Owner: Fairfax County 911 Call Center – Underfloor Air Distribution Diffusers
Engineer: James Posey Associates
Metropolitan received a request for support from Fairfax County and James Posey Associates involving a safety situation at 911 call center. The project was designed around an underfloor air distribution system, which uses swirl diffusers that lay in the floor. The recently installed swirl diffusers from another manufacturer failed when stepped on. The failure was caused by the use of heat treated plastic required to meet NFPA requirements for smoke developed. Using our experience in underfloor system we chose Nailor Industries to help us resolve the situation. Nailor had previously identified the heat treated plastic as a problem and chose to use cast aluminum. Given the serious nature of the safety problem Fairfax County immediately ordered approximately 430 units. Metropolitan responded by procuring these diffusers and having them shipped in three business days.
