---|
| Discharge time for 95% of the gas mass in modular liquefied-agent systems (excluding CO₂) | no more than 10 s | 5.4.1.42 |
| Response time excluding the evacuation delay | no more than 15 s | 5.4.1.44 |
| Closing dampers and fire dampers in ducts | no more than 30 s | 5.4.1.16 |
| Room leakage parameter | from 0.044 m⁻¹ (up to 10 m³) to 0.0022 m⁻¹ (up to 10,000 m³); 0.001 m⁻¹ for nitrogen and argon | 5.4.1.10, 5.4.1.11, table 9 |
| Propellant gas leakage from the module | no more than 10% of the charging pressure | 5.4.2.5 |
| Flexible connectors and copper tubes between module and pipework | at least 1.5 times the maximum vessel pressure | 5.4.3.7 |
| Internal pipework volume | no more than 80% of the liquid phase volume of the calculated gas quantity at 20 °C | 5.4.3.9 |
| Nozzles for gases heavier than air | no more than 0.5 m below the ceiling slab | 5.4.4.2 |
| Equipment containing gaseous extinguishing agent | at least 1 m from heat sources | 5.4.1.46 |
| Fire suppression station | height at least 2.5 m, temperature 5–35 °C, humidity up to 80% at 25 °C, no more than 25 m from a stairwell | 5.4.1.21, 5.4.1.25, 5.4.1.27, 5.4.1.28 |
Specified concentrations are listed in appendix Д. The values below are for n-heptane suppression. Clause Д.12 applies the same concentrations to class A2 fires.
| Gas | Specified volumetric concentration сн | СП РК table |
|---|---|---|
| HFC-125 | 9,8 % | Д.6 |
| HFC-227ea | 7,2 % | Д.8 |
| HFC-23 | 14,6 % | Д.5 |
| Carbon dioxide (CO₂) | 34,9 % | Д.3 |
| Inergen | 36,5 % | Д.10 |
Some sites in Kazakhstan are high above sea level, which the standard accounts for. Coefficient К3 in table Д.11 corrects for elevation: 1.00 at sea level, 0.96 at 300 m, 0.93 at 600 m, 0.89 at 900 m, 0.86 at 1,200 m and 0.82 at 1,500 m. This correction must not be omitted for sites in Almaty and other foothill cities.
How should an FK-5-1-12 system be designed?
Fluoroketone FK-5-1-12, sold as Novec 1230 and equivalents, is widely used in Kazakhstan and in FireStop modules. It is absent from table 8 of СП РК 2.02-102-2022, which lists carbon dioxide, agents 23, 125, 218, 227ea and 318Ц, sulphur hexafluoride, nitrogen, argon and Inergen. Appendix Д also lacks fluoroketone concentrations, so calculation methods come from other documents.
Kazakhstan's standards expressly allow this approach. Clause 9.1.6 of СН РК requires systems using other agents to follow supplementary standards for the particular agent and site, or the system and agent manufacturer's instructions. СП РК recommends calculation methods approved in Kazakhstan (5.4.1.19), while clause 4.2.2 of СН РК permits equipment complying with national, interstate and international standards authorised in the republic.
The main fluoroketone document is ISO 14520-5:2019, the part of the ISO 14520 series dedicated to FK-5-1-12. ISO 14520-1:2015 provides general design rules for mass calculation, discharge time, enclosure integrity and safety. The parts are sold through KazStandard's online store. The European equivalent is EN 15004, whose charts are referenced in the FireStop passport for charging.
| Fuel | Extinguishing concentration | Minimum design concentration |
|---|---|---|
| n-Heptane (class B) | 4,5 % | 5,9 % |
| Class A surface fires (wood, PMMA, PP, ABS) | 3,4–4,1 % | 5,3 % |
| Higher-hazard class A | none | 5,6 % |
| Ethanol | 5,5 % | 7,2 % |
| Methanol | 6,5 % | 8,5 % |
| Methane / propane inerting | 8,8 % / 8,1 % | 9,7 % / 8,9 % |
Values come from tables 4–6 of ISO 14520-5:2019. The commonly quoted 4.5% is the n-heptane extinguishing concentration, not the design concentration. The standard multiplies the extinguishing concentration by a safety factor of 1.3: 5.9% for class B and 5.3% for class A surface fires.
A different value has applied in Russia since 26 May 2026. Amendment No. 2 to СП 485.1311500.2020 (Russian Emergencies Ministry order No. 373) sets a single specified n-heptane extinguishing concentration of 5.4% for FK-5-1-12; previously the code gave a minimum of 4.2%. СП 485 is not mandatory in Kazakhstan, but modules and designs supplied from Russia may be calculated from 5.4%. This should be checked against the concentration used to determine the charge.
ISO 14520-1 calculates gas mass using m = V / S × C / (100 − C), where V is room volume in m³, C is design concentration in percent, and S is fluoroketone specific vapour volume. At 20 °C, S = 0.0719 m³/kg (ISO 14520-5, table 2), giving the following mass per cubic metre:
| Design concentration | FK-5-1-12 mass per 1 m³ at 20 °C | When used |
|---|---|---|
| 5,3 % | 0.78 kg | Class A surface fires: server rooms, archives, electrical switchgear rooms |
| 5,6 % | 0.83 kg | Higher-hazard class A |
| 5,9 % | 0.87 kg | Flammable liquids, class B |
This is the base mass before corrections. The designer also accounts for room temperature, elevation, leakage and calculated gas remaining in modules and pipes. Hydraulics are calculated using the equipment manufacturer's method or software.
The standard separately requires assessment of risks to people from the agent, combustion products and fluoroketone decomposition products in flames (ISO 14520-5, section 5). Fike's agent documentation permits use in occupied rooms at design concentrations up to 10% and exposure up to 5 minutes. This does not remove the discharge delay and evacuation requirements of СН РК.
Frequently asked questions
Does Russia's СП 485 apply in Kazakhstan?
No. Russia's СП 485.1311500.2020 is not mandatory in Kazakhstan. Sites in Kazakhstan follow СН РК 2.02-02-2023 and СП РК 2.02-102-2022; EAEU and Customs Union equipment regulations remain shared with Russia. Clause numbers and some values differ, so a Kazakhstan project takes values from Kazakhstan's standards only.
Must cylinders be inspected before installation?
Yes. Clause 212 of the General requirements for fire safety technical regulation requires gaseous suppression cylinders to be checked and inspected before installation. The procedure is set by the industrial safety rules for operating pressure equipment, approved by order No. 358 of 30 December 2014. Subsequent inspection intervals are stated in the module passport.
Can gaseous suppression discharge while people are in the room?
Gas is discharged only after people leave the room. СН РК requires an evacuation delay, visual and audible warnings inside and at the entrance, and automatic actuation inhibition when the door opens (9.5.1, 9.3.7, 4.2.76, 4.2.77). Ventilation shutdown time must not exceed the total evacuation time either (9.3.9).
What input data is needed for a gaseous suppression design?
Clause 5.4.1.8 of СП РК requires details of raised floors and suspended ceilings, rooms protected simultaneously, slab construction and services, permanently open aperture area, maximum permissible room pressure, temperature, pressure and humidity ranges, occupancy and evacuation routes. With this information, you can request design services.