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Technical Release
FLAMEOUT®: A FIRE SUPPRESSING AGENT Fire: extinguishers |
October 2003 |
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INTRODUCTION: Summit Environmental Corporation, a publicly held company based in Longview, Texas, has received endorsements from several insurers directly involved with the underwriting of fire protection coverage for logging equipment, by virtue of Summit’s fire suppressing agent, FlameOut®, which combines unique and remarkable extinguishing capabilities within environmentally friendly guidelines. Bituminous Insurance provided an early endorsement, with Santee and Lloyd’s of London adding their endorsements later. With the global banning of the fire fighting agent Halon, by virtue of regulatory actions taken at the 1992 Geneva Peace Conference, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was commissioned to produce a protocol to find certified replacements for Halon under the Significant New Alternative Policy (SNAP). FlameOut® was the first of only seven permanent replacements certified as satisfying those requirements. Equipment owners may be glad enough to be able to meet the requirements of the insurance companies’ new fire preventative underwriting guidelines with respect to fire fighting equipment; but they will be especially gratified to be able to receive discounts on insurance premiums at the same time. Currently, Santee and Lloyd’s are offering discounts on renewal coverage premiums when FlameOut® and FlameOut® Systems are installed on equipment. GENERAL FEATURES : FlameOut® will work on all types of fires, extinguishing them quickly, providing fast “knock down.” The almost immediate extinguishing reduces the risk of property damage and equipment loss. The concentrate is mixed in the proportion of 9 parts water to 1 part FlameOut® in the FlameOut® 2.5-gallon or six-liter extinguishers with a special nozzle for logging equipment designed for addressing combination fuel/tire fires.
FlameOut® has Class B (fuel fires) approval from Underwriters Laboratories, being certified under standard UL 162, for encapsulization and emulsification of hydrocarbons. When a fire is extinguished using FlameOut®, re-ignition is prevented due to the molecular reorganization of the hydrocarbon chain: fuels and tires simply will not reignite. In view of this feature, preventable measures, properly administered, can prevent fires from occurring. OPERATION: Battling engine fires on heavy equipment plagues the logging industry. Automated fire suppression systems often fail to work properly or have not been installed at all. When FlameOut® is added to a wet fire suppression system, the fire is extinguished rapidly, and the temperature of the engine is quickly reduced. FlameOut® encapsulates the hydrocarbons and molecularly reorganizes the fuels into a non-flammable substance, preventing a rekindling of the fire. Keeping some extra FlameOut® on hand in a pump-up garden sprayer can go a long way toward prevention. At the end of each day, spray the solution inside the engine compartment on the walls and the exposed parts of the engine, cooling it instantly. The procedure also changes the flammability characteristics of any fuels residue. The compound builds up on the inside panels and begins to dissolve and run down the sides at once. Donnie Watts of Davis-Garvin Insurance Company states that a flaming skidder tire can be extinguished with a two-and-a-half-gallon fire extinguisher that has a mixture of 6 FlameOut® and water. He reports observing a chipper fully engulfed in flames extinguished with two fire-suppression units from skidders on the same job. The chipper would have been a total loss if the fire suppression units, including FlameOut®, had not been available. Adding Sierra brand antifreeze to the system can make FlameOut® effective for winter use. The manufacturer stresses that only Sierra brand should be used for that purpose. In all mixtures, summer or winter, the motion of the carrier is sufficient to keep the components mixed. APPLICATION: FlameOut® can be purchased in five-gallon concentrate or in FlameOut® Toppers. The water is always put in first and the FlameOut® second. With the Topper, the one-liter bottles are premeasured with the exact amount of FlameOut® in order that the filled extinguisher will be set to work on Class A or B fires. Once again, nine quarts of water with the 2.5-gallon extinguisher, and five liters of water with the six-liter extinguisher, are placed in the extinguisher, and then the appropriate Topper is added—either the 2.5 Topper or the 1.5 Topper for the 2.5-gallon and six-liter extinguisher, respectively. COST: 1 FlameOut® costs $25 per gallon, with a cost per extinguisher fill of $3.71 for the 2.5-gallon unit and $2.34 for the six-liter unit. The FlameOut® extinguishers are $99 and $94, respectively. Specially fabricated mounting brackets made from quarter-inch steel and lined with a foam pad provide for firm and convenient placement of the extinguishers on any piece of equipment. Keith
Parker, Chief Executive Officer
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Forest Resources Association Inc. |