Industrial Fire Journal 2017

INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL F o r p r o f e s s i o n a l s p r ot e c t i n g l i v e s , a s s e t s a n d i n f r a s t r u c t u r e w o r l d w i d e Fourth quarter 2017 issue no.110

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INTRODUCING

THE NEW, PATENT PENDING

SINGLE LANE MAX TANK

MAX CAPACITY FOR SINGLE LANE TANK SHUTTLE OPERATIONS ON NARROW ROADS

The SINGLE LANE MAX gives you 2.5 Xs capacity of a standard tank without obstructing water tender traffic!

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Cutting it fine High-pressure cutting extinguisher lands at Glasgow Prestwick Airport

Cradle to grave Complexity of foam management takes centre stage in Budapest

Dynax REACH ad final.pdf

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7:23 PM

All Green for REACH 2020 ...3 Years Early!

SUPERVAC.COM/VALOR

INTRODUCING VALOR FROM SUPERVAC

The Valor Series is the latest in PPV innovations from Super Vac. Featuring a Patent Pending frame design that is simple and intuitive to position on the fire ground, the Valor is engineered to ease the toughest ventilation challenges.

The Valor PPV features a tough, tubular aluminum frame (15% lighter than previous models), full width handle, real rubber never-flat tires, 5-position tilt via the quick step pad, and the ability to easily attached ducting to the output. The Valor was designed for maximum versatility.

C6

C6 AFFF

FluoroSurfactant

Full Roll Cage Aluminum Frame

Protects key components - 15% lighter than steel frames

C

M

Fold Down Ergonomic Handle

Folds down within frame for storage

Y

CM

PFOA Impurity

PFOA-Related Impurities

Dynax C6 Fluorosurfactants since January 2017

<12.5 ppb

<500 ppb

REACH EU Regulation effective July 2020

<25 ppb

<1000 ppb

CY

CMY

K

C6 AFFF Concentrates for EN / UL Performance

C6 Fluorosurfactants

MY

PFOA Impurity

PFOA-Related Impurities

6% C6 AFFF 3% C6 AFFF 1% C6 AFFF

~0.25 ppb ~0.50 ppb ~1.50 ppb

~9 ppb ~18 ppb ~54 ppb

REACH EU Regulation effective July 2020

<25 ppb

<1000 ppb

5-Position Tilt Frame Easy to maneuver

AFFF Foam Solutions from C6 AFFF Concentrates will have a PFOA impurity level of ~15 parts per trillion (ppt).

15 ppt = 0.015 ppb = 0.0000000015% — 15 ppt correlates to 15 seconds out of 32,000 years!

Why Wait?

European Commission Regulation (EC) 2017/1000 (June 13, 2017): This new REACH regulation states that PFOA and PFOA-related substances (in products such as C6 Fluorosurfactants, C6 AFFF Foam Concentrates and C6 AFFF Foam Solutions) “shall not, from 4 July 2020, be used in the production of, or placed on the market in a concentration equal to or above 25 ppb of PFOA including its salts, or 1,000 ppb of one or a combination of PFOA-related substances.”

Precision Spun Steel Shroud 7-Point Cast Aluminum Blade

Holds up better than plastic in high heat

Easy to maneuver

Published Quarterly by

TOPPER CONTENTS A division of Hemming Group Ltd, 32, Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2SS, England Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7973 6694

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10 Petrochem response New record-breaking pump package makes move from marine world to land; report from exercise at a military fuel depot; review of large vapourcloud explosions.

E-mail: m.spillane@hgluk.com Website: www.hemmingfire.com

Editor

Jose Maria Sanchez de Muniain j.sanchez@hgluk.com +44 (0)1935 37 4011

Deputy Editor

Ann-Marie Knegt am.knegt@hgluk.com +44 (0)1935 37 4001

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International Sales Manager

Mike Coward m.coward@hgluk.com +44 (0)1732 448717 Kelly Francis k.francis@hgluk.com +44 (0)207 973 4666

Managing Director Bill Butler

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TAKE OUT A SUBSCRIPTION: http://www.hemmingfire.com/ subscription.php

30 Foam The Foam Summit, Budapest.

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lndustrial Fire Journal, ISSN 0964 - 9719 (USPS 021-884), is published quarterly March, May, September, December, by Hemming lnformation Services, a division of Hemming Group Ltd, 8 The Old Yarn Mills, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3RQ. UK. The US annual subscription price is $80.

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Design & Artwork by Graphic Examples, Sherborne.

Printed in England by Latimer Trend & Co Ltd, Plymouth, UK.

26 Vehicles Stabilometer makes debut; major order for Panther 8x8s; automatic hose recovery unit makes light work of the job nobody wants to do.

28 PPE A clever algorithm predicts heat strain in PPE wearers 15 minutes into the future.

Annual Subscription: Europe £40.00 or €60 (incl. p&p); rest of world £50.00 or US$80.00 (incl. p&p).

Send all subscriptions, changes of address and correspondence to address above.

18 Training Large investment by Royal Schiphol Group opens up training opportunities.

20 Industrial fire fighting Private fire brigade takes on the Red Bull Air Race; exclusive report from the UK's first airport to use cutting extinguisher technology.

Group Sales Manager

Production – Tim Malone t.malone@hgluk.com +44 (0)1935 37 4014

News, events & comment

38 Heritage protection The challenges of museums and archives; protecting the 'fairy city of the heart'.

42 Fixed suppression Why Australia embraced engine-bay protection, how Dubai is protecting large-scale transformers, and why it pays to do witness and proving testing; plus new guide for plant-room fire protection.

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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL are not necessarily those of Hemming Information Services. IFJ is in no way responsible or legally liable for any statements, picture captions, reports or technical anomalies made by authors in their commissioned articles.

© 2017 All Rights Reserved Industrial Fire Journal (ISSN 0964-9719)

51 Detection Security camera doubles up as a detector; detection for waste processing plants; brewery undertakes six-year upgrade project.

56 Evacuation Technology outpaces legislatory frameworks.

58 Passive fire protection news

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Front cover: Glasgow Prestwick Airport

FOURTH QUARTER 2017 < INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL <

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NEWS

Comment So, you’ve got a brand new fixed water system to protect your facility – and the paperwork to prove it. The authority having jurisdiction has even been round and checked it over; they say it looks good. All that money has been well spent. It’s time to relax.

Not quite, according to Gary Howe of Zurich Risk Engineering. At the beginning of his presentation on the importance of proving testing, he revealed to delegates at the International Water Mist Conference (see p42) that when he first started working on water systems he was witnessing a 90% failure rate. Pipework blowing apart, deluge valves, solenoids and detection systems not operating. Today, he admitted, things had improved, but he advised everyone never to rely on paperwork and to always seek answers to three basic questions: is the system in service? Will it work? Is it designed right? The answers may require some legwork, as Howe himself knows, having himself closed off a tunnel carrying one of the UK’s busiest highways, but it's worth it to be satisfied a system will work in practice.

The hurdles faced by innovative technologies also feature in this issue, particularly in the context of automated, guided emergency evacuation (p56). A key challenge here is shared with the industry sector that is bringing in driverless cars, namely, who is to blame when things go wrong? If a legal framework is not worked out by the safety industry as enthusiastically as it is in the automotive side, then in ten years’ time we will still be sticking up green-man exit signs all around our facilities while driverless cars zip around on our roads.

Jose Maria Sanchez de Muniain, Editor

Cooling all firefighters A new flameretardant cooling vest that integrates small electric fans within layers of man-made fabrics will be available in Europe from spring 2018.

The vest introduced by Teijin is designed reduce body temperature and heart rate through sweat absorption, quick drying and moisture permeability.

According to the manufacturer, the new technology is an answer to conventional flame-retardant clothing for firefighters that traps body heat and can contribute to the risk of heat stroke, particularly in the summer months. The cooling vest is designed to assist firefighters in maintaining their performance and energy levels while fighting fires.

The outer layer of the vest consists of a heat resistant, flameretardant meta-aramid fibre while the mid and inner layers are made of polyester fabrics. A set of integrated electric fans pull in air from outside for up to eight hours.

The cooling vest will be available in Europe through LHD Group Deutschland. It was unveiled at the A+A 2017 exhibition in Messe Dusseldorf, Germany, in October.

Massive recall Over 40 million Kidde fire extinguishers have been recalled in US and Canada following numerous cases of limited or failed activation.

The recall announcement of 2 November reports that the affected fire extinguishers can become clogged or require excessive force to discharge and can fail to activate during a fire emergency. In addition, the nozzle can detach with enough force to pose an impact hazard.

Two styles of extinguisher are affected: plastic handle fire extinguishers and push-button Pindicator fire extinguishers.

The recall affects 134 plastic-handle fire extinguishers models that were sold in red, white and silver, and are rated either ABC or BC. These were manufactured between January 1973 and August this year, with some models having already been recalled in 2009 and 2015.

Eight models of push-button Pindicator fire extinguishers that were sold primarily for kitchen and personal watercraft applications are also affected. These fire extinguishers were manufactured between August 1995 and September 2017.

According to the recall notice by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, in the US Kidde has received approximately 391 reports of limited or failed activation or nozzle detachment, including one fatality, approximately 16 injuries, including smoke inhalation and minor burns, and approximately 91 reports of property damage. The fatality took place in 2014 when, following a crash, a car burst into flames and emergency responders could not get the recalled Kidde fire extinguisher to work.

In Canada the company has received two reports of limited or failed activation, of which one involved property damage. No reports of consumer injuries have been received in Canada related to the use of the extinguishers.

It is estimated that around 37.8 million units in the US as well as around 2.7 million units in Canada are affected by the recall.

Consumers are being advised to contact Kidde immediately to request a free replacement fire extinguisher and for instructions on returning the recalled unit.

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✜ INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL ✜ FOURTH quarter 2017

Safety in mine A new ISO standard has been introduced to improve accident reporting in all surface and underground mines by type and cause.

ISO 19434 enables accidents to be coded according to their causes and consequences. It introduces a unified system that will help understand the main types of accidents, their location, the extent of the resulting injuries, and whether they occurred as a result of human error.

Up to now, ISO mining standards have mainly focussed on safety features for machinery.

Published in October, the new standard defines different categories of causes, types and consequences of mine accidents with a three-digit code is assigned to each category. These can then be combined to allocate a unique 15-digit code to each type of mine accident, which can then be used in statistical analysis.

In presenting a common understandable language for communication between all parts involved in safety, health and environment issues in mines, the hope is that working conditions can improve across all operations in the mining sector.

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NEWS

PFOA and drinking water New Jersey is to become the first US state to set formal maximum contaminant levels requiring state-wide testing of public drinking water systems for perfluorooctoanic acid (PFOA) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA).

PFOA was used in a wide variety of consumer products and industrial applications, including the manufacture of non-stick cookware and food packaging. Various types of PFASs, including PFOA, have also been used in foams used for fire fighting and training.

The Department of Environmental Protection has accepted the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute’s recommended drinking water standard of 14 parts per trillion for PFOA. The DEP has also formally proposed a standard of 13 parts per trillion for PFNA. PFOA and PFNA belong to a group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Some PFASs, including PFOA and PFNA, do not break down readily in the environment and remain in the body for a long time once absorbed through drinking or eating.

While scientists continue to study the health effects of other types of PFASs, a growing body of studies suggests PFOA and PFNA may impact liver and immune system function, increase blood cholesterol levels, and cause delays in growth and development of foetuses and infants. PFOA may also increase the risk of certain types of cancer.

New Jersey began looking at PFOA following reports of elevated levels of the chemical in drinking water sources adjacent to a Dupont facility in Parkersburg, West Virginia, that used the chemical. DEP and the US Environmental Protection Agency then focused investigation efforts in Salem County communities adjacent to the Dupont Chambers Works plant, along the Delaware River in Pennsville.

Under the oversight of EPA and DEP, the Chemours Company, DuPont’s successor, is installing a containment wall to prevent the spread of contamination of PFOA and other chemicals from groundwater to the river, augmenting a pump-and-treat system that has been in operation for many years.

DEP is also currently working with EPA, the Department of Defense, and the Federal Aviation Administration on investigations and remediation activities related to PFAS contamination from fire-fighting foams, notably at Joint Base McGuire-DixLakehurst in Burlington and Ocean counties and the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic County.

Litigation in Minnesota

FOAM

FIGHTS

The US State of Minnesota is seeking US$5 billion in damages from 3M, alleging that fluorochemicals manufactured by the company increased the rates of cancer in Washington County.

A study quoted by the attorney general said there was a “statistically significant” increase in cancer rates for people living in Oakdale, one of the communities affected by the pollution. The study by Dr David Sunding of the University of California at Berkeley, also pointed out that effects on the community lessened after the chemicals were filtered out of the Oakdale municipal water.

The final figure sought in damages was revealed on 17 November at Hennepin County District Court; the documents relate to a lawsuit that was originally filed in 2010, and which is scheduled to go to trial in February 2018. The lawsuit could be the largest environmental action in state history.

3M is disputing the study’s conclusions, saying that no health effect to human beings have ever been proven.

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28.11.17 13:17

FOURTH quarter 2017 ✜ INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL ✜

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NEWS

fluorine-free Foam review The Lastfire Group has completed its testing of the performance capabilities of current fluorine-free and C6 fluorosurfactant-based foam concentrates for storage tank fire applications.

This independent, end-user driven review involved almost 200 tests under the control of end users and foam suppliers and has cost in excess of 500,000 euros (US$580,000) contributed by Lastfire and foam suppliers involved in the project.

The third and final phase of testing was carried out at the GESIP training facility in France. It involved the ‘real life’ application of foam to an 11m-diameter tank using NFPA guidelines; application techniques included aspirated and unaspirated monitors, system pourers and a CAFS generator.

The first phase involved the development of test protocols, while the second phase saw tests carried out in a simulated bund fire scenario.

In combination with Lastfire’s work on Cradle-to-Grave Foam Assurance, the results are expected to represent a major step towards developing long-term sustainable policies for storage tank firefighting.

The test results will be subject to internal review prior to general publication.

electrical hazards testing

US CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD NEWS HARVEY AFTERMATH “Don’t be lulled into a false sense of safety by thinking that ‘it can’t/won’t happen here,’” was CSB chair Vanessa Sutherland’s conclusion during a news conference last month on the CSB investigation of the fires which occurred at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, as a result of Hurricane Harvey in August.

As Hurricane Harvey was approaching the Gulf Coast, a number of the industrial facilities in the region made plans to shut down all or part of their operations. However, at the Arkema site the water rose so rapidly that the first combustion occurred less than 72 hours after flooding commenced.

The facility was not prepared for such heavy rainfall and rapid flood rate; the backup generators at Arkema were elevated 0.6m off the ground, whereas the flooding exceeded 1m near the generators.

The chemical plant lost power and refrigeration capabilities, causing organic peroxides stored in containers at the facility to become unstable and break down, leading to a number of fires and explosions.

“As tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico increase in frequency or intensity, it is imperative that facilities have effective emergency response procedures in place… There is a valuable lesson that facilities in the Gulf and elsewhere should note: reassess continuity of operations plans and worst-case scenario assumptions. Plan and plan again,” said Sutherland.

Safety video The CSB has released an eight-minute video outlining the key lessons learned from the fire that seriously injured four workers on 22 November 2016 at the Exxon Mobil Refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The fire occurred when operators inadvertently removed bolts that secured a piece of pressure-containing equipment to a plug valve. When the operators then attempted to open the valve, it came apart and released flammable isobutane, which formed a vapour cloud that quickly ignited.

The CSB's final report on the incident was released on 18 September 2017.

MRR explosions

Work is set to begin on a large electrical hazards laboratory on the FM Global Research Campus in West Glocester, Rhode Island, USA. The 3,455 m2 facility will provide expanded testing capacity and capabilities for a wide range of electrical products intended for use in hazardous locations and other applications.

The two-story structure, which is expected to be completed in early 2019, will include two explosion test cells, one for small products and samples and the other for large equipment.

In addition to the two explosion test cells, the first floor of the new laboratory will include labs for hazardous location certification, including metrology, corrosion and chemical compatibility testing. A new gas detection lab will also be included in the new laboratory to test fixed-point and open-path gas detection systems typically used by oil, gas, power generation, chemical process and waste facilities. The new lab will allow FM to test for more than 40 different gases, including many exotic gases.

In conjunction with a 390-m2 electrical hazards laboratory built in 2003, the new facilities will enable the company to provide results faster and evaluate more customers’ products in parallel.

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✜ INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL ✜ FOURTH quarter 2017

More details have been released about two explosions that occurred within weeks of each other, resulting in the deaths of three workers at a Midland Resource Recovery facility in Philippi, West Virginia, US. The explosion of May 24, 2017 killed two workers and severely injured one worker, including the founder and president of MRR. A CSB investigation began on May 28, 2017 but less than a month later a second explosion took place killing an employee of a contractor.

Amongst the company’s services is the decommissioning of old or unserviceable odorant equipment, including the removal of mercaptan odour prior to equipment destruction. Mercaptan, an odorant for natural gas, is difficult to remove and even small quantities can cause complaints and false natural gas leak concerns.

In May three MRR workers, including the company founder and president, were working to drain a number of tanks that had been filled with cleaning material sodium hypochlorite the previous month. One violently exploded, killing two workers and seriously injuring the third worker. Less than a month later, during a draining operation another tank exploded, killing one of the contractors performing the work.

According to the CSB, the explosions likely occurred when unintended chemical reaction(s) caused highly reactive or unstable chemicals to form in the respective vessels.

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Hemm

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EVENTS 2018

16-18 January, Airport Fire Officers Association Annual Conference, London Gatwick Hilton, UK

The annual conference of the Airport Fire Officers Association will cover topics such as interoperability, training and simulation, and victim identification as well as case studies including the Fort Lauderdale Airport active shooter incident of 6 January 2017.

There are two workshops on day one. The first, run by Kenny Pearce and Bob Rearie from the National Operational Guidance Programme, provides an opportunity for attendees to advance their knowledge of UK National Operational Guidance and UK National Operational Learning. The second workshop, delivered

by John Lord, Simtrainer UK and AFOA’s Ian Webb, will focus on the principles learnt by UK and Irish Airport Fire Services in their collaboration to create an analytical risk assessment system.

The main conference starts on January 17 and is sponsored by training company Simulation. Keynote speaker Gavin Watts, the new chief fire officer of West Sussex Fire and Rescue, will share his thoughts on how local authorities and RFFS should work together during incident response.

Other speakers include Andy Woodward, on secondment to the College of Policing from Gloucestershire Police as the national DVI and civil contingencies training coordinator. He will talk about disaster victim identification awareness and scene management.

Neil Gray, aerodrome inspector at the CAA, will update the audience on the latest legislation and standards, and Jon Round, head of airspace, air traffic management, and aerodromes at the CAA, will provide a strategic overview of the interactions between these three aviation sectors.

Finally, Mark Scoggins, health and safety and environmental law solicitor, will give a presentation on defending organisations and individuals in the construction, chemical, transport, waste and water sectors in regulatory and civil cases.

An exhibition will run alongside the conference featuring exhibitors such as ATACC, KFT, Newcastle International Airport Training Academy, Total Safety, Holmatro, Fire Training Group, Weber Rescue, Texport, Simply Training, eFireservice, Fireblast, International Fire Training Centre, Ballyclare, Lion Apparel, Bristol Uniforms, Fire Control Services, and Angus Fire.

For more information visit: www.afoa.co.uk

21-23 January, Intersec, International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Dubai, UAE The international security, safety and fire protection trade fair celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2018 and is expected to attract over 31,000 visitors from 128 countries.

Intersec will offer seven sections: commercial security, fire and rescue, safety and health, homeland security and policing, perimeter and physical security, cyber security, and smart home and building automation.

New for 2018 are the Drones Pavilion and indoor Drone Zone, while a Wearable Security Pavilion will highlight the latest advances in smart textiles, including head-up displays, body cameras, embedded sensors, and exo-skeleton communications.

The Safety Design in Buildings Pavilion will return in the Fire and Rescue section, which will also feature an outdoor demonstration zone.

The exhibition’s three-day conference will be headlined by Dubai’s Security Industry Regulatory Agency, where the Emirate’s

15-16 March, Tunnels: safety and fire protection, Hotel Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands From ventilation and fire detection to evacuations and terrorist attacks, the third annual conference on safety and fire protection in tunnels organised by Enigma CG will provide a cross-industry view on the major safety issues facing metro, road and rail tunnels in Europe and around the world.

Taking place over two days, the event will offer a conference; networking sessions; and interactive panel discussions focusing on the challenges involved in the development, operation and maintenance of tunnels. Over 20 industry experts from 15

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< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017

security regulatory body will provide the latest updates on Dubai’s Regulation of Security Industry Law. The 2018 edition of Intersec will also once again see the participation of the IWMA, the International Water Mist Association, which will hold a half-day seminar on 21 January (iwma.net).

For more information visit www.intersecexpo.com. countries will deliver presentations on everything from the latest thinking and expertise on issues such as ventilation and lighting to high-level case studies of incidents such as the March 2016 attack on the Brussels metro.

Speakers include Markus Vogt from the International Fire Academy in Switzerland on tunnel ventilation; Matthew Burrows, station manager with London Fire Brigade, talking about the use of tunnel safety systems during a terrorist incident; Dr Fathi Tarada from Mosen, who will look at underground fires in metro systems, including the firebomb attack on Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui Station in February 2017; and Alan Curran from Cross Rail discussing the delivery of fire compliance on the UK’s Cross Rail project.

For more information visit: www.enigma-conferences.com/ tunnels-safety-and-fire-protection-2018.

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SAVE! THE! DATE! 18th International Water Mist Conference London, UK 19th & 20th September 2018 Thanks to this year‘s Sponsors:

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FOURTH quarter 2017 < INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL <

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From ship to shore The largest pump/monitor package in the world is about to transfer from the marine world to high-hazard land applications; Jose Sanchez de Muniain finds out more details.

C

The Ton Canon skid monitor can throw an astounding 80,000lpm over 200m. It is driven by two Caterpillar-C32 diesel engines and FFS SFP400x500 fire pumps.

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onsisting of an 80,000lpm monitor and two 45,000lpm pumps mounted on a single container, the technology made its explosive debut on land in November during Adipec, the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Exhibition & Conference.

The pump/monitor package is proven technology that has been installed on fire-fighting ships around the world for the past 15 years. In fact, earlier last month Fire Fighting Systems won the contract to place its pump and monitor on Singapore Civil Defence’s new fireboat, which will be the world’s largest fireboat in capacity. FFS estimates that its pumps and monitors are installed on over 4,000 ships in the world. “If you look at the entire vertical market for fire-fighting ships, we have approximately 90% of that market,” says newly appointed managing director – landbased systems, Roger Champagne.

The trend for increasingly large storage tank farms, LNG site, nuclear sites and refineries has now made the land-based market attractive enough for the Norway-headquartered manufacturer, who is currently actively looking to build a land-based network of agents and distributors that mirrors its existing marine equivalent.

"The transition of the specialist marine equipment to land has required some adaptation," admits Champagne. "Obviously a monitor and a pump on a ship are fixed, so we had to take the pumps equipment and install them in containers or trailers to make them mobile, which is something we were not so familiar with. And going mobile with pumps and monitors involves large-diameter hose systems, which in some scenarios could be 4 to 5km away.”

However, some aspects that would have been perhaps more challenging to other manufacturers have not been the case for FFS: all the equipment is already listed and graded for use with seawater. The pumps are made of nickel aluminium bronze with duplex stainless steel shaft and impeller, as are the monitors. “We carry any sort of marine listing you can dream of, including Russian and Chinese standards,” adds Champagne.

The result of the R&D is a range of systems that includes monitors and trailers, skids and pump packages, trucks, hoses, foam systems and control systems. And of course, the world’s largest water monitor for storage tank fire fighting, the Ton Canon skid. Driven by two Caterpillar-C32 diesel engines and FFS SFP400x500 fire pumps, this heavy-duty monitor can flow over 80,000lpm – or 4,800 m3ph – over a distance of over 200m. That equates to delivering 1.4 tonnes of water/foam mixture, every second.

Three other smaller land-based monitors are also on offer, varying in diameter from 6 to 12 inches and with flow capacities of 45,500lpm (12,000gpm), 22,700lpm (6,000gpm)

< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017

and 11,300lpm (3,000gpm); a smaller, 4-inch monitor that will flow at 9,500lpm (2,500gpm) is currently under development to complement the range.

While the launch into specific land-based systems is a new move for FFS, that is not to say that its solutions have not been actively sought for high-risk installations on land. In January last year an FFS system was commissioned on the HES Wilhelmshaven tank farm in Germany, and two of its elevated monitors are in the Exon facilities in Singapore, which was managed by its agent DNM. A video on Youtube shows the system being tested in the tank farm in HES Wilhelmshaven.

Here, the large-diameter hose in a container on a truck is attached to a fixed hydrant, and water is supplied by three 45,000lpm pumps to a remote controlled monitor with a capacity of 45,000lpm, which throws the water over 180m.

The majority of the company’s equipment is manufactured at its 7,200m2 facilities in Amal, Sweden, including the Atex-certified electronic control panels and most of the foam proportioning equipment. In a proprietary, state-of-the-art testing facility, products are tested on 550kW or 2,000kW test beds prior to delivery. These include pump head and capacity tests; efficiency; power consumption; suction performance; and pump full-load testing. Currently the company is carrying out final tests to ensure that its pumps packages are capable of self-priming, and capable of using fluorine-free foam, as required by many offshore operators.

"The in-house engineering know-how," says Champagne, "affords some interesting technical plus points to our equipment. To avoid complications in an emergency situation, our foam proportioners are directly mounted on our pump, in an around-the-pump design that uses the extra flywheel on the diesel driver to introduce foam directly, with no pressure drop.

As we know how much water will flow we have the exact proportion.” Furthermore, some of the engineering knowledge gained in the marine world, where space for equipment is severely limited, is also proving useful on land. “In addition, we use the same water that is being pumped to cool the engine, which means we can fit two pumps in a single container.”

On returning from Adipec, Champagne reports that the large-capacity land-based systems had generated a huge amount of interest from both owners and potential distributors.

“FFS has solid experience in engineering of the complete fire-fighting system which enable us to ensure performance and compliance without use of a costly third party. This ability will sure be very useful also for many land-based projects. Our ambition for the land-based market is to become a complete system supplier like we are for the marine market,” concludes Champagne.

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Fuel tank response

Setting up a complex water-relay system to deal with contaminated run-off from a 25m-diameter tank’s bund was part of the unusual scenario of a training exercise at a military fuel depot, reports Jose Maria Sanchez de Muniain.

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ake time to fully assess an incident and a site before beginning operations, prioritise tasks according to importance and do not work in cells: all these were some of the learning points that were picked up during Exercise Proactive, which took place on Sunday 17 September.

It is a sign of these troubled times that an actual terrorist incident happens in London on the day before the exercise, which is itself simulating a terrorist threat. It results in two fire departments near the UK capital being unable to travel to the Dorset & Wiltshire Training Centre, which is located within the confines of a military fuel depot, 120km away in southwest England.

The main effect of the terrorist attack is a reduction in participating high-volume pump teams from six to four, which come from Hampshire Fire & Rescue, Dorset & Wiltshire FRS, Oxfordshire FRS and West Sussex FRS. In today’s scenario, intelligence has been received that a petrochemical site is a current terrorist target. A back-up fire-fighting main has been requested as well as the means to collect and contain any fire-fighting media run-off in a nearby lake. The participants are obliged to also consider that the lake is in an area that is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, which means the location has legal protection and must not be contaminated. Furthermore, in order to use the lake as a containment area for firewater, it will first need emptying into a nearby (simulated) river.

Learning points included the importance of donning appropriate PPE when working near water.

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< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH qUaRTeR 2017

The provision of a fire-fighting main and run-off containment requires the deployment of a number of HVPs. There are 51 such units shared by 40 fire departments across England and Wales, deployable both locally as well as nationwide. Their first large-scale deployment was to the Buncefield fire in 2005, and since then they have been used mainly for wide-area flooding, coastal tidal surges and wildfire incidents.

Prior to the start of the exercise, each participating fire department is tasked with devising a deployment and recovery plan; during the exercise they have to formulate, agree and implement the plans in coordination with their fellow fire departments on site at the West Moors Fuel Depot.

Sitting in the briefing area are Crew Manager (Ringwood) Patrick West, Hampshire FRS, who is directing the exercise, and Watch Manager Matt Kiddell, Dorset & Wiltshire FRS, who is in charge of liaison and safety. They run through the timetable and the exercise amendments that have resulted from the last-minute absence of colleagues. West explains that the water in the containment area will only be temporarily removed, and that instead of being pumped into a river – as would happen in the real event – it will be pumped in a long hose loop back into the containment lake. He adds that onsite hydrants are not to be used; a TETRA radio must be present at each location; participants should be aware that as a military site there are guard patrols with dogs (‘they do bite but they are on a lead’). He chooses the incident commander for the day, and designates West Sussex FRS to deal with the supply of water to the fire monitor. The teams then have a few minutes to formulate their plans, identify the locations for the equipment, and ascertain which roads require hose ramps so that they can remain open.

After only a matter of minutes the action begins and all personnel deploy to the exercise area, which consists of a 25m-diameter storage tank containing diesel, a pond (the water supply) and a lake (the run-off containment area) situated 800m and 900m away, respectively.

In terms of equipment, the focus of the day is on the HVP sets, each of which consists of two modules carried by a prime mover vehicle. The HVP pump module carries the hydrosub submersible pump module and a hose box containing 1km of 150mm delivery hose in 50-m lengths. The second HVP module consists of two individual hose boxes, each containing 1km of 150-mm delivery hose in 50m lengths.

The teams split into two working areas, one for water supply

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A submersible pump is deployed in the pond near the fuel storage tank to feed the monitor. and another for run-off containment. The containment working area involves two HVPs and three hose lines, boosted mid-point at around 700m; one hose line will empty the containment area (ie lake) at around 4,000lpm, while the second pump will run a twin line, fulfilling the same task, but at around 7,000lpm. These lines will run a 1.4km loop that simulates the water being pumped out of the containment area into a nearby river. “One roadway has to be maintained open, so that [road] will have three ramps, one for a single line and one for a twin. And there’s a ramp section for twin lines that has to be done over the water supply way as well,” comments Kiddell.

Walking to the lake from the water supply area, it is difficult not to wonder how common this type of scenario is for fire exercises. Today's emphasis, after all, is not on putting a fire out, but on dealing with contaminated runoff. Kiddell expands: “For a large scale incident it will always be a consideration.

We have to manage the environment and we cannot let contaminated water run down the road, particularly if fuel is leaking into the bund area. You could potentially have a

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running fuel fire if we are not managing that, so it is about getting that out of the way and dealing with it.

“In any incident we have to protect the environment. If it’s a large-risk incident then the environment becomes a lower priority, but at some point we have to focus on that priority.”

The shadow of Buncefield hangs over the whole exercise, which picks up several learning points from the COMAH report Buncefield: Why did it happen? This report outlined the underlying causes of the explosion and fire at the oil storage depot in Hemel Hempstead on 11 December 2005, where bunding arrangements for managing firewater were a major factor in the devastation. When bunds fill to the point of overflowing, then burning fuel (which floats on water) can escape over the top of a bund. The bunding at Buncefield had many flaws, which caused large volumes of fuel, foam and fire-fighting water to leak out of the bunds. Those bunds, which were neither impermeable nor fire resistant, were unable to handle the large volumes of firewater involved in the incident. The pollutants at Buncefield flowed as far as the M1 highway several hundreds of metres away, and also penetrated the chalk stratum to a potable water aquifer.

Walking towards the location of the second working group, which is working on containment, a firefighter is at the halfway point of the twin hose line, converting one of the hydrosubs into a relay – or booster – pump; this is done by simply detaching the strainer and attaching the twin hose (converted into a single line) instead. Highlighting the logistical complexity of organising such training opportunities is exercise co-organiser Chas McGill of Hampshire FRS.“The trouble is you don’t get a chance to do this sort of relay if you don’t’ have two HVPs. You can’t do it without resources,” he says.

It is now nearly 11am, around one and a half hours since the exercise started, and the twin-hose water-relay system of the water containment group is nearly ready to charge, with one Hampshire firefighter walking the line to check all the couplings along the 1.4km loop. “Operationally that is a really good lay. If this was a road system on a chemical plant, this could not snake,” observes McGill.

Also witnessing the exercise is Colin Falconer, air separation plant manager – process operations, at BOC Gases in Southampton. He is highly aware of the many factors and fire-fighting technologies that contribute to the successful management of a significant incident in an industrial plant, including the importance of access to a plentiful supply of water. An even cooling of a storage tank is crucial in the event of a fire, in order to avoid tank shell tearing as a result of the temperature differential between the hot part and the cool section. “Many process tanks have sprinkler systems to give cooling so you don’t get tearing, but the big problem with these systems is that they have to be maintained, tested, and flushed through. And if it is a facility with salt water, that can be corrosive,” he says.

Falconer recounts an incident involving a lighting strike on a crude oil tank, which started a rim seal fire. The industrial brigade applied foam, which collapsed the roof and turned the rim seal fire into a full surface fire. “Then the localised cooling of the vessel ended with a tear, and the contents spilling into the bunded area, which had 110% capacity of the tank, and then coming out of the bund.” Here, at West Moors, with its wide-open spaces, such a scenario might not be too catastrophic. “If you are in the middle of a chemical plant or refinery, you have congestion of live pipework to other vessels,” points out Falconer.

Exercise director Patrick West arrives at the containment area and immediately picks up on some learning points for

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petrochemical response

Hose lines are laid to create a 1.4km-long loop.

the firefighters working near the water. “They are in the warm zone and it is safety critical that they wear proper gear to go into the water and that they have a safety officer with a throw line. We’ll correct this at lunchtime.” The firefighters realise that something is not right and PPE is quickly donned while red tape is also strung across the area.

I ask West if he is happy with what he is seeing and whether the objectives are being met. “They are communicating but they have shown up some rustiness in working with each other. I think that is highlighted in that a few people are working in cells, which I can understand in terms of accomplishing bite-sized tasks, but there needs to be an overriding aim to bring it all together. We have people now not gainfully employed whilst others have not finished their task. Well, these should be redeployed to carry out this task.

And this is the ideal opportunity to introduce these people, so next time this happens for real they will know each other and work together.”

Operationally, West thinks things could have been done more quickly. “The important thing is what needs to be done immediately, and what needs to be done immediately, before

starting to work, is get that water on the fire, because if that tank catches fire we need to tackle that.” For the water relay, the mid-point should have been established at the start by laying down 700m of hose. “But this is easy for me to say because I’ve devised it.”

West also feels that more time should have been spent assessing the situation before beginning to deploy the equipment. “Let’s spend a bit more time on command and control, on the pre-briefing. Take an extra ten minutes and do not be afraid to do nothing. Don’t just rush in after having a quick look at a map in a classroom. Maybe drive round the whole site to get a picture in your head. That extra half hour will probably save one and a half hours later.” This applies especially to these HVP units, which could be deployed to any part of the country at a moment’s notice. “They may have driven five hours up the motorway to arrive at the incident.

Should they be rushing into the job? That is how mistakes are made. Better to drive the five hours and then take an hour to plan it and do it right.”

All these points are addressed during the working lunch, where the firefighters share their thoughts on how the exercise has gone so far. We learn that the single line ran consistently at 2,500lpm and that the twin line achieved 5,100lpm, not the 7,000lpm target, even when running at maximum pressure. “So either something wrong with the pump or the calculator,” says West drily. “All good. Please take on board the safety criticals. Deal with it today, and when ready get back to it.”

After the exercise had taken place, it was confirmed that the flow rate measurement displayed by the HVP control panel had not been accurate. Hampshire FRS is now seeking to purchase a flow meter.

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Gap in explosive data

FIRE PUMP CONTROLLERS

A type of severe explosion that progresses in a way unobserved in experimental tests has been identified in a review of major vapour-cloud incidents.

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he review was carried out by the US Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the UK Health and Safety Executive.

Although primarily aimed at improving understanding of vapour-cloud development and explosion in LNG export plants, the review’s findings are also relevant to gasoline storage depots, tanker terminals, refineries and chemical processing sites.

The 320-page document analyses 24 major vapour-cloud explosion incidents including Jaipur, Buncefield, Amuay Refinery, Flixborough, San Juan, Brehnam, Newark, Baton Rouge, Big Spring, Pasadena, and Skikda.

The study points out that regular occurrence of severe explosions extending to the whole vapour cloud, something that has been recognised in the years since Buncefield, has been accompanied with a general presumption that such incidents are detonations. However, the results of detonation tests have cast doubt on this assumption. “There appear to be serious discrepancies between the effect of experimental detonation on a variety of objects and what has been observed at most VCE incidents. For example, normal impact by a detonation typically leaves slender column-like objects with continuous curvature ie plastic deformation distributed along their length rather than being concentrated in a hinge. This unusual type of deformation is caused by the extreme shortness and severity of the impulse associated with a detonation. No objects with this type of deformation have been observed at the sites presumed to have been detonations: Buncefield, Jaipur, Amuay and San Juan.”

The report says that the assumption that has underpinned VCE assessment for the last 30 years, namely that high overpressures are confined to congested areas, should be critically examined: “The data, however, suggests that severe explosions can progress by a different mechanism: one that has not yet been observed in experimental tests on congestion arrays in gas tents. There is a large gap between the scale of clouds in real incidents and available test data.”

The data, says the report, also suggests that this new type of explosion is episodic in nature, where rapid phases of burning are punctuated by pauses.

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Going for gold A growth in passenger traffic at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport means increased pressure on its fire service and its training requirements; Ann-Marie Knegt speaks with operational manager Arjan Bruinstroop.

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The Firefly rig will be replaced in 2020; the brigade is also looking to expand its training offering to other organisations.

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he planned expansion to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in The Netherlands will have a knock-on effect on the airport’s fire service, including new facilities, new infrastructure and increased training requirements.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is now the third largest in Europe. Only Charles de Gaulle in Paris and Heathrow in London are bigger. To cope with growing passenger numbers – up 9.2% to 63.6 million in 2016 – the airport is investing over 350 million euros (US$420 million) in a new pier and terminal building. The size of overflow Airport Lelystad will also be increased from 2019. The new pier will be completed in 2019 and the new terminal will be operational in 2023.

All this will have a serious impact on the Schiphol Fire Brigade. That’s why there will be significant investment in the fire service’s facilities, and Schiphol FB is taking the opportunity to not only upgrade its training infrastructure but also to potentially expand the scope of its training provision.

“Right now we have reached our ceiling for passenger movements, but passenger numbers keep on growing," says Arjan Bruinstroop, business facility and resource manager for Schiphol Fire Brigade. “The new terminal means that we have to create new aircraft positions, a larger catchment area, and more movements both airside and landside of the terminal.

This will have an impact on structural fire and safety as well as on the ARFF techniques and protocol we use.”

To meet these requirements, Schiphol Fire Brigade purchased 13 8x8 Rosenbauer Panther crash tenders (see p26), each of which will be equipped with high-reach extendable turrets. Bruinstroop says a key consideration for vehicle selection was the ability to work with ICAO class C foam.

< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017

“Currently we can only use water in training, but it is very important to understand how to use foams and powders correctly. That’s why we want to increase our expertise and conduct realistic training exercises with new types of aircraft and foams. When our crews respond to a major air crash, we have to perform at a Olympic level. A silver medal will not suffice. Gold is the only thing that matters, therefore the whole team needs to know how to properly deal with foam and powder.”

The expansion of the airport and investment in its fire and rescue capabilities means that Schiphol FB has an opportunity to expand the skills of its firefighters through new training and equipment. As a result, the fire service is weighing up its options. One of these is to install a water filtering and recycling system at its training ground for training with foam.

Another is the replacement of its training rig, called the Firefly. Bruinstroop explains that the current version has reached the end of its life, and a new rig is needed as it is not only Schiphol FB that uses this real-fire simulator for training but other brigades as well. And this is an area that Bruinstroop would like to expand.

“We are looking to reposition ourselves in the market and further commercialise,” he says. “I would like us to offer fire safety, health and safety, and aircraft firefighting training, amongst others things.”

Schiphol FB is well positioned to provide training because of the high standards required of its own firefighters. Schiphol is an ICAO Cat 10 airport. This means that firefighters must be at the scene of an incident in under three minutes as dictated by EASA standards. The emergency response crew is on standby 24/7 and operates from three stations around the runway. The response structure mandates that the two closest posts respond to the incident, while the third remains on standby in case additional incidents occur or the airport has to close.

There is a rigorous selection process for new recruits, and each one must finish the training regardless of whether they already have fire-fighting certification. “It is important that our firefighters learn and accept the Schiphol attitude,” says Bruinstroop. “Compared to a local authority fire service, we have three minutes to respond and not a second more.”

To ensure all personnel have the skills required, staff rotate through different functions on each shift so everyone knows what to do in every capacity. For example, a firefighter could work as a driver on one shift and handle the monitor the next.

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This delivers benefits when a staff member is off sick or on annual leave, as everyone can do every job. The exceptions are the airport fire officers, who focus on incident command.

“This system makes it easier to work with a limited number of team members,” explains Bruinstroop. “We are a highly specialised brigade, and we need to make sure that everyone is at the top of his or her game. For this reason, we carry out regular pro-checks.”

These tests take place once a year and include fitness and physical abilities, fire-fighting skills, driving skills, and incident command.

“The firefighters and airport fire officers must demonstrate that they are up to date with their professional skills. These are performance markers, so if someone does not pass the test, they will receive the training to do so. In general, our instructors pick up potential problems during daily training, so failed pro-checks don’t happen often. In principle, staff are training for these checks every single day.”

In addition, the airport firefighters train with the local authority fire service, which is responsible for structural fire-fighting operations inside the airport buildings.

“Structural fire-fighting is a local authority responsibility by law,” explains Bruinstroop. “We looked at how we could manage this arrangement in the most cost-effective manner.

Therefore, we deliver the staff, the local authority fire service delivers the materials, and Schiphol FB houses them at our station.

“The staff learn about how both the airport and the local authority fire services work at the same time. For two shifts, they work on a normal fire tender in local authorities adjacent to the airport. This enables them to stay up to date with structural fire response.”

Bruinstroop is very proud to work at Schiphol Fire Brigade and of the top-class performance, his firefighters already provide. The planned expansion of what is already Europe’s third largest airport will undoubtedly put more pressure on the

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fire service, but Schiphol FB is not only adapting but also continuing to improve, putting it firmly on the frontline as a leader and innovator in its field.

BOGUS TRAINING CERTIFICATION

JOIFF has issued a statement warning that some training organisations are misleading operators of high-hazard facilities by suggesting that they offer JOIFF-accredited training courses for their emergency responders.

“JOIFF has recently been shown a training certificate issued to a student, that claims that the course attended by the student had been ‘designed to satisfy the standards set by JOIFF’,” said JOIFF secretary Alec Feldman. “The company that issued this certificate is not a JOIFF-accredited training provider and while this statement may not be false, it is deliberately misleading.”

A JOIFF-accredited certificate indicates that the student has been assessed and has successfully demonstrated competence in knowledge, skills and understanding as a result of participating in a particular course; only approved JOIFF-accredited training providers are authorised to issue such JOIFF certification. “It is a purposely rigid system built on the principles that a multinational company with operations throughout the world can be assured that its industrial responders have the same minimum level of competence,” explained Feldman. “When a training establishment is being assessed for consideration, we look at the safety procedures, analyse whether the training scenarios are relevant to the students, and assess the quality of the instruction and the instructors.”

JOIFF-accredited training organisations are listed on the JOIFF website at www.joiff.com.

FOURTH qUaRTeR 2017 < INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL <

19

No room for error industrial fire fighting

What does it mean to be responsible for the incident response at one of the world’s fastest aerial motorsport events? Ann-Marie Knegt travelled to the Lausitz Eurospeedway in Germany to find out how a private brigade handles the challenge of securing safety at the Red Bull Air Race World Championship.

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he penultimate race in the 2017 Red Bull Air Race is about to start. It is a clear, sunny day with hardly a breath of wind and the view over the Lausitzring in Brandenburg is magnificent – a perfect day for flying. The atmosphere is tense. People are excited for the start of the action, when tiny planes will fly through the air at incredible speeds, negotiating their way through a course of inflatable pylons until the fastest emerges as the winner.

In her control tower, which looks out over the entire racecourse, rescue manager Lidie Van der Minne puts on her headset and prepares for an intense afternoon watching her control screens and ensuring the safety of the participants. For Van der Minne, the day is a culmination of months of planning – and a week of intense preparation at the current race location – that reflect the unique challenges faced by Falck as the rescue coordinator for the event.

The Red Bull Air Race World Championship is one of the fastest motorsports event series in the world.

Only the most exceptional pilots can take part in this airborne motorsport, which sees pilots traverse the sky in race planes at speeds of more than 300kph under enormous G-force.

In 2017, eight races will take place over the course of a year starting in Abu Dhabi and ending at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Each race is held either over water or over land, and the pilots race against the clock on specially-designed tracks. Whoever scores the most points at the end of the season can call themselves the Red Bull Air Race World Champion.

Lidie Van der Minne is responsible for coordinating fire, rescue and safety for the pilots during the event. She explains that to understand the safety requirements, it is important to understand how the Red Bull Air Race works.

Each race takes place over a

20

weekend, and there is nearly a week of preparation and practice beforehand. There are two types of pilots: masters and challengers. The Master Class consists of 14 pilots and the Challenger Cup is made up of nine pilots, of which six are competing during a race. The challengers fly two-seater planes, and in the case of the Lausitzring race, they fly from another airport, where another incident commander and rescue team is based – also supplied by Falck.

Qualifying rounds take place on the Saturday for both challengers and masters and determine the starting order on race day. On Sunday, the Master Class pilots are competing for points in the world championship. The first race sees 14 pilots compete in seven heats. The winners of each heat, plus the fastest loser, advance to the round of eight. The winners of these heat then compete for victory based on their time in the final round of four.

The Challenger Class was introduced to help outstanding pilots build their air racing skills to an elite level and potentially race in the Master Class for the World Championship title. On race day, the challengers compete for a victory based on time.

The best four results from the season will determine which six of the nine pilots will compete for the Challenger Cup in the season finale.

The pilots take it in turns to fly the course, each trying to achieve the best time with the minimum number of penalties.

Using the fastest, most lightweight and agile race planes, the pilots hit speeds of up to 370kph while enduring forces of up to 10G as they navigate a low-altitude slalom track marked by 25-metre-high, air-filled pylons known as air gates.

These robust, cone-shaped pylons have been designed so that they can be repaired and reinflated in under three minutes if hit by a plane.

"It is all about being the pilot with the best skill and the most control over the plane,’ says Van der Minne. ‘Each course has its own challenges. Therefore, you will see more pylon hits in some races than in others. We have only had three pylon hits at this stop of the World Championship so far. In Kazan in Russia earler this year 69 pylons were hit during one race. That caused significant delays."

At the core of event safety are several highly trained

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industrial fire fighting

fire-fighting and ambulance teams, which are on standby before, during, and after the event. As rescue manager, Van der Minne coordinates everything from her tower. She is supported by airport incident commander Harm Neuteboom, who is positioned at the runway with his team.

The incident commander briefs the fire and ambulance teams before the race starts.

22

"Neuteboom oversees four team leaders during the event, including fire and rescue crews and an ambulance team," explains Van der Minne. "They have one large fire appliance and three fast suppression units strategically positioned on the track, which have all been equipped with foam and rescue tools. Aside from that, we have CO2 extinguishers at our disposal. All team leaders work for Falck, so we all speak the same language, which helps our communications."

Falck is only in charge of safety on the air side of the racecourse. The local fire brigade is responsible for any incidents outside the course.

The standard response time for any race incident is 30 seconds. However, every course is different, so strategic deployment points have to be identified prior to the race to ensure that the mandated response time can be achieved. Van der Minne and risk consultant Jurriaan Steenaert visit each location in advance.

When the track is over water, there are usually three strategic deployment points, from which the 250-hp rescue boats can reach any location within the 30-second response time. Races over land present more of a challenge.

Van der Minne explains that the logistics are more complicated for land races because there are usually only a few access roads. "For water races, we have a team of 15 people on standby, but we only eight or nine people at the ready for land races. However, if you set your deployment points right, it is still possible to achieve the response times."

During the 2017 season, there were six water races and two land races. The same rules apply to both.

Falck’s response strategy is based on the total safety cycle policy of prevention, preparation, intervention, and aftercare, which is at the heart of Falck’s philosophy and a proven concept.

The total safety cycle consists of several phases: setting up the safety policy; conducting the risk assessment; taking care of prevention for legal aspects and training; preparation; response delivery; and evaluation.

"Falck determines the safety policy, risk assessment, and the prevention and training plans," says Van der Minne. "We are training the pilots, but also the task-force guys and the team technicians. We even have to train our own teams in advance of an event, because every new Red Bull Air Race is different.

After that, we enter the preparation phase, and that starts a couple of days before the race. We arrive on Monday and the rest of the safety team will arrive over the next few days. We spend two days training on Wednesday and Thursday. The

< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < fOurth quarter 2017

pilots are flying on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but by then we are fully prepared and equipped."

This preparation is crucial for getting to know the characteristics of the track, because each one is different and presents its own specific challenges. Van der Minne cites the example of the track in Budapest where there was a water scenario with a flow of 9.5kph. If a plane were to end up in that water flow, the plane would have to be secured before the pilot could be rescued. "It is imperative to avoid a situation where you have to dive and rescue the pilot," she says.

Falck carries out meticulous research for every location, and Van der Minne explains that there is already a large amount of data available from race organiser Red Bull Air Race, including maps, plans and pictures.

"We carry out an area analysis, conduct site visits, and have meetings with the local teams. For example, today we are working with ADAC Medical Helicopters, which are based three minutes away from this course, and we met the team during a site visit. If we call, they know exactly what to do."

After training and preparation, Van der Minne sends her evaluation and feedback, together with recommendations for improvements, to Red Bull Air Race. A key consideration is always how to train the pilots. While pilots are generally skilled in emergency landings and egress from the plane, Falck trains them for any incidents on water. This training takes place once a year, usually at a race location or a swimming pool, and the Falck team creates a realistic scenario in which pilots can practise escaping from planes in water.

"The planes are tiny and they need to learn how to use the air pocket in the plane," explains Van der Minne. "It is a claustrophobic experience, but in the end we always get there."

The local and medical crews also receive intensive training on how to handle the types of incidents that may be encountered during an event.

The planes themselves are precision-engineered and extremely valuable, so Falck has developed a specific extinguishing regime for plane fires designed to cause minimum damage. ‘Our incident commander has stipulated that only CO2 and high-pressure foam can be used,’ says Van Der Minne. "Water or powder will ruin these valuable aircraft."

Even though each course is different, the rescue and ambulance crews always work via a basic method called the Saver system, which provides a step-by-step response structure to follow in case of an incident. Each truck and team has a card with a colour-coded outline of the steps in this system, and Van der Minne finds this works extremely well.

Pilots are also provided with a Saver card specific to their type of plane, which outlines features such as the opening of the canopy and specific switches – basically anything that is essential for safe egress of the pilot.

In addition, because the planes develop and advance, the safety team needs to stay abreast of technical changes by maintaining a continual dialogue with pilots and their teams.

This is particularly challenging, because technical changes to aircraft can take place at nearly every race in a season.

Today, all of Falck and Van der Minne’s meticulous planning pays off, and the 2017 Red Bull Air Race at Lausitzring goes ahead without a hitch. The winner is Japanese pilot Yoshihide Muroya, who takes centre stage next to Czech pilot Martin Sonka in second place, and Pete McLoud from Canada in third.

The Red Bull Air Race is an exhilarating spectacle, and one that is made possible through excellent cooperation between Red Bull Air Race and Falck. Through its work with the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, Falck has really cemented its position at the cutting edge of incident response planning and delivery.

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23

Cutting it fine A cutting extinguisher has arrived at an international UK airport for the first time: has the time finally come for wider acceptance of this technology in ARFF?

A

The ARFF team at Glasgow Prestwick Airport is about to bring the Coolfire HP cutting extinguisher into operational readiness.

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RFF firefighters at Glasgow Prestwick Airport are shortly bringing a new high-pressure cutting extinguisher from Angus Fire into operational readiness, following the necessary risk and impact assessments and operational training.

During 2016 Glasgow Prestwick Airport viewed a number of cutting extinguishers and in January this year invited three companies to tender. The power of high-pressure cutting extinguishers had been witnessed at first hand at the airport’s fire behaviour unit, where crib fires raised temperatures up to 700°C and hand-held cutting extinguishers lowered them to below 100°C in a matter of seconds.

Cutting extinguishers combine abrasive waterjet cutting with water spray extinguishing through a single nozzle. It is a technology that is increasingly well known in the municipal fire-fighting sector, and enables a firefighter to tackle a fire from outside the main fire area by making a very small diameter penetration through the structure of a compartment (eg a door, wall, steel shutter and even concrete slabs) and introducing water mist into the affected area.

The main advantages of this system are in increased safety; firefighters can remain outside the most hazardous area and, in addition, the cooling and 2.3mm-diameter of the hole drastically reduce the risk of flashover or backdraft. When they enter, firefighters go into a considerably cooled, smoke-free environment.

The benefits of the technology are also applicable to ARFF, says Andrew McCrindle, Station Commander at Glasgow Prestwick Airport: “If you can take a fire in a cabin and reduce it from 650°C to 100°C in less than 30 seconds, then you are increasing survivability. Reducing the temperature also enables our guys to

go in there quicker and in safety to deal with any other fires.You can pin-point the source, using a thermal imaging camera, and attack that source directly, in contrast to having to gather together all the necessary access equipment to make an entry via the cabin door and progressing to where that fire is.”

Although new to the UK ARFF sector, the technology has been evaluated in the field a number of times. In 2015, the Aerospace Group of the National Research Council Canada published the paper Full-scale aircraft fire tests – a comparison of aluminium and composite burn-through, for Ottawa International Airport Authority.

The OIAA ERS had been exploring the capabilities of the HRET and Stinger piercing tools since the 2010 arrival of a Panther 6X6 equipped with a 16.7m boom, but felt there was a need to address limitations posed by aircraft size, orientation and structural configurations that result in locations and confined spaces which cannot be accessed by the HRET and Stinger. As the OIAA ERS had been made aware of the Pyrolance cutting extinguisher during an ARFF Working Group conference in 2013, the manufacturer was invited to participate in both component tests and in the attack mounted against the onboard live fire involving composite skin structure.

The primary objective of the Canadian tests was to demonstrate to airport firefighters some of the differences between fires on aircraft with traditional aluminium fuselage construction versus newer fuselage structures with advanced composite materials. In addition to this objective, however, a series of tests were carried out with a Pyrolance, with many positive results.

The front cockpit windshield, constructed of glass panel laminate, was pierced through by the cutting extinguisher in 32 seconds. A 0.8cm-thick composite panel was pierced in six seconds, introducing firefighting agent into the main deck area of the forward fuselage. The main-deck cargo door, 0.36cm-thick, was pierced and filled with water mist in seven seconds; the report adds that this location would have been too low for access by an HRET Stinger on a smaller aircraft and too high on larger aircraft for expeditious manual piercing.

The testing also highlighted the diverse challenges of these types of operations, where no single tool can be regarded as a panacea. When pitted against the laminated stretched acrylic side-windows in the cockpit, the cutting extinguisher pierced through the outer layer but then delaminated the plies, leading to

< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017 Read our e-magazine at www.hemmingfire.com

industrial fire fighting

water accumulation that absorbed the energy of the water jet, delaying penetration.

Nevertheless, amongst the report’s conclusions was that the technology ‘was successfully demonstrated as an effective aircraft fire-fighting tool,’ in particular as regards extinguishing concealed fires and the fact water can be introduced from outside, avoiding the need to make a forced entry.

The US Air Force has been convinced by the technology for some time. In 2013 the Air Force Civil Engineer Center's Fire Emergency Services Division bought 212 Pyrolance systems for Air Force fire departments, beginning a development programme of tactics, techniques and procedures for using the technology for incorporation into local training.

The system chosen by Glasgow Prestwick Airport is the Coolfire HP cutting extinguisher by Angus Fire, a company that says it took 2.5 years of designing and refining to come up with its version. In a market dominated by three established names, the Cobra Coldcut, Pyrolance and Cristanini WJFE 300, the Angus Coolfire has some differential features. It dispenses with wireless communication between the lance and the module and instead uses a custom-built umbilical; the butt features a safety switch that prevents accidental discharge if not depressed at the shoulder; the entire system is made of stainless steel or non-corrosive materials; and uses IP67 military-grade electronics. Prefilled cartridges facilitate the recharging of abrasive, providing five-minutes’ worth of abrasive.

The module consists of three main elements: the lance, the 80m hose reel (including the hose/umbilical), and the command module, all designed to fit a space of 1m x 0.7m x 0.7m.

According to Trever Fewell of Angus, the specifications for Prestwick Airport were challenging not only because the system had to be able to fit in the back of an Isuzu Dmax pick-up truck,

but because it had to also fall within its weight restrictions. “One of the key things of pickups is how much weight they can carry. You are already on a difficult task when a certain size of water tank and a length of hose are specified, as these are already chipping away at that maximum weight you can use,” says Fewell. With an 80m-length hose equating to around 110kg, a 300l tank to around 320kg, and Prestwick requiring a twin-engine system, 80kg each, the 1-tonne maximum weight limit approaches rapidly. “Prestwick made it more tricky by saying the target vehicle might also be another four-wheel drive, and must be able to switch from one to the other. So then we had to survey the size of every normal pick up in the market, to see if they also had a metre between wheel arches and could also take one tonne.”

This was time well spent, as the ultimate decision was made to install the system in a Mercedes Sprinter, which afforded only 900mm between its wheel arches, requiring a sub-frame to lift the system above them.

As IFJ went to press the ARFF firefighters at Glasgow Prestwick were about to bring the new equipment into operational readiness, following the necessary risk and impact assessments and operational training. It is also exploring other applications for their new cutting extinguisher, for instance on external fires, where the cooling effect and the low volumes of water used could bring additional benefits.

Another such system is currently being installed by Angus on a Scania, this time destined for the Fire Service College in Moreton on the Marsh. Angus and the college have signed a co-operation contract which will see students learning how to use the technology as well as Angus carry out evaluations of wider potential uses for the technology beyond the standard compartment fire, such as on underground trains. “We also want to evaluate its use in plant and transformer rooms,” adds Fewell.

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FOURTH quarter 2017 < INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL <

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VEHICLE NEWS UPDATE Tipping point

High ambitions in the Netherlands The Royal Schiphol Group has placed an order for 18 new ARFF vehicles from Rosenbauer.

A digital stabilometer originally developed for the military is now available for use in fire trucks.

The Vext Inclisafe provides the driver with a visible and acoustic warning when the vehicle becomes unstable, which allows for corrective action to take place.

Fire trucks are at risk of rollover because of their increased weight and high gravity and load centres when in motion. The risk of turnover depends on the design of the vehicle and the kit that it is carrying – for instance built-in ladders appear to increase the risk – and also the terrain that is being covered.

These incidents are rare but when they do occur the impact can be considerable. Not only is there the obvious risk to all fire crew and damage to the truck itself, but the collateral damage in the immediate environment, and even more important, the failure to arrive at the fire scene in timely fashion.

The Vext Inclisafe has so far been implemented in Spain, in Madrid and Burgos, and in the forestry and rural firefighting sector. In total some 450 units are currently deployed around the world.

The equipment processes the signals of a series of internal sensors which in turn provide a series of dynamic parameters based on speed, acceleration, angular velocity, and inclination.

By using this information, along with the inertial dimensions and properties of the vehicle, the device calculates stability at a rate of ten times per second, which is quantified as a percentage of the maximum stability the vehicle could attain.

Based on the calculated stability at each instant – where 100% stability refers to a standing horizontal vehicle and 0% implies potential risk of immediate turnover – the device emits a lighted and acoustic signal of increasing frequency that is proportional to the decrease in stability. A display consisting of two contrasting LED bars indicates the direction and magnitude of the instability of the vehicle to the driver and there are four levels of audible alarm.

Inclisafe can be configured for any fire truck and the percentages can be adjusted based on experience and knowledge. This means that not only is the risk of rollover reduced but that drivers can also use the feedback provided by the unit to improve their understanding of the vehicle’s stability.

An internal memory, with recording capacity of up to six months, stores all the data related to the vehicle. This information can be extracted and analysed using Inclisoft software to provide analysis of driver behaviour for use both in training and, in the case of an incident, to help establish the cause.

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The vehicles will improve the effectiveness of airport fire services ahead of major projects to expand the capacity of the Group’s airports at Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Lelystad.

Each of the new vehicles will be equipped with 16.5m Stinger high-reach extendable turrets and sophisticated extinguishing equipment.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport will receive the lion’s share of the Panthers, with 13 8x8 ARFF vehicles; Rotterdam will receive three 6x6 ARFF vehicles; while Lelystad will receive two 6x6 ARFF vehicles.

The order is in line with Rotterdam’s aim of meeting the fire safety requirements of an ICAO and EASA Category 8 airport; while Lelystad will meet Category 7 standards with the new vehicles.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, with an ICAO Cat 10 rating, is already one of the world’s largest aviation hubs and has a surface area of 2.8 hectares. The airport welcomes 63 million passengers a year, and in 2016 recorded 479,000 aircraft movements. It serves 322 destinations and handles around 3,000 aircraft of ICAO Category 10, which includes Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-800.

Work is currently underway to improve the infrastructure at this already busy airport. This includes a new terminal building, which is expected to increase capacity by 14 million passengers per year from 2023.

The international selection process included a strong emphasis on environmental performance of the vehicles due to Schiphol Group’s intention to achieve zero-waste status for its airports by 2030. In addition, the group wants to see Amsterdam Airport become the most sustainable in the world.

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vehicle news

Easy hose recovery A fully automatic hose recovery unit designed for the easy recovery of large-diameter hose after large-scale incidents has been developed by Hytrans Fire Systems.

Two versions of the Autoflaker are currently available so far: one for the high-hazard industry, which can hold 1,700m of 10-12-inch hose, and a municipal fire-fighting version that is designed to handle 4-8-inch hose and which can be transported along with the company’s submersible pump system, the Hydrosub 150.

The new units are designed to facilitate the arduous task of collecting long and heavy hose back in hose containers following an incident, and with fewer resources.

Hytrans’s standard manual hose recovery unit, which is estimated to recover 1km of 8-inch hose within 30 minutes and a 10-12-inch hose within 45 minutes, requires a crew of three to four people. The new automatic version carry out the same task, at similar speeds, but with a crew of one. “It frees up resources that would have normally been working on flaking the hose. Instead, this person can be deployed somewhere else, because the Autoflaker only needs a driver,” says Hytrans international sales manager Johan Kramer.

“Recovering a hose from an air-conditioned vehicle cabin does make life easier for everyone.”

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The Autoflaker, which is made from high-grade stainless steel and aluminium, was developed in-house by the company’s own software, electrical and mechanical engineers.

Major challenges for the project included calibrating the system to ensure the optimal flaking patter was achieved, as well as ensuring that the last coupling would be easily accessible when the hose unit was opened.

Although the conventional automatic hose recovery system will operate using the hydraulics of the hook-lift system on the truck, an autonomous version can also be supplied with a diesel-driven power pack located in the front cabinet of the hose container.

FOURTH quarter 2017 < INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL <

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PPe - weaRaBle TecHnOlOGY

Take the strain off Real-time monitoring of heat strain in high-risk workers is now possible through new wearable technology, writes Jose Maria Sanchez de Muniain.

A

lready in use by hazmat responders and oil and gas workers the technology is currently being validated for use in high-hazard environments commonly encountered by firefighters.

Heat strain is the body’s physiological response to heat stress and includes an increase in heart rate and sweating. If actions such as these do not result in the core body temperature decreasing, the result is heat-related illness such as heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat syncope and heat rash. In extreme cases it can result in death.

The US Fire Administration has noted that in 2015, 66.7% of fatal injuries were caused by stress or overexertion. By far the leading cause of death, this category includes deaths that are cardiac or cerebrovascular such as heart attacks and strokes; it is well established that sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of line-of duty fatalities, and that heat stress increases cardiovascular strain.

It is perhaps not surprising that current wearable heat-strain monitoring technology owes much of its existence to meeting the needs of the medical world. The latest system started life under the Equivital brand in 2011 as a way of monitoring physiology, primarily for research communities in academic and medical circles.

The applications and features of the technology were subsequently developed and launched for professional welfare monitoring in 2015 under the system name Black Ghost. In addition to heart rate, breathing rate and body position, this can monitor internal temperature through the ingestion of a small capsule containing a thermistor and radio.

The alternative solution to the ingested pill recently presented itself in the form of an intelligent algorithm. Validated by the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine*, the algorithm can provide an estimated core body temperature using a non-invasive measurement of heart rate. In its conclusion, the research found that the algorithm’s bias and variance to observed data were similar to that found from comparisons of oesophageal and rectal measurements. Further research by Equivital confirmed that, provided the heart rate measurements were of high enough quality, the algorithm could provide accurate core body temperature estimates in applications where encapsulated clothing is worn.

The Black Ghost system consists of two elements. The first is a body-worn sensor module that slips into an anti-static sensor belt that

In addition to heart rate, Black Ghost can measure breathing rate and body position.

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wraps around the shoulders and the chest. The sensor module measures heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, body position and movement.

Data from the module is either stored internally for later retrieval or transmitted in real time via Bluetooth to a mobile device. In the case of continuous live monitoring of a firefighter, the wearer is required to carry a Bluetooth-enabled device.

Having passed through a local/private or cloud server, the data is finally displayed on the Black Ghost application on any web-enabled device. As well as physiological data the system can display an interactive map, for location tracking.

The latest evolution in the technology has been the development of a heat strain index, introduced in September this year. Using the index, a supervisor can see the heat-strain risk of a person wearing the technology, in real time. “It is meant to be a simple measure not just for medics, but for commanders and others to look and say, ‘that person needs to be cycled out,'" explains Equivital cofounder and head of product, Ekta Sood.

The technology has been further enhanced to provide an estimated future heat strain measurement. “We have taken it further to predict forward 15 minutes, so if the current heat strain index is X, and you carry on working at the same rate, what will be the heat strain risk then?” says Sood.

The system was initially envisaged for use in training establishments as an aid to monitoring the occupational health of instructors and students.

However, the potential benefits of seeing physiological data in real time have driven interest further. “A number of fire services became interested in the technology on an operational basis, which has meant developing it so that it fits with their standard operating procedures rather than the other way round,” remarks Sood.

The accuracy of the heat index has so far only been fully validated with wearers in encapsulated PPE and in normal working environments, but Equivital is now in the final stages of validating the system for firefighters in firefighting environments.

A pilot project involving more than one UK fire service has kicked off.

Here, physiology, estimated core temperature and heat strain index data are being collected from firefighters that are wearing the body-worn sensors during training activities. This data is then being compared with the data collected from radio-containing ingested pills to ascertain the accuracy of a specific algorithm for firefighters.

The results of the firefighter pilot project are expected in the next few months. * Real-time core body temperature estimation from heart rate for first responders wearing different levels of personal protective equipment. Buller, MJ, Tharion, WJ, Duhamel, CM, & Yokota, M. (2015). Ergonomics, 58(11), 1830-1841

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FOAM

Solutions in foam ‘An opportunity, not a crisis’ was the underlying theme for the Foam Summit that took place in Budapest, Hungary, IFJ reports.

A

‘cradle-to-grave’ approach to foam is imperative; the time for discussing the detailed environmental chemistry associated with AFFF is past; and the industry needs to move on towards solutions, heard delegates attending the Foam Summit.

All aspects of dealing with large-scale atmospheric tank fires including both operational issues as well as tank-bunding design, protecting the environment and complying with national and international regulations were covered in detail during the two-day conference.

Niall Ramsden of Lastfire, the international forum of oil storage and processing companies related to storage-tank fire-hazard management, opened the conference with a comprehensive overview of the history of firefighting foams.

He pointed out that although all of these classical AFFFs and their variants had stood the test of time, they were now being challenged by developments resulting from an increased environmental awareness and sensitivity.

Although modern purer C6-compliant AFFFs as well as fluorine-free Class B foams had been appearing on the market for some time, he explained, it was not yet clear whether either of these recent developments were able to achieve the operational efficiency of the older C6/C8 AFFF formulations. Hands-on research into the performance and characteristics of such foam formulations, coupled with the

development of guidance on foam usage for the future, was one of the areas that Lastfire had taken on recently, including the establishment of a preferred partners list for its members.

Modern C6 foams, with effective removal of C8 and higher components, represent re-formulations of original AFFFs, explained Ramsden. These reformulated foams sometimes did not change in product name, even if necessitating re-approval and testing to international standards. He sounded a note of caution in assuming that just because the product name remained unchanged that the efficiency would necessarily be the same.

When choosing to use C6-compliant AFFF or a fluorine-free foam, Ramsden stressed that there were effectively no true ‘drop-in ‘replacements available. Fire-fighting efficiency and ability to use current equipment such as inductors because of the differences between Newtonian and non-Newtonian concentrates, as well as the appropriateness of retaining current standard operating procedures unchanged, all have to be considered.

Even with foam concentrates, whether AFFF or fluorine-free, with all the appropriate international approvals and certifications – for example, UL 162, ICAO, EN1568, etc – it was still absolutely necessary to test any new foam concentrate operationally under the conditions that the end-user will be using together with the available equipment

Left to right: Dr Niall Ramsden of Lastfire opened the summit with a technical history of foam; attendance figures showed that the majority of delegates came from the petrochem industry and the fire service.

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FOAM

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and personnel to establish whether the product is fit-forpurpose.

Niall Ramsden also outlined Lastfire’s ‘cradle-to-grave’ assurance process – available as published material from Lastfire.org.uk – which covers all aspects of foam management from procurement, through testing, operational efficiency, the fire engineering necessary for delivery and containment, environmental protection and correct waste disposal. These last two had become progressively more important because of heightened environmental sensitivity at regulatory level as well as public perception leading to political, legal, financial and reputational fallout, all aspects of the true lifetime costs of using firefighting foam.

The increasingly tough regulatory environments in Europe and further afield were summarised by Thomas Leonhardt, Eurofeu’s FFA chair and convenor of two ISO working groups.

These included actions or positions taken on PFAS levels by the Nordic Council, in Australia and New Zealand, Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation, the OECD, and notably the US Naval Systems Command setting maximum levels of PFOA and PFOS in foam of 800ppb.

Leonhardt reminded delegates of the 10ppm limit placed on PFOS content as well as the more recent limitations placed on PFOA, its salts and precursors. Germany and Norway had originally been pressing for a PFOA limit of 2ppb, but this had been realised to be unrealistically low and unattainable by the fluorochemical industry. A higher level of 25ppb with 1,000ppb for mixtures was agreed together with numerous important derogations, especially for fire-fighting foams already on the market prior to 2020.

The German Federal Environment Agency is nevertheless pushing for much more severe limitations on the use of fluorochemicals as sources of environmental contamination

< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017

with persistent PFCs, including a proposal under the Reach regulations for a complete ban on the manufacture, use and import of C9-C14 PFCAs and their precursors within the EU. This would not only impact on older AFFFs but would seriously affect the textile and leather treatment industry and the production of PPE. The German Ministry of Health is also working towards establishing threshold limits for all PFCs in drinking water and food including short chain materials such as C4, with levels for C7+ of the order of tenths of a microgram per litre or kilogram.

The very stringent controls on PFC contamination of the environment proposed by the German regulatory authorities includes regulation or banning of PFOS as well as PFOA and its precursors (all C8 compounds) as well as those with chain lengths greater than C8; regulating C6 materials, including precursors; regulating down to C4 PFCs; and the ultimate aim of a 100% PFC-free environment by 2025.

This last aim, although laudable, is almost certainly both impractical and unattainable, representing an extreme view of the issues surrounding the impact of perfluorochemicals. On human health and the environment, it may however help to drive the debate towards lowering the contamination levels to which the environment is exposed.

How regulators expect industry to follow new requirements was exemplified by Nigel Holmes of the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, who explained how it had developed its Foam Management Policy, in force since 7 July 2016, and how this was being implemented.

Key elements in the Policy were that all foams where the PFOS level exceeded 10ppm should be taken out of service immediately; modern C6 AFFF foams could continue to be used if the total level of PFOA and PFOA-precursors, including all higher PFCA homologues, did not exceed 50ppm; and that any runoff containing fluorinated firefighting foam was fully contained and disposed of as regulated industrial waste.

Fluorinated AFFF should only continue to be used if there were compelling operational reasons, based on verifiable evidence not marketing hearsay, for their use rather than using fluorine-free alternatives.

As part of the Policy the allowable transition period for changing the type of foam being used could be extended, especially for large complex sites which might need substantial retro-engineering work or changes to discharge equipment to be carried out with major financial implications, but only with the agreement of the Queensland DEHP based on a concrete plan and timescale which would then become part of the site’s legally enforceable operating licence conditions.

Any changes to the nominal three-year transition period specified by the Policy ending 7 July 2019 would have to be agreed on an individual site-to-site basis.

A series of myths and ‘myth-information’ was also corrected

by Holmes. These were: • that foam spilt on waterways can be contained by oil-spill booms – it can’t because the majority of the foam will dissolve in the water column; • marketing claims that some foams are 10 times more toxic than others – largely irrelevant as all foams are practically non-toxic to relatively harmless, with the acute oxygen stress BOD5 being far more significant, with all foams having extremely high BOD values, and with little difference on average between fluorinated and non-fluorinated foams; • alternative short chain C6 and lower PFAS are harmless if released – significant evidence has emerged of potential

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although smoke columns may be spectacular and give rise to political problems and adverse reaction from the public, these disperse rapidly and are diluted out to below levels of concern compared to the permanent local and broader long-term pollution and environmental harm associated with using fluorinated foams, which far outweighs transient short-term plume effects; • certain foams allow the mobilisation and dispersion of oil and other products from skimmers or separators – discharge of fluorinated foam to the aquatic environment is unacceptable, whilst on the other hand detergents are used intentionally to disperse and aid the degradation of oil spills on waterways and at sea.

The Foam Tree slide from Dr Niall Ramsden highlighted the many evolutions of foam since its invention at the beginning of the 20th century.

Image: National Foam.

health and environmental effects including enhanced mobility, uptake in crops, bioaccumulation, binding to proteins, increasing levels of exposure, very difficult to capture, as well as very difficult to clean up; • air emissions from smoke are environmentally more harmful than the use and release of fire-fighting foam –

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Holmes also explained the legal obligations under the Precautionary Principle to which regulators and end-users are subject, especially in the context of end-user liability arising from the ‘polluter pays’ principle embedded in environmental law.

How the petrochemical industry was implementing the Queensland Government’s Foam Policy was outlined by Rod Rutledge of Caltex Australia, who also highlighted the extensive nature of the stakeholder consultation process.

In implementing the policy, Rutledge pointed out that during the transition period certain types of fire would still be fought using fluorinated AFFF type foams, such as deep-seated fires. However, where operationally possible fluorine-free foam would be used for less critical applications, with a need for further testing of the newer C6 AFFFs and fluorine-free products appearing on the market to ensure effectiveness and safety under operational conditions.

Rutledge posed the question that if one decided to stay with

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modern AFFFs rather than using fluorine-free foams, would one find in a few years’ time that even the newer pure C6 products suffered from the same environmental and health problems as the older AFFFs and that this was not money well spent – what he labelled as a ‘regret spend’?

The complex procurement and assurance process involved in changing from fluorinated to fluorine-free firefighting foam for ARFF at one of the world’s major airports was presented by Graeme Day of Heathrow Airport.

This procurement process involved holding an e-auction, operational testing, awarding the contract, transitioning to the new foam and purchase of new appliances. All done in conjunction with a working group consisting of specialists for particular components of the project such as those with legal, environmental or technical expertise, guided by the regulator and the CAA. It also involved three areas of the business working together that had not previously done so in order to deliver an environmentally sustainable solution, Some of the key issues regarding firefighter training and choice of foam for aviation rescue and firefighting were presented by Brian McKinney of Dallas Fort Worth Airport, US. Dallas Fort Worth has excellent training facilities with fuel fire pits designed so that fuel and runoff do not lead to offsite contamination with foam, including an impressive A380 fire pit. As all airports in the US are required to use only Milspec foams listed by the FAA on a qualified product list, they are unable to move to fluorine-free foams, however good their performance.

Operational comparison testing was nevertheless undertaken by Dallas Fort Worth fire crews of AFFF versus a commercially available fluorine-free foam. The results demonstrated that it was important to carry out operational testing under real life conditions using standard equipment with appropriate operating procedures and normal fire crews rather than just relying on test-house approvals or batch certifications.

McKinney’s results for the fluorine-free foam were particularly notable in that the fluorine-free product extinction efficiency was virtually indistinguishable from that of the AFFF used.

Criticisms from some parts of the industry that fluorine-free products suffer from fuel pickup with foam flammability and poor burn-back resistance or drainage characteristics proved to be unfounded. As shown in a video, the fluorine-free foam blanket would not ignite when exposed to a propane torch; and disturbance of the foam blanket with either a water jet or having a hose dragged through it did not result in fuel

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re-ignition. In addition, breaking of the foam blanket resulted in rapid flowing back or re-sealing of the foam coverage in spite of the fluorine-free foam not being aqueous film-forming in the sense that AFFF is, suggesting that film formation was not a necessary prerequisite for effective fire extinction and knockdown. This was especially noticeable in the A380 test pit results in which knockdown using the fluorine-free product was rapid; and when excess fuel was burned off by injecting propane under the foam blanket, this promptly re-sealed after the source of ignition was removed.

The operational testing carried out demonstrated that the fluorine-free foam used would have been totally suitable for aviation firefighting had this been allowed under the terms of the FAA qualified product listing.

The challenges of compliance with increasingly stringent regulations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, were outlined by Martin Neuhaus of BP Gelsenkirchen. He described some of the ongoing work at the BP refinery areas of GE-Horst and GE-Scholven that was necessary to achieve Werkfeuerwehr compliance with the new regulations. Having a Works Fire Brigade, or Werkfeuerwehr, using professional

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FOAM

Tests at Dallas Fort Worth Airport demonstrated that fluorine-free foam's extinction efficiency was virtually indistinguishable from that of the AFFF used.

firefighters is a legal requirement under German law for industrial sites. Compliance included controlling the use of fluorinated foam operationally, prohibiting its use for training or system testing, and requiring containment and treatment of any firewater runoff.

The key questions for the industrial fire service attending a simple spill were; ‘Should we be using (fluorinated) foam at all for this incident? Are there alternatives? Is its use really necessary?’ The overarching operational considerations remain, however, safety first, and making the system straightforward to use and fool-proof at 3am on a cold morning. Significant problems remained over suitable containment and disposal technologies if fluorinated foam were to be used.

Ian Ross of Arcadis explained some of the complex chemical background to the emerging problem of PFAS contamination and evolving technologies for developing remediation strategies. Millions of people are now exposed to PFAS contamination of their groundwater resources used for drinking water and agriculture. This has resulted in elevated population blood levels for PFCs and a variety of class actions and litigation worldwide.

Fire-fighting foam – a crisis or a crossroads?

The Lastfire Foam Summit was organised jointly by Lastfire coordinator Dr Niall Ramsden and Dr Ian Ross of Arcadis, with local support from Zoltan Mészáros of the Hungarian Fire Service FER and MOL, the Hungarian multinational oil and gas company.

Approximately 130 delegates attended the conference with representatives from a wide range of stakeholders including the petrochemical and fuel storage industries, the aviation ARFF sector, fire engineering companies and consultants, fire brigades as well as a range of foam manufacturers.

The conference was opened by Sándor Fasimon, chief operating officer of MOL on 17 October.

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Ross highlighted two legacy case histories involving PFOS contamination to illustrate the substantial costs of actual or potential groundwater contamination and its impact on drinking water supplies. The case histories were analysed from the point of view of the fate and modelling of PFOS contamination in a fractured chalk aquifer, as in Buncefield, and the use of risk assessment and remediation technologies to protect a vulnerable drinking water supply from multiple sources of PFAS contamination, as in Guernsey Airport.

The currently available technologies for remediating soils and groundwater order in terms of their state of development and feasibility were also summarised by Ian Ross. An additional method currently under development by Geocycle, part of Cement Australia, was highlighted by a delegate at the end of Ross’ presentation. High temperature incineration at 1,000-1,500°C in cement clinker kilns is capable of dealing with 100-200-tonne charges of wet slurry containing fluorochemicals. This method is by far the cheapest available and is environmentally neutral, resulting in the fluorine content ending up as harmless calcium fluoride in the clinker, which is then used to make cement. It also results in minimal emissions of hydrogen fluoride HF in the flue gases, reducing the need for efficient scrubbing unlike other incineration methods.

An established method for remediation using Perfluorad technology for enhancing the efficiency of absorption using granulated activated charcoal (GAC) was described by Martin Cornelsen of Cornelsen Umwelttechnologie.

The Perfluorad technology, which can be containerised and hence easily mobile, is widely used especially in Germany for remediating contaminated groundwater at sites contaminated with PFCs. This includes for example airports such as Dusseldorf and Nuremberg as a result of foam use for training or operations or at agricultural sites such as BrilonScharfenberg at the head of the Ruhr Valley catchment area in the Hochsauerland district in the east of North RhineWestphalia, the result of contaminated top-dressing being applied.

Cornelsen made it clear, however, that although GAC treatment was reasonably effective for the longer chain PFCs such as PFOS or PFOA, it was very poor at removing shortchain material, ie less than C6 in chain length. This was especially relevant as recent research internationally had confirmed that PFC chain lengths C2-C6 were poorly absorbed by GAC and were not removed effectively by waste-water treatment plant. In addition, these shorter chain lengths were far more mobile in the aquatic environment, becoming concentrated preferentially in grasses and crops with the potential to contaminate the food chain.

The latest technology for the sealing of bund containment areas or previously contaminated ground was presented by Steve Flynn of Rawell Environmental. He explained how the use of pre-hydrated, polymer stabilised bentonite membranes – Rawmat technology – gets around many of the problems of using untreated bentonite, such as ion-exchange and on-site contamination during installation leading to sealant failure.

These PHB membranes can be retrofitted to tank bunds or contaminated ground without necessarily having to remove contaminated soil; the contaminated soil can be backfilled onto the membrane and thus isolated. Flynn showed an impressive example of retrofitting sealant PHB membranes underneath tanks up to 80m in diameter; this was made possible by hydraulically lifting the tank using a ring of hydraulic rams to allow installation underneath the suspended tank.

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Precious collections

Museums and archives face unique challenges in protecting our most valuable assets against fire, writes Ian Kelsall.

A

Gasesous systems can be used to protect computing systems – of particular interest with the current trend towards digitisation of film and other archives.

Photo: Shutterstock.

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trend for digitisation of archive collections coupled with factors such as space restrictions and the potential for secondary damage due to exposure to water are driving interest in halocarbons for the protection of sensitive collections.

Museums and archives a re the guardians for many of the world’s collective memories, with culturally significant and irreplaceable artworks, documents and artefacts under their protection. The responsibility to protect and preserve these treasures for future generations is delicately balanced by the need to allow society to access the legacy that these archives hold for appreciation and enjoyment. Achieving this balance requires a range of managerial, technical and financial considerations.

Designing facilities that are equipped with robust and reliable technology to manage environments and risks related to a collection is particularly important. Preventing external causes of deterioration such as fire, water or infestation can considerably extend the useful life of collections and will be more cost effective than remedying the effects of damage after it has happened.

Fire is a significant threat to these collections. Archives and museums are considered high risk owing to the likely presence of staff and visitors and the presence of high-value or priceless artefacts. In such a situation, the potential consequences of any fire breaking out are significant even if the probability is low. Additionally heritage materials are generally highly combustible and in certain cases materials can be stored at high densities where the fuel load is often high.

An example of how costly fire can be, was shown by the fire at the Glasgow School of Arts Mackintosh library in 2014. Through the efforts of the fire service it was estimated

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that 90% of the structure and 70% of the archive was saved.

However, the total cost of restoration is still expected to reach up to GB£35 million (US$46 million)[1].

Another example of the devastating impact of fire occurred at Moscow’s Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A fire in 2015 led to the loss of 5.7 million records of which 2.6 million were thought to be unique[2].

To help minimise the threat of fire to any valuable collection a suitable fire safety management plan should be established. Effective fire safety management provides a framework to assess the potential risk associated with fire, and establish the necessary fire protection concept required to minimise the risk of fire breaking out; prevent the spread of flames and smoke; ensure the safe evacuation of all occupants; and enable action by the emergency services It is worth noting that for archives and museums, a fire safety management plan may be different from other buildings in that it will form part of a wider disaster-recovery plan designed to enable effective salvage of any collection.

This disaster-recovery plan ensures that the collection is treated in a way that minimises secondary damage to the collection and allows effective stabilisation of the artefacts or documents. Damage from water is prioritised typically over smoke damage, due primarily to the potential for mould growth on heritage articles; fire damage, on the other hand, is typically limited to the seat of the fire.

To minimise the risk of fire breaking out we can control the three main factors associated with fire. Potential ignition sources can be removed, preventing the need for ‘hot work’ or introducing permit systems, removing combustible materials and maintaining/monitoring electrical installations.

The high fuel load of the collection itself can be reduced by

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3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid.

Protecting the irreplaceable.

Museums and archives serve as guardians for the world’s most treasured, culturally significant artefacts and memories. Novec 1230 fire protection fluid is an advanced clean agent used to protect high value assets such as rare books, archive papers, digital files and films, antiques and artworks. Novec 1230 fluid extinguishes fires quickly and cleanly with no damage to paper, canvas, fabrics or other materials.

Protecting history. And enabling the legacy to live on.

www.3M.co.uk/novec1230 Approved systems designed for Novec 1230 fluid available worldwide.

J401823. © 3M 2017. 3M Science. Applied to Life, 3M and Novec are trademarks of the 3M company. All rights reserved.

3M Science. Applied to Life.™

HERITAGE PROTECTION

Novec 1230 is stored as a fluid and therefore occupies much less space than an inert gas system.

Ian Kelsall is application specialist – fire protection (EMEA) at 3M UK. An affiliate member of the Institution of Fire Engineers, he has worked for 3M for the past 11 years in the fields of worker health and safety and fire safety.

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managing storage or division of the collection to reduce the risk of large scale fires. Oxygen levels can be controlled to a point that prevents a fire from developing. Control of oxygen levels to below 15% in a room may effectively prevent a fire from developing. However, such methods need to be considered carefully as they require both large amounts of energy – to continually produce nitrogen – and extra equipment, introducing issues such as noise management, maintenance and space requirements. Reduced oxygen levels also need to be considered for occupied spaces, as health and safety legislation may require additional access controls or assessments.

Controlling the three factors needed for fire, ie ignition source, fuel and oxygen, enables a strategy that minimises the risk of fire breaking out. In most cases the risk of fire cannot be reduced sufficiently however, and fire protection measures will still need to be considered. Passive or structural fire protection can help minimise the spread of fire, whilst also ensuring the structure can withstand a fire to prevent collapse and allow safe exit from the building and safe access for emergency services.

Active protection measures allow for the detection, alarm, evacuation and extinguishing of fires and are therefore of critical importance for archives and museums. To minimise the potential for damage to precious artefacts, early detection is imperative to ensure that incipient fires are discovered and extinguished as early as possible. Aspirating smoke detectors can detect very small aerosol concentrations, enabling early detection, and can be used as part of an overall fire protection system with extinguishing systems.

Water sprinklers and water mist systems can provide effective control against fires and can limit the extent of fire damage. However consideration must be given to the potential for secondary damage due to exposure to water, such as mould growth, and the resources required for salvage techniques such as freeze drying. Any extinguishing system may have the potential for accidental discharge of the extinguishing agent and effective measures and training should be in place to prevent this in all cases. This is particularly true with water systems where damage to artefacts can occur.

Gaseous fire-fighting systems have been used extensively in the protection of archives and museums. The primary driver for use of gaseous extinguishing agents is their safety for use with organic materials, and that they are unlikely to cause collateral damage to collections. Gaseous systems also leave no residue, reducing the need for any clean up or salvage operation. In addition, gaseous systems are

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non-conductive and may be used to protect any electrical plant or computing systems associated with the archive or museum. This is of growing interest as digitisation of collections becomes a more important method for preserving and displaying precious artefacts.

For many years the main gaseous agents were halons.

Since the global phase-down of ozone-depleting halons in the 1990s, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) were widely used as clean agents for protecting museums and archives. However, the established concerns over global warming potential for HFCs themselves have meant that this replacement solution is also unsustainable in the long run. The Montreal Protocol — the same international agreement that led to the global ban of halons — has been expanded to cover substances with high GWP. The Kigali Amendment, ratified in 2016, specifically targets HFCs for phase-down[3].

There are two main groups of gaseous extinguishing agents that offer an environmentally sustainable alternative without concerns of ozone depletion or global warming potential: inert gas systems based on Nitrogen and Argon and alternative Halocarbons such as Novec 1230 fire protection fluid from 3M. Inert gas systems displace oxygen in the atmosphere until flames can no longer be supported and the fire is extinguished. This requires a large volume of gas – approximately 40% of the room volume depending on regulation – to be introduced within two minutes of release.

To facilitate inert gas systems, it may be necessary to construct specialised storage areas in order to safely contain large volumes of gas at high pressures, plus over-pressure vents, to release over-pressure to an outdoor space or into an isolated shaft.

Halocarbon systems such as Novec 1230 fluid offer the same clean and sustainable protection for precious artefacts as inert gas systems, yet, because they are stored as a liquid, take up much less room. Such systems are also kept at low pressure, typically 25 or 42 bar, reducing the need for specialised storage.

Halocarbon systems do not displace oxygen but rely on cooling to extinguish incipient fires. Halocarbons act quickly and reach design concentration within 10 seconds of release. Since the design concentration for Novec 1230 fluid is considerably lower than inert gas systems, it has the highest margin of safety for occupied spaces that require regular access.

Museums and archives safeguard the memories of society for future generations and provide access to a fascinating social history. Protecting this legacy will always be a priority for archivists and conservators, but selecting the best methods to preserve these materials is not always simple.

When it comes to fire, finding a solution that reduces both the risk of secondary damage to precious relics and the potentially massive impact of salvage operations is paramount. Solutions that in addition, offer a wide margin of safety and minimise disruption to service within the facility will be viewed favourably by those who seek to protect what really matters – past, present and future.

References: 1: Herald Scotland Article, Restoration project for school of Art set to finish in 2019: www.heraldscotland.com/news/15479266.Restoration_project_for_School_of_Art_ set_to_finish_in_2019/?ref=twtrec 2: Moscow’s Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Library history: http://inion.ru/index.php?page_id=199 3: UNEP Ozonaction Factsheet: www.unep.fr/ozonaction/information/mmcfiles/7809e-Factsheet_Kigali_Amendment_to_MP_2017.pdf

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Fairy city of the heart Modular systems, minimal piping and increased customisation are making high-pressure water-mist the system of choice for protecting the cultural heritage buildings of Venice, writes Maria Marjakova.

F

rom a firefighter’s perspective, the reality of Venice is far from magical: its narrow streets, canals and bridges, tightly knit wooden buildings and many other architectural obstacles present a huge challenge.

It is hard to imagine the devastation that could be wreaked if a major fire should spread across the ‘fairy city of the heart, rising like water-columns from the sea’ as Lord Byron described Venice.

The city founded during end of Roman times and developed during the Renaissance has not experienced any radical changes in its planning and building design since its establishment[1]. A reminder of the golden age of an independent republic, the whole city is an irreplaceable cultural heritage in which every corner and every aspect is magical.

However, reaching a fire scene with modern fire trucks and sufficient fire extinguishing media in time is severely compromised due to the dense urban layout and the winds from the sea, which heighten the risk of rapid fire spread. If one building is taken by fire, the closest ones are immediately endangered.

Recent history shows how little progress has been made in meeting the challenge of fire prevention in Venice[2]. The tragic destruction by fire of La Fenice Theatre on 29 January 1996 is a sad example of its cruel power. Here, firefighters were forced to run their hoses from distant canals because the nearer ones had been emptied due to maintenance work. Despite all efforts, La Fenice building burned to the ground with only exterior walls surviving. “We had to choose between the theatre and the town: it was either save La Fenice or save Venice,” said one firefighter[3].

Arguably, such a dilemma would not have arisen had the theatre been protected with the fixed fire suppression system that is fast becoming the preferred option for cultural heritage: water mist.

High-pressure water mist is a fast response system that is well suited to sensitive and valuable environments, as it creates a cooling fog that expands into all spaces, controlling and suppressing the fire with a minimal impact on the assets within the building. Its growing popularity in heritage buildings is in no small part due to its small piping and aesthetically unobtrusive nozzles that are easy to install in a way that does not deflect from or damage the structures that it is designed to protect.

Ultra Fog’s Italian partner, Fire Protection Solutions, has carried out a number of flagship water-mist projects in Venice including an ongoing one in Hotel Danieli, a 14th-century building that consists of three interlaced palaces housing a rich collection of precious

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art and antiques, where a pre-existing fire extinguishing system is being modernised[4]. In Venice the company also protected the 13th-century Great School of San Giovanni Evangelista, one of the oldest Venetian Great Schools, which houses a collection by illustrious Venetian artists such as Domenico Tintoretto, Giandomenico Tiepolo and Pietro Longhi[5]. In Treviso, 30km north of Venice, another high-pressure system protects the private painting collection of the Benetton family at Villa Minelli.

One of the challenges of system installation in Venice is transporting the equipment to the historical site itself. In the case of the water-mist system destined for Hotel Danieli, this was aided by the use of a modular design that could be transported in smaller pieces via boat and through the city’s narrow lanes and corridors, for later assembly. In addition, having taken into consideration these challenges, Ultrafog introduced especially for its Venetian customer a pump unit smaller than its standard gas pump system, and one which contains no accumulator, remaining charged for the lifetime of the system.

Logistics aside, implementation of water-mist technology in historical buildings remains a challenge, largely due to the delicate balance required between protection and preservation of the original features in the building. Customisable systems now exist that can be designed according to the needs of the specific building, offering features such as low-visibility pipes, side-wall nozzle options, custom colours, and pre-action systems that reduce the risk of accidental discharge.

Water-mist systems are also constantly evolving to become as user-friendly as possible. One such example is a nozzle cap that unscrews by hand to simplify nozzle bulb exchange, and which does away with the need to remove a ceiling panel to change a bulb. Another innovative solution, which is patented by Ultra Fog, is a nozzle test tool that can be used to check nozzle functionality without having to break a bulb; flush through; and general servicing with minimum disturbance to the system or to the occupants of the protected space.

The low-impact benefits provided by high-pressure water mist are increasingly being recognised by Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, who authorises all renovation or modifications to national heritage buildings. That recognition is leading to shorter authorisation times for fire protection projects, something that is beneficial to everyone, especially the building and, of course, the safety of all of Venice.

1 Arnab Majumder , Radhika Ravindran “Venice: urban planning principles and brief history overview” [online] available at: https:// www.academia. edu/10603215/Venice 2 Dario Camuffo “A thousand years of fire pollution – environmental impact on Venice” [online] available at: https://www. academia.edu/15363379/A_ thousand_years_of_fire_ pollution_-environmental_ impact_on_Venice 3 Alix Kirsta “The plight of the phoenix” [online] available at: https://www. theguardian.com/ theguardian/2001/jan/27/ weekend7.weekend1 4 “A rich heritage on Riva Degli Schiavoni” [online] available at: http://www. danielihotelvenice.com/hoteldanieli-history 5 [online] available at: http://www.veneziadavivere. com/en/city-guide/greatschool-san-giovannievangelista

Maria Marjakova is marketing specialist at Ultra Fog.

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SUPPRESSION

Rome in the mist From small to large scale, the growing applications for water-mist suppression systems were in evidence during the International Water Mist Conference that took place in Rome in October, reports Jose Maria Sanchez de Muniain.

T

he establishment of high-pressure water mist as the preferred technology for bus-engine fire protection in Australia was the focus for Mick Cory of Firestorm, who first introduced the technology in mining vehicles in the country around nine years ago and who has been involved in every major tender for engine-bay protection for buses in Australia ever since.

Cory was first alerted to the concept of using water mist for engine-bay protection by Andreas Svensson, MD of Swedish manufacturer Fogmaker. The system is powered by a piston accumulator, pressurised to around 100 bar; when thermal activity busts a detection tube, the loss of pressure opens a valve that then activates the fire system which leads to the discharge of high-pressure water through stainless steel tubing and through to the misting nozzles. Discharge at the nozzles is typically 0.8lpm to 3.5lpm, consisting of droplets of water only 50 microns in diameter. Discharge also results in activation of a pressure switch that causes an alarm to alert the operator that the system has deployed.

Convinced by the concept, Cory introduced the systems to the underground mining industry, who ‘almost immediately’ welcomed water mist’s compact dimensions. “Typically we could do with four litres of water mist what others would struggle to do with 30 litres of foam on underground

machines and 36 litres of water what others struggled to do with 360 litres of foam.

Several hundred systems were installed in only two years on vehicles such as autonomous dozers, large wheel loaders and other mining plant.

At around the same time, a spate of bus fires had pushed the need for a solution to be urgently sought, resulting in the establishment of a bus and coach industry fire mitigation advisory group to establish the risks associated with bus fires and consider ways to reduce that risk. A major recommendation that ensued called for the installation of engine-bay fire suppression systems.

Engine-bay protection for heavy industry vehicles is, however, quite different to that for commercial vehicles, emphasised Cory. Mining industry vehicles are made of heavy steel, with typically one occupant on board, the machines were built with fire mitigation standards such as fuel and heat segregation in place; in addition, the environment they work in is generally not exposed to other traffic influences. Buses, on the other hand, contain flammable structures of fibreglass, textiles and plastics with human cargo. Moreover, said Cory. “The bus industry lacked some basic segregation techniques and fire suppression systems were not widely accepted.”

Next year's IWMC will take place in London, 19-20 September.

Top: testing the water-mist system in the Dartford Tunnel, London.

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suppression

Buses continued to burn at an alarming rate, said Cory, and in 2010 the Western Australian government issued a tender for the first major retrofit of high-pressure water-mist systems, to be installed on 475 compressed natural gas-driven buses.

Another tender followed in 2011 for 250 buses in Sydney; and another again for Sydney in 2015, for 1,300 buses, this time with a preference for fire systems listed under Rise’s P-mark.

Having been awarded all these contracts, Cory outlined some of the challenges presented by retrofitting 14 different bus designs over 1,300 buses in a 12-month period. One significant hurdle was the alignment between Firestorms’ processes in design, engineering and installation, which were in accordance with the Australian standard AS 5062-2006 Fire protection for mobile and transportable equipment, and those stipulated by the P-mark, which call for more extinguishing agent and more nozzles. “This, in my opinion, is a good thing, as personally, I felt more comfortable with more agent and more nozzles to satisfy the additional risks.”

The pressure on Firestorm increased further when, with over 1,100 bus installations completed, a bus caught fire on the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-time traffic.

The fire, which involved one of the yet-to-be-protected buses, moved the government to issue the largest fire tender on buses in Australia, a 2,250-bus retrofit project, again under the P-mark, and with a 10-month completion time. The challenging retrofit required over 250 different types of system design, excluding an additional 100 additional designs for ‘orphan buses’ with one-off designs. “The biggest challenge was the insane time frame. We had minimal stock in Australia so we put our Swedish comrades to work producing monthly shipments by air and sea.” At the peak of the project, Firestorm would install 300-plus fire systems per month to satisfy the timeline. The project was eventually completed ahead of schedule.

Notwithstanding these efforts, a report issued by the Office of Transport Safety Investigations in 2016 showed that the number of bus fires and thermal events was continuing to increase. “In my experience, there are many reasons for this; they may include poor maintenance, ageing fleets, poor practices, a failure to recognise potential fire risks, minimal or no fire risk segregation, higher pressures and myriad of other reasons. Place all this underneath a combustible body, and you have a recipe for disaster. It is an ongoing challenge to ensure our buses are safe from fire, but it will take more than a fire system to achieve this. It is a holistic approach which everyone in the bus industry is working hard on!”

Concluding, Cory mentioned that he was awaiting news on a further tender for 2,600 fire systems on buses in New South Wales, which reiterated the acceptance of high-pressure water mist as the preferred technology for bus-engine fire protection. “The future of water mist fire protection in Australia is bright.”

Witness and proving testing for water mist systems was the subject of the presentation by Gary Howe, senior fire protection engineer at Zurich Risk Engineering. The importance of proving testing was quickly realised by Gary Howe when he first started working with water systems over five years ago when he was witnessing a 90% failure rate of systems. “Seeing pipework blowing apart, deluge valves not operating, detection and solenoids failing to operate. Multiple areas that eventually resulted in failure to deliver water at the correct pressure and flow out of the nozzles.”

Commonly, at the final stage of system commissioning, the authority having jurisdiction takes at face value that a water-mist system is fit for purpose. “Their level of involvement and mine are poles apart as regards what I deem

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to be acceptable sign-off criteria.”

Zurich’s process to assess any water mist in the field consists of seeking answers to three questions: is the system in service? Will it work? Is it designed right?

The answers are not as straightforward as they may appear.

Site visits commonly reveal poor installation practice, valves closed, as well as incompetent contractors and incorrect designs, amongst others things. “And I wish I had a pound for every time I’ve been told not to worry and that everything has been signed off by the contractor and that you will find nothing wrong!” said Howe.

A satisfactory answer to whether a system will work or not can not be provided by paperwork, emphasised Howe, the system has to be functionally witness-tested and proven as fit for purpose, however inconvenient that may be. “Will it work doesn’t just mean looking at a plethora of commissioning certificates issued by the contractor.” These provide a false sense of security and prove nothing.

The third question ‘is it designed right?’ is answered by looking at the system’s design, installation and operation manual and whether it is underpinned by independent specific performance-based fire tests.

This approach was demonstrated in the context of a number of projects, including a major tunnel on one of the busiest highways in Europe, the M25 motorway around

Mick Cory introduced the use of water mist systems for engine-bay protection in Australia's buses.

Gary Howe (left) carries out functional testing to answer one of three key questions: will the system work?

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suppression

One of DEWA's transformers fitted with a high-pressure water-mist system.

London, whose water-mist system had never been tested by an authority having jurisdiction before.

Howe secured the closure of the M25 for two hours so that the system, which is designed to operate in three 25m-long zones, could be tested at different ventilation rates. The condition of the nozzles at ceiling height was also ascertained using a basket crane, “so that we could advise the customer of the correct maintenance, inspection and frequency of nozzle replacement and testing.” Three months later a car fire occurred in the tunnel, closing off the tunnel for a few hours.

“The water mist system put the car fire out without any problems whatsoever.”

As well as in tunnels, water mist systems are increasingly being installed for the protection of industrial oil cookers.

Food manufacturers, explained Howe, were increasingly moving all their facilities to a single location which meant that the pressure was on to mitigate business interruption in the event of a fire.

Howe had recently visited a project where 17 such systems had been installed in one factory. “At this particular food factory in the UK, we tested the systems for all 17 fryers.

Every single system was discharged and tested functionally, as well as all heat detectors in the filter boxes, under hoods

and this also involved testing of the cause and effect matrix including associated conveyor shut downs.” All worked according to plan. “The most failures I see related to industrial cookers are down to contractor incompetence.”

A number of areas for improvement on the part of owners, manufacturers and installers were also covered. Over-reliance on commissioning paperwork remains all-too-common; design, operational and maintenance manual water mist systems do not take a proactive stance around functional testing at commissioning stage; a joined-up approach is needed in terms of fire detection and suppression. “At a site with a pre-action system where aspirating fire detection operated the deluge valve, one manufacturer said to me: ‘It’s someone else’s problem, the detection side is nothing to do with us.’ It’s very important that the two sides are joined up [mechanical and electrical], because unless we test the detection we don’t know the water mist will work.”

Ultimately, whatever choice of fire protection system is designed and selected to protect a risk, it is wise to consult the insurer at the earliest possible stage with details of the proposed system. Most insurers have specialist fire protection engineers who can be contacted for support and advice. Also, property insurers may have additional operational criteria to satisfy their requirements for dependability and performance verification, such as power supply connections, water supply stipulations and periodic test facilities before they accept the complete system for property protection purposes.

“It is important to feel confident that when your fire protection system is called upon in a fire it will work as intended? Perhaps it is time to ask the question of your fire protection system: is it in service? Will it work? And is designed right? If you cannot confidently answer these three questions it is good practice advice to appoint a competent person or registered engineer who has the confidence, knowledge, experience and commitment to take responsibility for undertaking proving and witness testing both at project completion and as part of the periodic maintenance regime.”

Ensuring that a water mist system would work on a critical infrastructure project was the subject of the presentation by Ruediger Kopp of Fogtec.

While water mist systems have been protecting transformers for over 20 years, the increasing size of

Fire-test rig built by Fogtec to prove the effectiveness of water mist for Dubai's new largescale substations.

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< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017

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sUPPRessION

transformer installations requires a corresponding system to be tested and formally validated. Such an approach was required for Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, whose planned new 132kV and 400kV substations were of such a size that existing certification did not cover them.

Consequently, a test protocol was developed for the risk, based on existing protocols from VDS, and with references to NFPA 750 and CEN/TS 14972. To independently validate the system performance following the developed protocol, the testing was conducted by IFAB, an ISO 17025-accredited fire test laboratory, in the fire test facilities of MPA Dresden, with the results assessed by MPA and TUV, both of which are listed

by Dubai Civil Defense as accreditation bodies.

A large mock-up rig was constructed to replicate the characteristics and size of the transformers to be protected, consisting of three 7.5m-high surrounding walls and an open, mesh-type front fence and an open top. The mesh fence provided a 60% opening grade to ensure realistic wind conditions of 4-5mps being realised by the two ventilators, as specified by DEWA. The performance criteria defined that all fires had to be extinguished in a maximum of 15 minutes; after another 15 minutes, there should be no re-ignition.

Three risk scenarios were identified for the test: an upper pool fire, representing a spillage of transformer oil at the top of the transformer, simulated with a 4MW pool fire of diesel oil; a lower pool fire, representing a spillage of oil onto the grit soil beneath the transformer, simulated by a 2MW pool fire; and fire flowing from the top to the bottom, a worst-case scenario generating a heat release rate of around 10MW. The upper pool fire was extinguished in 4 minutes; the lower pool fire in 40 seconds; and the flowing fire in less than 12 minutes.

“The third part was the most challenging,” said Kopp, “It

finally extinguished in 12 minutes. This test was repeated a number of times, without re-ignition. So finally all three tests were passed and the system gained acceptance by the third parties.”

Describing DEWA’s protection concept, Kopp explained how the high-pressure system acts as a deluge system ie with open nozzles, but it is not automatically activated by the accompanying flame detection system. The trigger for the system is via thermally activated glass bulb elements that connect to the section valve via a hydraulic sensor line. “The section valve opens when the glass bulb breaks, activating the high-pressure pump in the central section of the substation.” The section valve can also be activated by a push-button that is routed to the fire alarm panel, or by a manual over-ride fitted to the section valves. The safety concept plans for activation of one transformer fire extinguishing system at a time.

For the first part of DEWA’s sub-stations, the high-pressure water is supplied by six pump stations located in the sprinkler pump room, consisting of 4x120 lpm pump units with 100% diesel redundancy. The water is held in 120m3 tanks, of which 15m3 provides 30 minutes of system operation.

The system has been installed on 42 transformers in six new substations. “At the end of the installation a discharge test was carried out for each transformer to demonstrate how the water mist fills the whole space and to reassess whether the whole area under ventilation, is rapidly filed by water mist,” said Kopp. He concluded by reiterating that high-pressure water mist was a proven certified solution for ventilated transformers, even on a large scale, and that it provided effective protection but also assured business continuity for the power network and its customers.

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suppression

Water in the plant A new guide has been published that provides best practice in water-mist fire protection for plant rooms, writes Steve Burton.

T

Above and below: the new guide will help engineers faced with buildings that contain a variety of fire risks with corresponding test protocols.

(Photos: Thinkstock, Shutterstock)

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he new guide takes a risk-based approach and classifies a plant room according to fuel load, which then defines the acceptable test protocols.

Plant rooms are found in a wide variety of buildings, from commercial offices and hotels to complex data centres and in high-rise construction. They house the critical infrastructure, which allows modern buildings to be powered, heated and cooled. Often, plant rooms contain significant fire risks and full consideration is not given to the likelihood of a fire and its impact. To help specifiers and end users address the complexities of plant-room fire protection with water-mist technology, the UK’s Fire Industry Association together with the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association have produced a guide.

The application of this guide may be considered particularly useful when protecting high-rise buildings, where the benefits of water mist are most relevant. Limited water supplies and smaller diameter pipe work make water mist an attractive proposition for high-rise applications, and these benefits are magnified when remote plant rooms are considered – the higher pressure and velocity of water mist means system sizing is impacted less as the building height increases.

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Where buildings are protected by a sprinkler system, design standards give very clear, prescriptive guidance. BS EN 12845 requires all plant rooms be provided with an OH3 system.

Often this will determine the water supply and hazard classification for the whole building and all plant rooms are given the same level of protection.

The structure of UK water-mist design standards requires a different approach. BS 8489-1 stipulates all occupancies of a building must undergo a risk review and assessment process, undertaken by a competent person at the design stage. The results of this review are used to determine the most appropriate fire test protocol for the fire hazards identified. This approach ensures that the correct fire test protocol is applied to the risk, and stakeholders are aware of the performance of the system at design stage.

It stands to reason, as buildings become more complex and fire risk varies, a number of fire test protocols may be applied to engineer an approved water-mist system. It may be considered naïve and unacceptable, for example, to universally protect a high-rise hotel with an approved fire test protocol for bedrooms (FM5560: 2016 appendix G, for example), where the building contains a plant room housing a UPS generator. The fire loading and implications of a fire within the two risks varies dramatically, and each needs to be reviewed in isolation based on specific requirements of the hazard.

The FIA guide for the protection of plant rooms takes this design philosophy and applies it exclusively to plant rooms.

Within the guide, generic plant rooms are split into three distinct categories based on their fire load: Low fire-load plant rooms, which are characterised by non-combustible ducting and/or limited electrical cabling.

These facilities contain no storage.

High fire-load facilities, characterised by combustible ducting and/or significant electrical cabling. These facilities contain limited storage.

Machinery space plant rooms, which are high fire-load facilities characterised by machinery such as combustion engines/boilers or other equipment, using fuel and/or lubrication fluids less volatile than or equal to heptane, and incidental use or storage of limited quantities of flammable liquids of not more than two 208-litre drums.

System designers are advised to select the most appropriate classification based on the worst-case fire load. Based on the plant room classification, all acceptable fire test protocols are detailed.

It should be noted fire test protocols do not include specific

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suppression

design detail, they simply provide a minimum benchmark level of performance. The system designer must use the manufacturer’s design and installation manual to determine nozzle performance characteristics. Alternate manufacturers may offer equal approval with differing nozzle technologies.

Once the fire test protocol has been determined the system can be configured in accordance with BS 8489-1. Where low and high fire-load plant rooms are present, systems are arranged in a wet pipe configuration whereby pipework is permanently charged with water under pressure. Automatic nozzles are equipped with an integral thermal release element maintain a closed system and provide actuation at a predetermined temperature. This method of operation ensures only nozzles in the vicinity of the fire operate; all other nozzles in the system remain unaffected.

The capacity of the system is determined by the number of nozzles that can be assumed to operate simultaneously, which is referred to as the assumed maximum area of operation (AMAO). AMAO is expressed as a m2 area and includes all nozzles within the most hydraulically remote and favourable area anywhere in the system.

Given the possibility of rapid fire growth and migration in a plant room, the minimum number of nozzles designed to operate simultaneously should be increased to maintain adequate water supply capacity. The FIA recommends the design area (AMAO) for hydraulic analysis should be increased to at least 144m2 to account for higher fire growth potential.

For machinery-space plant rooms the systems are arranged in a dry pipe deluge configuration. A deluge control valve isolates the system supply pressure from the risk, where the open nozzles are installed on a dry pipe. In the event of a fire, smoke/heat/flame is detected by a supplementary detection

system that opens a deluge control valve where water discharges through all nozzles simultaneously. This type of configuration is one of the most effective combinations of fast actuation and suppression, which is considered critical for very fast growing fires. Water supply capacity therefore needs to encompass all nozzles within the plant room.

Water mist, when designed and installed correctly, is an effective fire suppression technology suitable for a wide range of building applications. The FIA guide provides a robust methodology for ensuring the performance of the system is specific to the risk being protected, providing a mechanism for users/occupiers and specifies to effectively incorporate plant room protection into their building fire strategy.

For machinery-space plant rooms a dry pipe deluge configuration is required. (Picture: Getty Images)

Steve Burton is water mist sales manager, Johnson Controls.

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suppression

Warehouse robots A new safety data sheet covering fire protection for robot-driven warehouses provides much needed guidance. Jose Sanchez de Muniain speaks to one of its authors, Allan Macpherson of FM Global.

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he guidelines by FM Global address the challenges posed by large automatic storage retrieval systems (ASRS) to a level of detail not found in any other fire protection standards available today.

The new advice, published in Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 8-34, has been compiled in response to the growing number of companies that are automating their warehouses, packing them more densely, stacking products higher, and using flammable plastic containers that can trap water discharged by fire sprinklers.

The guidelines aim to assist warehouse managers to optimise fire protection for ASRS through storage design; reduce costs of fire protection systems; base protection

strategies on evidence; and support sustainability through the use of less water.

The latest data sheet replaces a 2007 version that has been completely re-written to include new protection options for arrays where the horizontal support for product material handling uses supporting structures such as rails or angle irons. Furthermore, for warehouses requiring in-rack automatic sprinklers, the guidelines offer options to prevent fire from growing vertically past the in-rack sprinkler protection allowing the in-rack and ceiling systems to be treated separately in hydraulic calculations.

The loss prevention recommendations are provided based on warehouse construction and location; occupancy

The new guidelines are particularly applicable to largescale, automated warehouses that use flammable plastic containers.

Photos: Shutterstock.

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(including commodity hazard, storage type, flue spaces and clearances between storage and sprinkler deflection); and protection, which covers ceiling and in-rack sprinklers as well as options for vertically enclosed storage units.

Allan Macpherson, operations chief engineer at FM Global, assisted in producing the data sheet and the application of the research. He explains that the previous data sheet had some stipulations that were beginning to clash with modern storage trends. A recommendation for in-rack sprinklers at 1.5m vertical intervals, for example, was particularly challenging to implement for open-top plastic boxes. “As the tier heights are short, typically 0.4 or 0.5m, at those tiers where you put the in-rack sprinklers you have to build the racks so that that tier is a bit taller, to give you room to build that sprinkler in. Given that usually you’ve got a fixed height you want to go to, that reduces the amount of storage you can squeeze into the space available,” he explains.

In addition, the previous data sheet only effectively addressed racks that were two boxes deep ie less than about 1.6m wide, whereas many modern ASRSs are several boxes deep and with a total width of over three meters. “We needed to realign with this, to give clients more flexibility and better protection,” says Macpherson.

The data sheet outlines the fire protection options for many different types of storage arrays, meaning that the harmonisation of new-build warehouse design with effective fire protection could lead to some cost savings in the latter.

Using containers that enable water discharged by the sprinkler to leak through the boxes, via a mesh bottom for example, can result in installations where the in-rack sprinkler system and ceiling sprinkler system sprinkler can be split.

visibly ready A vital component of gaseous fire suppression systems has been enhanced to make their operational readiness even more visible and easily ascertained.

Solenoid actuators sit on top of gas-containing cylinders and are vital for the discharge of the extinguishing agent.

TLX Technologies has introduced a supervised latching solenoid actuator with new features that include an optional, built-in LED that indicates the actuator’s fired or unfired state via built-in, pin-position monitoring. According to the manufacturer, this particular feature has been added to the component to address specific needs in China’s fire suppression market.

The new supervised actuator with pin-state monitoring comes standard with eight wires: two for activation, two for pin-state monitoring, and four wires for supervision of both the actuator placement and connection to the fire panel.

The factory-installed wiring, which is fed through an integrated conduit port in the housing, also meets the latest UL and NFPA code requirements for gaseous fire suppression actuators, NFPA 2001 (Sec. 4.3.4.1), UL 864, UL 2166, UL 2127 and FM 5600.

As the TLX supervisory mechanism that detects whether the solenoid actuator is fully engaged or not is integrated, there is no need for additional components, electrical connections, or wire paths to ensure the part is properly installed and will function accurately. In addition to a design that provides quick response and resetting capability, the component can also be rotated to the most suitable front-facing position during installation.

Customisable options include connection, thread, and pipe size as well as stroke requirements and pin stick-out. An optional manual actuation assembly and/or reset tool attachment are available.

The new technology will be on display during Intersec 2018 in Dubai, UAE, at booth 4-H16.

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“Most buildings with ASRS storage heights above two or three metres require in-rack sprinklers and ceiling sprinklers, and the two systems have to be balanced, as it is assumed that both will be operated at the same time, and the pump and tank sized appropriately. By not having to balance systems, in theory you can end up with a smaller pump and a significantly smaller suction tank, which can be useful if trying to squeeze it into a congested site,” says Macpherson. The use of a water-shedding box can result in a reduction of sprinkler heads, with a spacing between levels of in-rack sprinklers of 4.5m instead of the more usual 3m. “Leaky boxes are good, but only if they are not filled with smaller, neatly-packed boxes that completely block the holes,” he adds.

The worst-case scenarios involve existing arrays that provide no channels for sprinkler water to run down the racks, such as warehouses that contain box-supports running continuously from one box to the next, presenting an array of solid shelves with no path for water. “That makes it very easy for a fire to spread horizontally, because you cannot get water anywhere near,” says Macpherson. Having reasonable gaps between the boxes can make a facility much easier and less costly to protect. “When you start to find things like that the only help we can give is to suggest thinking about transverse vertical metal barriers, from floor to top of storage array, across the narrow width of the rack, to try and block horizontal fire spread. I’ve not seen anybody do that yet because it would be such a pain and the retrofit very difficult,” says Macpherson.

The testing that support the guidelines, which are the result of five years’ worth of research, including substantial investment and around 20 full-scale fire tests, has revealed some interesting results. The use of foam, as recommended in EN 12845 (Fixed firefighting systems. Automatic sprinkler systems. Design, installation and maintenance) for a similar hazard ie polypropylene boxes, was found by FM Global to make little difference in extinguishing three-dimensional rack fires. “And if you are having to deal with molten plastic pool fire then you are already in trouble," says Macpherson, "It’s out of control.”

Macpherson believes that to date there is no other standard that considers the hazard presented by modern automated warehouses in as much detail as the latest data sheet. “If you tried to apply some of these existing standards you would struggle, because one of the characteristics of these facilities is that the gaps between the boxes are very narrow, which are the flues where fires like to live and grow and where it is very difficult to get water down them.” The EN standard recommends reasonably sized flues every so often; without them, it defaults to in-rack sprinkler in every tier of storage. “In a rack where your storage rack is probably 0.4m tall anyway, to say to put in-rack sprinklers on every tier becomes very difficult without breaking the standard rules,” explains Macpherson.

Looking to the future, as warehouses get even taller, the ‘smart’ sprinkler (IFJ First Quarter 2017) is now beginning to appear like a very real possibility in the not too-distant future.

These sprinklers are activated by fire detection systems rather than traditional glass bulbs, creating a localised mini-deluge effect. In theory, having a set of sprinklers going off at the same time at the location of the fire should be more effective than waiting for glass bulbs to break. “That may allow us to go taller. The technology is there; at the moment we have been focussed on finding a design for a smart sprinkler that is as reliable as an ordinary sprinkler. When adding complexity to things, you have to be careful you don’t lose out on reliability,” concludes Macpherson.

< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017 Read our e-magazine at www.hemmingfire.com

Clever thing One company believes that the search for an algorithm that can reliably read a fire's shape is finally over, heralding a new era in combined security and fire detection.

IFJ finds out more.

A

n IP-based security camera that can also detect flames 180m away in less than 15 seconds is now available in a toughened version for use in the explosive environments of the oil and gas industry and as a turret version for indoor use.

The technology has been developed over the last 11 years and trialled at a number of sites owned by Sinopec and Petro-China as well as at Changi Airport.

Ciqurix’s F Cam X series of CCTV-like cameras contain patented dual sensor technology that combines video fire analytics with an infrared camera that picks up a unique signature from a flame. The combination of the two separate detectors is designed to reduce both response time and false alarms. The bold claim is that F Cams can detect a flame in less than 15 seconds at a distance 180m, and that it has a false alarm rate of 0.1%. Furthermore, the feed from F Cam X can be streamed directly onto any computer, tablet or phone, so in theory fire responders can arrive at the fire ground with prior knowledge of the fire’s size and exact location.

As the F Cam series has no reliance on smoke for detection, the technology is said to be particularly suited to outdoor environments such as airport taxiways, multi-storey carparks and rooftops – areas that are often unprotected.

Ciqurix COO Paul Seligman believes that the technology represents a solution to the long search for a reliable and efficient algorithm that is capable of reading the specific shape of a fire without being confused by other essentially random movements. “Many solutions have been developed, tested and discarded for being unreliable, less sensitive than what we already have or too costly. The most recent attempts have included thermal cameras, which alarmed whenever a vehicle went past, and pixel analytics that proved unable to recognise the difference between a real fire and a video of one. Repeated failures had led experts to say that such an algorithm, known as video fire analytics, could not be invented,” he says.

The latest evolution of the technology was trialled successfully at Singapore’s Changi Airport earlier this year, adds Seligman, with earlier versions of the camera already installed at facilities operated by Sinopec and Petro-China. “We have tested the F Cam system at Changi twice now. In the first case we built fires outdoors in poor weather conditions, in order to simulate a fire in a challenging airside environment. In the second we were testing in an M&E room, where some small fires were lit and where we were also testing for detection of electronic arcing.”

A major draw for the system is the fact that it can be integrated into existing CCTV systems, and that the picture stream from the F Cam X can be used to incorporate other back-end analytics such as facial and behavioural recognition software. “Installation costs and inconvenience are therefore kept to a minimum, and the potential saving of replacing an entire CCTV suite with fire detecting cameras can reduce the overheads involved in safety technology running parallel to security,” says Seligman. The latest Ex-certified version, the F Cam EX, is available with housing rated to Chinese national explosive standard and the European Atex standard. The IP68 rated camera can work in a temperature range of -25-60°C for detection of flame both indoors and outdoors, and has a main video stream of 1280x720p and an infrared stream of 320x240p.

For indoor use Ciqurix also launched the F Cam Solo earlier this year, with a flame detection range of 55-100m depending on the lens used. This IP60-rated camera has a viewing angle that, again dependent on the size of the lens used, varies between 46-65 degrees on the horizontal and 25-36 degrees on the vertical.

Interest in the technology has been strong so far, says Seligman, with projects underway in different applications ranging from landfill sites and recycling centres to tourist attractions, hotels and airports in the UK, Norway, Georgia, Singapore and Australia.

The company is currently developing a fish-eye lens version as well as a drone-based camera for launch in 2018.

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FoURtH qUaRteR 2017 < INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL <

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HEAT D

detection

Waste detected

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range of thermal infrared cameras designed for the protection of internal waste reception and storage areas in recycling plants and waste processing facilities has been introduced by an industrial fire detection specialist.

The new detection technology has been introduced to help address the significant risk of fire at waste and recycling plants.

Around 300 such incidents take place in the UK every year, costing the fire service in the region of GB£16 million (US$20 million) in fire-fighting and related activities.

These facilities typically process mixed recyclable waste, which is collected, sorted, stockpiled and processed from a number of materials, including plastics, paper, cardboard, wood and rubber.

Central to the plant used in such facilities are the conveyors used to transport waste around the site. Conveyor systems in general are a potential fire risk due to external events and equipment failure but when they are carrying highly flammable materials, including products with the potential to self-ignite, they become an exceptional hazard.

Patol’s Fire Thermal Infrared detection system is based on radiometric infrared technology, which is well suited to

monitoring internal waste reception areas, internal storage areas, warehouses, silos and conveyors.

The system features fixed infrared cameras connected to a software interface through which the surface temperatures within the protected location are monitored in real time, with the temperature distribution of the surface captured in milliseconds.

Images from each camera can be divided into zones, which enables specific risk areas to be identified; non-detection areas can also be established. High or low pre-alarm and alarm set temperatures can be programmed for each zone, with outputs to fire alarm and process-control systems. The factoring out of heat signatures from forklift trucks or work vehicles that may be moving around the site helps avoid unwanted alarms.

For hazardous areas, camera enclosures are available to IP66 or Atex certification, with automatic camera lens cleaning ensuring the system is capable of operating effectively in the dusty environments which are typical of recycling and waste processing facilities.

In addition to these new thermal cameras, Patol offers a number of other detection capabilities suited to these types of application, including infrared transit heat sensors, linear heat detection cable, and aspirating smoke detection.

DETECTION NEWS IN BRIEF BSI revises detection standard

One of the most important fire detection standards used in the UK has been revised with input from the Fire Industry Association and the Chief Fire Officers Association.

The BSI standard for fire detection and fire alarm systems BS 5839-1:2017 covers the planning, design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in and around commercial buildings.

Fire detection and alarm systems covered by the standard include systems consisting of only one or two manual call points and sounders, as well as complex networked systems that incorporate a large number of automatic fire detectors, manual call points and sounders. The term also applies to systems that can provide signals to initiate the operation of other fire protection systems and equipment, such as fire extinguishing systems, smoke control systems or automatic door release equipment; or safety measures such as the shutting down of air handling systems.

The standard is referred to in both volumes of the UK Government’s statuary guidance for fire safety, Approved Document B, which

52

concerns building regulations [in England] covering fire safety matters within and around buildings. Its recommendations are considered by the National Security Inspectorate to be mandatory for contractors.

Some of the key changes over the standard it replaces include an improved definition of the L2 fire alarm system, which is designed to offer automatic detection on all escape routes within a building; and modified guidance for use of multi-sector detectors, including application and testing. The new standard also requires clarification as to the use of voice alarm detectors and visual indicator devices; includes a section on the testing of the power supply, and how long any batteries or contingency power supply should last for; and provides guidance for persons who work at night so they can recognise the alarm Commenting on the new standard, Ant Burd, head of market development for built environment at BSI, said: “It will be a go-to document for anyone involved in the installation or maintenance of commercial fire detection and fire alarms, and will prove essential for contractors in the industry. It’s well-respected and easily

< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FoURtH qUaRteR 2017

one of the most important fire detection standards used in the United Kingdom.”

Aspirations in Europe

The Xtralis Vesda-E VEA addressable aspirating smoke detector has received EN54-20 approval and is thus now available in the European Union.

According to manufacturer Honeywell the use of the system could lower the total cost of ownership by up to 60% when compared to traditional detection techniques.

The VEA system works by continuously drawing air samples from the environment to a centralised detector. It uses individual microbore tubes from each sampling location to analyse for smoke, which enables a fire alarm to be raised as early as

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detection

possible. In addition, each microbore tube connecting VEA to the sampling point is continuously monitored for blockage and breakage with automated testing.

According to Honeywell, sampling location addressability and end-to-end system integrity monitoring are two new features that the VEA system brings to aspirating smoke detection.

Other features include the ability to program three levels of sensitivity alarms on the detector; and the testing and maintenance to take place at the central detector, without having to go from room to room. This eliminates the nuisance of testing interruptions, thereby reducing the cost of testing and maintaining the detection system.

A mobile app has been developed on IOS and Android to provide field service engineers with access to system status and sampling results through WAN and wireless connectivity.

The developments in the system are regarded by Honeywell as a step-change innovation that brings active air-sampling and laser-based smoke detection to environments traditionally served by passive spot or

point detectors. “Now healthcare, educational, hotel, correction and other sites with high occupancy can be protected with this exciting technology,” said Wolfgang Jentzsch, general manager of advanced detection for Honeywell.

Feeling the spark

A Swedish manufacturer has received FM Global approval for its spark detection and extinguishing system.

The FM approval covers over 70 of the detectors that are manufactured by Firefly, and which are also available in versions for use in explosive atmospheres, Ex zone 20, 21 or 22.

The standard applies to systems for the protection of ducting, conveyors or chutes used in pneumatic materials handling systems, most often used in the woodworking and textile industries.

Spark detectors monitor a duct to sense ignition sources and, upon activation, send signals to a control device that actuates a valve and releases water-spray nozzles mounted downstream of the detectors. The water discharge is timed to ensure suppression of the ignition source and

Safe and networked One of Switzerland’s largest breweries is in the midst of a six-year fire-detection system upgrade, reports IFJ.

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< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017

the material before and after the particle.

Firefly’s Truedetect infrared detectors are designed to detect all types of ignition sources such as sparks and hot black particles. They use lead sulphide cells rather than the silicone photodiodes used by conventional spark detectors, which means that the technology is insensitive to daylight, leading to fewer false alarms.

FM 3265:2017, Spark detection and extinguishing systems was updated this year and has been effective from July.

T

he main aim of Feldschlösschen Getränke for the project was to implement a simpler structure with fewer central alarm systems; by the time of the project’s expected completion in 2020, all the company’s buildings will be protected by Sintesobranded control panels and around 2,000 fire detectors from Siemens.

Fifteen kilometres east of Basel is Feldschlösschen Getränke, the leading brewery and the largest beverage distributor in Switzerland.

The company was founded in 1876 and has 1,300 employees at 21 locations. With a range of over 40 of its own branded Swiss beers and a broad beverage portfolio ranging from mineral water and soft drinks to wine, Feldschlösschen supplies 25,000 customers in catering, retail and wholesale. It has an annual beverage production of over 340 million litres through brands that include Carlsberg, Sommersby, Castello, Schweppes and Liptons Ice Tea. Known for its imposing architecture, Feldschlösschen’s headquarters in Rheinfelden occupy an extensive site with multiple buildings. While many of the buildings date back to the late nineteenth century, they nevertheless contain modern brewing technologies.

The previous fire safety system at Rheinfelden had developed over many years and consisted of a mixture of both newer and older systems. Through a project that started in 2014, the fire system is being modernised and replaced with over 2,000 fire detectors controlled by 17 central fire alarm systems that will ensure a high-level protection across the site for its personnel, the company and its business continuity.

In charge of fire protection is Andreas Sulser, fire chief of the in-house, 20-strong fire crew that are tasked with bringing any incidents under control. “From the outset we wanted step-by-step modernisation and optimisation of the detection systems. Our goal was to end up with a simpler structure with fewer central systems that are more closely networked,” he says.

At a safety trade fair, Sulser met up with Siemens, the manufacturer of the brewery’s existing Algorex system, and found out about the networking capability and functionality of the latest Sinteso system, which also happens to be backward compatible with the now 20-year-old range of fire detection systems.

Following a visit to the manufacturer’s fire laboratory at its visitor

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detection

Upgrading work at the largest beverage distributor in Switzerland will continue until 2020.

Photos: Feldschlösschen Getränke AG.

centre in Zug, Switzerland, the project kicked off. From the very start, Sulser worked closely with Siemens to draw up a complete site plan; identify where the detectors and central systems were installed; establish when they should be replaced; determine which central systems should be linked; and what information should be distributed to other central systems. “As we replace our older Siemens Algorex detectors, we are taking the opportunity to upgrade to Sinteso technology. This lays the groundwork for the future,” explains Andreas Sulser. To ensure a smooth transition between the systems, an installation standard was also defined for service technicians on site.

During the process, each smoke, flame, heat and carbon monoxide detector is configured with a set of detection parameters that vary according to the environmental conditions of their location, the deceptive phenomena present and ceiling heights. A detector inside a switch cabinet, where deceptive phenomena are not present and an immediate response is important, will have a sensitive setting for instance. According to Siemens, the advanced signal analysis technology in its

detectors is so sophisticated that it will detect minute smoke particles even before smoke is visible – while identifying false alarm phenomena caused by dust, welding, humidity or changes in temperature.

The system at the brewery will also operate during a power failure, with no loss of device or alarms and sounders throughout the entire fire system network.

With the upgrading process due to re-start in 2018, following a scheduled break in 2017, Andreas Sulser is happy with how the co-operation has worked so far, in particular when the unexpected has occurred. When a fire detection system was damaged by a lightning strike late on a Friday afternoon, in June 2015, replacement parts were delivered in a matter of hours. “Following a visit by a service technician, by 9.00pm the system was fully operational. This reliability, even in difficult situations, is something I really value,” he says.

A next step being considered for the fire system at Feldschlösschen Getränke will be the integration of the new system with Sinteso Mobile, which will enable the fire safety system to be accessed remotely via smartphone or tablet.

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FOURTH quarter 2017 < INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL <

55

evacuation

Show me the way Evacuation technology is fast evolving way beyond the limits set by legislatory fire-protection frameworks – what needs to change to enable their use?

A Siemens is integrating people's location data into building systems and processes.

In a mock-building fire, subjects followed instructions from the robot even after it had proved itself to be unreliable.

Photo: Rob Felt, Georgia Tech.

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t the end of September the Siemens Building Technologies Division announced that it would be adding location-based services to its digital service for buildings. With in-building positioning provided by Bluetooth beacons, staff will be able to use a smartphone app to control room temperature and lighting in their vicinity, find available desks nearby and reserve meeting rooms; the app will also help visitors find their way around a building. The potential benefits of this technology in an emergency situation have not been lost on Siemens, a fire safety systems manufacturer, and a number of applications are under development.

Four main applications have been identified for locationbased services in emergencies, the most obvious perhaps being providing emergency guidance. Users of the smartphone app could be notified of an emergency and be directed to emergency exits using the most accessible routes relative to their location. The app could also be used as a virtual manual call point to issue an alarm, where incidents could be reported with precise positioning information. First responders could use the app to find the location of the incident or of people requiring help, as well as find out information regarding in-building fire-fighting equipment and blocked exit routes. Adding tags to the PPE of first responders would enable them to be tracked; with HUD visors, they could be shown information such as distances to precise locations and hazards in their proximity.

Technically, all this is possible now, according to Peter Loeffler, head of trends and industry affairs at Siemens Building Technologies Division; organisationally, it is more difficult. Two years ago the company started evaluating dynamic evacuation, a technology that involves evacuation signage that can automatically change its display to signal that an exit route is hazardous, by means of a simple cross rather than the standard running-man icon. Unfortunately, it was found that the lack of an established standard for this technology in most legislations made it impractical to offer to the market. “This kind of application would work, no doubt about that. But the fear is that if something goes wrong, and a cross does not appear on a sign and something happens to someone, the integrator or manufacturer would be responsible. If this doesn’t change in terms of the legal framework, then it is difficult to introduce that

< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017

kind of application.”

The question of where responsibility lies is one that is being faced by many new technology developers, covering anything from artificial intelligence to driverless cars. “What would help is a kind of legal framework that says that if a system is proven to be better than the previous one, but may nevertheless lead to casualties in case of failure, then the manufacture would be exempt from prosecution,” says Loeffler.

As a result of this situation, Siemens is introducing the technology in a step-by-step fashion, for instance by using the smartphone app to notify people that there is some sort of emergency situation. “It could be a fire or an active shooter in the USA, but we can give messages to people and be very precise and specific because we know where they are,” says Loeffler. “This is the first step, and legally it is not an issue.”

The next step still within the bounds of possibility would be to allow the user to use the app to raise an alarm, which would immediately provide the location. The fact could then be verified via a fire detection system, for example, in the case of a fire, or manually in other types of emergency.

Although all these applications are still in development, with no date set for release date set, Loeffler is absolutely sure that they will be available in the future. However soon the many safety benefits promised by the technology may come, there is some evidence that they may be accompanied by some new challenges.

Last year the Georgia Institute of Technology carried out some research on the impact of technology failure on human behaviour in the context of a robot-guided emergency. The researchers wanted to find out whether people in a high-rise would trust a robot designed to help them evacuate. In the study, 42 volunteers were asked to follow a robot marked ‘emergency guide robot’ through a variety of scenarios, in the course of which it proved itself unreliable. The research, believes to be the first to study human/robot trust in an emergency, revealed that not only would people trust an evacuation robot, but that they would do so even when it was obviously malfunctioning and leading them into danger.

At the end of the project, researchers wondered whether the next line of research should be how to prevent people from trusting robots too much.

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FOURTH qUaRTeR 2017 < INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL <

57

PASSIVE FIRE PROTECTION

PASSIVE News In Brief Formula for safety

A new white paper from FM Global that concludes that the Grenfell Tower fire was preventable has outlined the most effective solution to minimise property and casualty losses in high-rise buildings.

The white paper, Grenfell Tower: the perfect formula for tragedy, compares and contrasts three high-rise buildings with different levels of fire protection, all of which suffered fire incidents within 51 days of each other.

allowed the fire to spread beyond the room of origin. In the case of the two Torch Fires, the highly combustible exterior led to rapid fire spread, but the sprinklers prevented internal propagation, preventing fatalities.

As Grenfell Tower had the most dangerous combination of factors with no sprinklers and a combustible exterior, the result was a total catastrophic loss.

The white paper concludes that the formula for tragedy is simple: highly combustible construction plus lack of automatic fire sprinklers equals tragic catastrophic loss.

All wrapped up

The Marco Polo Apartment (above) in Honolulu, Hawaii had no sprinklers but had a non-combustible exterior; the Torch Tower in Dubai had a highly combustible exterior but with interior automatic fire sprinklers; and Grenfell Tower in London had a highly combustible exterior and no automatic sprinklers.

The report notes that the non-combustible exterior of the Marco Polo Apartment limited fire propagation, although the lack of sprinklers

A new class of flame retardant PET polyester films has been introduced that provides better safety at lower cost.

The halogen-free, clear Melinex FR series of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films from DuPont Teijin Films combines inherent polyester film properties with the VTM-0 flame rating certified by UL’s UL 94 flame classification testing.

Typical applications include laminate structures for construction and transportation, battery labels, and insulating materials for wire and cable. “Traditional PET polyester films are well-known for their performance and reliability characteristics, and this new film type has combined those properties with the highly

desired VTM-0 certification,” said Scott Gordon of DuPont Teijin Films.

Doors of perception

A video has been released comparing the performance of two fire-rated doors – with one crucial difference.

The fire door test video was released by the BWF-Certifire Scheme as part of Fire Door Safety Week 2017, which took place at the end of September.

The video compares two almost identical fire doors with the same FD30 fire rating, meaning they should provide at least 30 minutes of protection. However, one door has a series of faults that replicate the seven most common defects spotted in fire doors.

These include using two, non-fire rated, standard hinges rather than a minimum of three to prevent the door from warping in a fire; excessive gaps between the side of the door and the frame; and missing intumescent and smoke seals.

In the video the faulty door allows smoke to pour through the gaps after just four and a half minutes.

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< INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL < FOURTH quarter 2017

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Dynax REACH ad final.pdf

1

10/30/17

7:23 PM

All Green for REACH 2020 ...3 Years Early!

SUPERVAC.COM/VALOR

INTRODUCING VALOR FROM SUPERVAC

The Valor Series is the latest in PPV innovations from Super Vac. Featuring a Patent Pending frame design that is simple and intuitive to position on the fire ground, the Valor is engineered to ease the toughest ventilation challenges.

The Valor PPV features a tough, tubular aluminum frame (15% lighter than previous models), full width handle, real rubber never-flat tires, 5-position tilt via the quick step pad, and the ability to easily attached ducting to the output. The Valor was designed for maximum versatility.

C6

C6 AFFF

FluoroSurfactant

Full Roll Cage Aluminum Frame

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C

M

Fold Down Ergonomic Handle

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Y

CM

PFOA Impurity

PFOA-Related Impurities

Dynax C6 Fluorosurfactants since January 2017

<12.5 ppb

<500 ppb

REACH EU Regulation effective July 2020

<25 ppb

<1000 ppb

CY

CMY

K

C6 AFFF Concentrates for EN / UL Performance

C6 Fluorosurfactants

MY

PFOA Impurity

PFOA-Related Impurities

6% C6 AFFF 3% C6 AFFF 1% C6 AFFF

~0.25 ppb ~0.50 ppb ~1.50 ppb

~9 ppb ~18 ppb ~54 ppb

REACH EU Regulation effective July 2020

<25 ppb

<1000 ppb

5-Position Tilt Frame Easy to maneuver

AFFF Foam Solutions from C6 AFFF Concentrates will have a PFOA impurity level of ~15 parts per trillion (ppt).

15 ppt = 0.015 ppb = 0.0000000015% — 15 ppt correlates to 15 seconds out of 32,000 years!

Why Wait?

European Commission Regulation (EC) 2017/1000 (June 13, 2017): This new REACH regulation states that PFOA and PFOA-related substances (in products such as C6 Fluorosurfactants, C6 AFFF Foam Concentrates and C6 AFFF Foam Solutions) “shall not, from 4 July 2020, be used in the production of, or placed on the market in a concentration equal to or above 25 ppb of PFOA including its salts, or 1,000 ppb of one or a combination of PFOA-related substances.”

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INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL F o r p r o f e s s i o n a l s p r ot e c t i n g l i v e s , a s s e t s a n d i n f r a s t r u c t u r e w o r l d w i d e Fourth quarter 2017 issue no.110

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Cutting it fine High-pressure cutting extinguisher lands at Glasgow Prestwick Airport

Cradle to grave Complexity of foam management takes centre stage in Budapest