a compact , affordable fire extinguishing system utilizes a combination of compressed inert gas tanks and solid propellent gas generators to provide a blend of inert gases to extinguish fires in an enclosure . the compressed inert gas tanks may contain gases such as argon or carbon dioxide or a combination thereof . the solid propellent gas generators may generate upon initiation either nitrogen or carbon dioxide or a combination thereof . the inert gases from both sources are blended into a composition that will extinguish fires at concentrations that will allow human occupancy during discharge . such a system can be constructed at a substantially smaller size than conventional compressed gas systems , due to the greater density of the inert gases in the propellent form in storage , which allows greater utility and affordability where installation space is limited or retrofit is desired into prior fire protection systems .