UTC Fire & Security broke ground in West Palm Beach, Fla., on a 15,000-square-foot Fire Innovation & Test (FIT) Center that will integrate testing, engineering and customer-demonstration capabilities into one facility.

Expected to open in January 2012, the center will include a 3,300-square-foot main test hall for live-fire testing of water mist, clean-agent systems, foam and other fixed fire suppression systems, as well as portable fire extinguishers. A cold-discharge hall and conference room will complete the customer experience planned for the FIT Center.

The facility will focus on technologies that suppress and extinguish fires, including the Marioff HI-FOG water mist system. HI-FOG uses 80% less water than traditional sprinklers and has been proven effective in both commercial and residential applications, but faces a critical regulatory barrier as many states mandate traditional sprinkler systems in their building codes.