environmental protection

 Just how important to society are fire extinguishers?  It turns out VERY IMPORTANT!  Often ignored,  even by the fire community, these overlooked life safety devices play a vital role in keeping us safe.  It is time for fire extinguishers to get the respect they deserve.
 
For most people fire extinguishers are invisible red cans on walls,  never looked at,  rarely considered.  To some they are the joke in a funny story about cooling beer in college or the laugh from the time they shot one off that drunken night.  But in more than 600 businesses and non-residential structures every day in America they are the difference between a minor fire problem and a conflagration.
 
Yes, you read that right, 600 time a day fire extinguishers put out fires in non-residential structures in the United States and many more around the globe.
 

Here are the facts.  

 
According to the most recent NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) data1, in 2008 U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,451,500 fires.  These fires resulted in 3,320 civilian fire fatalities, 16,705 civilian fire injuries and an estimated $15,478,000,000 in direct property loss.
 
Of these fires 112,000 were responded to in commercial or municipal buildings.  Of the over $15 Billion in property damage, more than $3.811 Billion took place in these non-residential structures.  This represents an average loss per reported incident in non-residential / commercial structures of over $34,000.
 
These facts, pure and simple, don’t tell the story of the true value of fire extinguishers to our society.
 

The Vital Role of Fire Extinguishers

To highlight the effectiveness of extinguishers in the early stage fire fighting, a 2002 UK study performed by FETA (Fire Extinguishing Trades Association) and IFEDA (Independent Fire Engineering and Distributors Association) reviewed over 2100 fire incidents and found that in 80% of the cases a portable fire extinguisher successfully extinguished the fire and in 75% of those cases, the fire department was not required to attend.

A similar survey was conducted in 2002 by EUROFEU (European Committee of the Manufacturers of Fire Protection Equipment and Fire Fighting Vehicles) in 6 European countries and it found strikingly consistent results.  In over 2600 incidents recorded it concluded that in 81.5% of cases the portable extinguisher successfully extinguished the fire and in 74.6% of the cases the fire department was not required to attend.

Extrapolating the results of these surveys to the U.S. market provides solid statistical evidence that in approximately 80% of all fire incidents a portable fire extinguisher is the only fire fighting tool needed to extinguish the fire.  Further, they indicate that in 60% of all fire incidents the fire department is not notified (and thus the event would not  appear in NFPA statistics).  If applied to the 2008 NFPA data, fire extinguishers effectively managed approximately 224,000 fires in commercial structures, 168,000 of which do not appear in NFPA statistics.  

Fire Extinguishers in Academic Settings

 
To provide some additional insight, a 2010 White Paper from Worcester Polytechnic Institute reported on the use of fire extinguishers to combat real fires in academic settings.  According to their research, fire extinguishers are used approximately 15,000 times each year in schools, colleges, universities, dormitories, fraternities, sororities and barracks.  
 
That means that fire extinguishers are called into service more that 41 times each day as the first line of fire defense in our nations schools.  What is more important than protecting the lives of our young people?

Fires in Hotels

 
According to a recent article on HotelInteractive.com, a leading web portal for hotel professionals,
 

....an estimated 3,900 fires occur each year in hotels and motels. Annually, these fires result in $76 million in property loss.

According to a recent report by the U.S. Fire Administration, 46 percent of hotel and motel fires are caused by cooking, with electrical malfunctions and heating each causing an additional 7 percent of fires. These fires occur primarily in the evening, between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. While 73 percent of fires are confined to the object of origin, 18 percent are confined to the room of fire origin and the remaining 9 percent of fires extend beyond the room of origin.

With 73 % of these fires confined to the object of origin, it is easy to see the absolutely critical role that fire extinguishers play in keeping the guests in hotels safe.  Extrapolating the prominent studies,  this indicated more than 20 fires everyday are put out by fire extinguishers in hotels.

Fire Extinguishers Protect the Environment

Fire extinguishers also play a critical role in protecting the environment by controlling fires at their very early stages.  According to a 2010 White Paper from Green Collar Research, a leading sustainability on-line research organization,

From a safety as well as from an environmental and carbon release perspective, the management of a fire with a fire extinguisher when it is in its very early stages is a best case scenario.

Green Collar Research sums up the beneficial role that fire extinguishers, and particularly electronically monitored fire extinguishers like those offered by en-Gauge, in the following manner.

Fire and fire protection plays a significant role in releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.  Fire extinguishers play a crucial role in protecting the environment due to their proven ability to fight fires while they are at their very early stages.  The availability of accessible and working fire extinguishers assures that the highest possible percentage of fires will be controlled with the minimal environmental impact possible.

Replacing the inefficient and carbon-intensive manual extinguisher inspection methodology with electronically monitored extinguishers will have significant positive impacts on the environment, including:

• ·Fewer carbon emissions from fire incidents in which a missing, blocked or non-functioning fire extinguisher is a contributing factor

• Reduced embodied carbon generated via the manufacture of replacement building materials necessary to repair fire damage

• Reduced carbon emission from the burning of fossil fuels for transportation necessary for the manual inspection of extinguishers

• Reduced water use required to fight fires

• Reduced levels of persistent pollutants associated with fires and waste water run-off

.  

Fire Extinguishers - Society’s Silent Heroes

With all of the benefits that fire extinguishers provide for us, it is surprising that we don’t appreciate them more.  In fact, the only time we think about them is when we need them in an emergency.  The only time we hear about them is when they are unavailable, or when the are unable to do their job.  

One of the major concerns relative to fire extinguishers is that the 30-day fire extinguisher inspection required by the National Fire Protection Association in NFPA 10, is not sufficient to be sure fire extinguishers are available, accessible and functional at all times.  In order to ensure these silent heroes are ready when needed, it is crucial to have them monitored 24/7, just like all of the other, less utilized aspects of our fire protection systems.  To learn more about electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers, please visit http://www.engaugeinc.net.

Halon Fire Extinguishers

Halon fire extinguisher are a specialty type of fire extinguisher that contain a gas that interrupts the chemical reaction that takes place when fuels burn. This type of fire extinguisher is often used to protect valuable electrical equipment since they leave no residue.

Halons are fire extinguishing agents which are gaseous when discharged and are extremely popular in the aircraft industry, as well as in certain technology marketplaces because Halons are electrically non-conducting. Halons are in almost universal use in aircraft fire extinguishers.. They exist in two forms:

• Halon 1211 is used only in portable extinguishers and is a streaming agent.  A halon fire extinguisher has a limited range, usually 4 to 6 feet

• Halon 1301 is used only in fixed extinguisher installations and is a total flooding agent.This type of extinguisher is commonly found in computer server rooms and clean rooms.

According to SkyBrary, a wiki focused on aviation safety:

Both Halon variants work by a combination of chemical and physical effects. The chemical effects, which are dominant in their overall effect, are achieved by the atoms in the gas directly inhibiting combustion in two different ways:

• Bromine, Iodine and Chlorine atoms act catalytically so that each atom participates repeatedly in the scavenging of important free radicals from the combustion gases.
• Fluorine atoms react with free radicals and form strong chemical bonds which neutralise combustion but can only do so once and are then “consumed.” The physical effects are both temperature reduction and dilution.

Temperature reduction occurs, whenever a non-reactive gas is added to a flammable gas, because the heat liberated by the reaction of oxygen molecules with a fuel source must be distributed into the overall environment. The rate of the combustive chemical reaction decreases rapidly with reductions in temperature and, if the concentration of added inert gas is high enough, the flame chemistry fails altogether.

Halon gas mixtures are not only inert but of low temperature when released from their pressurised state. Dilution is a simple matter of reducing the collision frequency of the oxygen and fuel source so that there is a reduction in chemical reaction rates. The magnitude of this effect, however, is relatively small compared to chemical inhibition and thermal effects, the former of these being the predominant one.

The chemical consituents in Halon gases, and the products of the reactions they produce when used to fight fires, have been identified as causing damage to the Ozone layer.  Halon is still in use today, but is falling out of favor for many uses due to its environmental impact. Europe, and Australia have severely restricted its use, since the Montreal Protocol of 1987. It is however still in use in the United States, the Middle East, and Asia in limited ways.  Since the Montreal Protocol Halon is one of the only ozone depleting chemicals with concentrations still rising, due to the release of fire extinguishing equipment already deployed.

A few 'clean agent' alternatives have been appearing on the market as an alternative to Halon extinguishers, including:

• Halotron I extinguishers, like carbon dioxide units, are "clean agents" that leave no residue after discharge. Halotron I is less damaging to the Earth's ozone layer than Halon 1211 (which was banned by international agreements starting in 1994). This "clean agent" discharges as a liquid, has high visibility during dischage, does not cause thermal or static shock, leaves no residue and is non-conducting. These properties make it ideal for computer rooms, clean rooms, telecommunications equipment, and electronics. These superior properties of Halotron I come at a higher cost relative to carbon dioxide.
• FE-36^TM (Hydrofluorocarbon-236fa or HFC-236fa) is another "clean agent" replacement for Halon 1211. This DuPont-manufactured substance is available commercially in Cleanguard® extinguishers. The FE-36 agent is less toxic than both Halon 1211 and Halotron I. In addition, FE-36 has zero ozone-depleting potential; FE-36 is not scheduled for phase-out wheras Halotron I production is slated to cease in 2015. A 100% non-magnetic CleanGuard model is now available.

en-Gauge is great proponent of Fire Extinguisher Training and believes it is a vital aspect of every organization's life safety program.  With that said, we love how Bullex Digital Safety is using innovative technology to improve fire extinguisher training for thousands of people (major bonus, they do so while lowering live training's cost and impact on the environment).

Their Interactive Training System (I.T.S) uses a portable fire system that runs on propane to simulate a fire in its early stages.  The program takes advantage of a Type A water extinguisher for the exercises (cutting down on expense and environmental impact, while allowing for quick and easy refills), even though the fire unit can simulate a class A, B or C fire.  The system reacts to the technique that the student utilizes when trying to put out the fire and ensures that the student fight the fire effectively.  With multiple levels of difficulty, the system can provide a challenge for all students going through fire extinguisher training.

Check out this video for details on how it works:

They also offer a purely digital fire solution (called HotShot) in which students utilize real extinguishers to put out 'digital' fires, while still using real extinguishers.  This provides a great solution for situations in which live fire is not an option.

Understanding fire and how to effectively fight it requires fire extinguisher training. With companies like BullEx leading the way, ensuring building occupants are ready in an emergency just got easier.

Reading the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment is a positive experience.  As one colleague said to me, “I felt hopeful after reading it that so many smart people are throwing the weight of their institutions behind finding the answers to climate change.”  I couldn’t agree more. 

In their commitment, they lay out their mission:

We believe colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and throughout society by modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality. Campuses that address the climate challenge by reducing global warming emissions and by integrating sustainability into their curriculum will better serve their students and meet their social mandate to help create a thriving, ethical and civil society. These colleges and universities will be providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to address the critical, systemic challenges faced by the world in this new century and enable them to benefit from the economic opportunities that will arise as a result of solutions they develop.

They also commit their institutions to taking key steps and reaching targeted milestones in pursuit of achieving climate neutrality “as quickly as possible”.  One of the most effective ways for the schools to reduce emissions is by committing to ‘green’ building programs, like LEED, for new construction projects and retrofits.

While we vigorously applaud these efforts, the fact is that the carbon emissions generated by just one major fire event can eliminate all of the carbon mitigation benefits accrued via those green building projects.  FM Global calculates that fire and risk of fire increases the carbon emissions of buildings by 3% over their lifetime.  With this in mind, it is vital to take aggressive steps to minimize fire risk when implementing any carbon reduction plan.

I encourage you to read The Environmental Impact of Electronically Monitored Fire Extinguishers.  This White Paper reviews the greenhouse gas impacts of fire as well as the critical carbon mitigating effects of fire extinguishers and in particular electronically monitored extinguishers.  Some of the key findings from the report include:

• Fast and early fire suppression with fire extinguishers is the most environmentally-friendly way (carbon emitted, water use, water pollution, additional pollution) to extinguish fire


• Empty and missing fire extinguishers have been a contributing factor to large conflagrations likely contributing thousands of tons of CO2 to the atmosphere annually


• Manual inspections of fire extinguishers are a contributing  factor in greenhouse gas emissions


• Electronic monitoring of fire extinguishers can be highly beneficial in reducing carbon emissions, lowering water consumption and minimizing toxic material release 

Download this free white paper and learn about the most effective way to ensure your Climate Commitement isn’t put at risk by unneccesary fires.