Ultra-High Pressure Firefighting: The Fastest...
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Ultra-High Pressure Firefighting: The Fastest Attack New technology is no stranger to the fire service. Consider our protective gear, SCBA, PPV, thermal imaging cameras, water additives, automatic proportioning systems and CAFS to name just a few. Ultra- high pressure (UHP) firefighting is yet another new revolutionary technology that will forever change the way we fight fires. One of the best tools on the market for taking advantage of UHP is the PyroLance. This unique system installs in any fire vehicle to allow firefighters to gain access to interior fires by blasting a 3 mm hole through any wall, roof or other type of barrier. Once a barrier is penetrated, the PyroLance continues to shoot a UHP water fog to aggressively attack the ‘gaseous phase’ of the fire. This effectively knocks down the fire and rapidly cools the environment, thereby allowing for a safe entry to conduct search and rescue as well as overhaul operations. Let’s take a closer look at how PyroLance is changing firefighting by using ultra-high pressure to pierce barriers, then rapidly cool and extinguish fires at their source. THE BACKGROUND Traditionally, we have always attacked the ‘fuel’ phase of the fire. Several years ago, researchers in Sweden began experimenting with ‘flashover’ simulators and the ‘gaseous’ phase of fire behavior. What the researchers discovered was that by flowing an ultra-high pressure water fog into a fire’s thermal layer, they were able to inert the fire gases without introducing oxygen. As a result, the interior heat dropped significantly in a matter of seconds. With the fire controlled, the risk of flashover eliminated and the temperature reduced to a safe level, crews could now make a safe entry into the fire area. Subsequently, other groups have conducted their own research to evaluate the cooling and suppression capabilities of UHP. All had similar findings.
Transcript of Ultra-High Pressure Firefighting: The Fastest...
Ultra-High PressureFirefighting: The Fastest AttackNew technology is no stranger to the fire service. Consider ourprotective gear, SCBA, PPV, thermal imaging cameras, water additives,automatic proportioning systems and CAFS to name just a few. Ultra-high pressure (UHP) firefighting is yet another new revolutionarytechnology that will forever change the way we fight fires.
One of the best tools on the market for taking advantage of UHP isthe PyroLance. This unique system installs in any fire vehicle to allowfirefighters to gain access to interior fires by blasting a 3 mm holethrough any wall, roof or other type of barrier. Once a barrier ispenetrated, the PyroLance continues to shoot a UHP water fog toaggressively attack the ‘gaseous phase’ of the fire. This effectivelyknocks down the fire and rapidly cools the environment, therebyallowing for a safe entry to conduct search and rescue as well asoverhaul operations.
Let’s take a closer look at how PyroLance is changing firefighting byusing ultra-high pressure to pierce barriers, then rapidly cool andextinguish fires at their source.
THE BACKGROUND
Traditionally, we have always attacked the ‘fuel’ phase of the fire.Several years ago, researchers in Sweden began experimenting with‘flashover’ simulators and the ‘gaseous’ phase of fire behavior.
What the researchers discovered was that by flowing an ultra-highpressure water fog into a fire’s thermal layer, they were able to inertthe fire gases without introducing oxygen. As a result, the interiorheat dropped significantly in a matter of seconds. With the firecontrolled, the risk of flashover eliminated and the temperaturereduced to a safe level, crews could now make a safe entry into thefire area.
Subsequently, other groups have conducted their own research toevaluate the cooling and suppression capabilities of UHP. All hadsimilar findings.
UHP THEORY
Up to this point, the industry has not formally defined what ultra-high pressure is withrespect to mobile firefighting applications. For this discussion, we will use the followingdefinitions:
• Normal Pressure: Under 500 PSI (<35 Bar)• High Pressure: 500 to 1,000 PSI (35 to 70 Bar)• Ultra-High Pressure: Over 1,000 PSI (>70 Bar)
The second point we need to understand is water droplet size. Water droplets aretypically measured in microns. A micron (µ or m) is one millionth of a meter (0.001 mm) or1/25,400 inches. A micron is also referred to as a micro meter.
Generally, water droplets flowing from a Normal Pressure hand line range in size from700 to 1,000 µ. By contrast, the droplet size flowing from a UHP line will typically fall inthe range of 80 – 150 µ. For a given volume of water, therefore, the surface area of UHPdroplets is significantly greater than for Normal Pressure droplets. This greater surfacearea enables faster and more efficient cooling.
The smaller droplet size found in UHP streams tend to have a greater ’hang time’ in theair, thus enabling the water to better saturate the air and increase the humidity. Thiseffect can readily be seen in a side-by-side comparison using a Normal Pressure hand lineand a UHP hand line. When you point both streams up in the air and then simultaneouslyclose both nozzles, the UHP water fog will hang in the air much longer than the NormalPressure droplets. We know if we can build the humidity to 30%, combustion ceases. Theadditional ‘hang time’ of UHP coupled with the smaller UHP droplet size make thispossible.
In theory, with greater surface area and a longer ‘hang time’ we would expect UHPstreams to outperform Normal Pressure streams. In fact, that is exactly what the testsdemonstrate.
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Aerosols Nozzles Sprinklers
Fine Sprays
Oil FogSmoke
Optimum UHPdroplet size
Typical NormalPressure droplet
sizeSea Fog Mist Rain
Clouds Drizzle
0.1 1.0 10 100 1000
THE EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
Since the early 1980s, the U.S. Air Force has relied on the Model P-19 as their first responseARFF vehicle. The drawback with this apparatus is that only one vehicle can fit into the cargoarea of a C-130 aircraft. In the early 2000s, the U.S. Air Force began looking for technologiesthat could provide as much or more punch as the P-19, only on a smaller platform. Theirultimate goal was to carry two of the replacement vehicles on a C-130 aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force Research Lab conducted extensive testing involving UHP technology in2006-07. They ran over 100 tests comparing a UHP-equipped P-19 vehicle flowing 300GPM (1135 LPM) to a Normal Pressure P-19 flowing 700 GPM (2650 LPM). Some of thevideo footage of those tests are available on the PyroLance website atwww.pyrolance.com and the complete AFRL report is available atwww.aviationfirejournal.com/pdf/UHPP-19FinalReport[1].pdf.
The goal of the tests was to obtain equal or greater punch on a smaller platform. The videofootage on the PyroLance website shows side-by-side attacks on similar pit fires by the twotest vehicles. The results are typical for the findings and conclusions of the AFRL report:
UHP P-19 Normal Pressure P-19Time To Knockdown: 31 seconds 43 secondsTotal Water Consumed: 151 Gallons 525 Gallons
(572 Liters) (1987 Liters)
These results show UHP knocking down a fire with less than 29% of the water in 72% ofthe time than with Normal Pressure on a similar fire! UHP vs. Normal Pressure testing hasshown similar results on wildland and structural fires. The following chart illustrates thefindings for UHP vs. Normal Pressure in wildland, hydrocarbon and structural applications:
The AFRL study also concluded the following:
• Optimum Droplet Size: 90-100 �m• Optimum Droplet Velocity: 125-150 m/s• UHP provided faster knockdown than Normal Pressure• UHP required less water than Normal Pressure• UHP required less water additives than Normal Pressure
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Water Usage Comparison Wildland Fuel Structural Fire Fire Fire
NORMAL PRESSURE ULTRA HIGH PRESSURE (UHP)
UHP – THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION
When a droplet from a Normal Pressure water stream enters a fire area, it has thepotential to convert all of its mass to steam. In reality, only about 10% of that mass willconvert to steam and cool the fire. When a droplet from a UHP water stream enters a firearea, that droplet will convert about 90% of its mass to steam. This explains thesignificant difference in efficiency between the two streams. Together, the smaller UHPdroplets comprise more surface area than Normal Pressure water droplets. This is whythey have the ability to cool more efficiently.
So, let’s compare a 100 GPM (380 LPM) Normal Pressure hand line at 10% efficiency with a20 GPM (76 LPM) UHP hand line with 90% efficiency. The total volume of water flowed bythe two streams over time is illustrated in the following chart.
The volume of water for the Normal Pressure stream exceeds the UHP stream by a factorof five. Now let’s compare the volume of water in the two streams that is actually cooling.Remember, the efficiency for the Normal Pressure stream is 10% while the efficiency ofthe UHP stream is 90%. The comparison looks like this:
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Total Water Flowed in Minutes(Gallons / Liters)
Normal Pressure
UHP
1,000 /3,800
1,200 /4,560 1,000 /
3,800 800 /3,040
600 /2,280
400 /1,520 200 /
760
2,000 /7,600
3,000 /11,400
4,000 /15,200
5,000 /19,000
6,000 /22,800
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
E�ective Water Flowed in Minutes(Gallons / Liters)
Normal Pressure
UHP
180 /684
600 /2,280 500 /
1,900 400 /1,520 300 /
1,140
360 /1,368
540 /2,052
720 /2,736
900 /3,420
1,080 /4,104
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
100 /380
200 / 760
What we can see from this example is that while the Normal Pressure stream flowed fivetimes the volume of water as the UHP stream, the UHP stream actually outperformed theNormal Pressure stream by 80%. This can be a significant advantage when one considersthe resources (both equipment and manpower) required to flow the added volume ofwater, the weight of the added water on a structure and the subsequent water damageto that structure due to the added water volume.
We discussed the improved efficiency of UHP, but now let’s also look at some of theadditional benefits that should be considered by anyone investigating UHP technology:
A number of manufacturers are now marketing UHP technology for attacking andcooling.
However, there is another side of UHP technology, proprietary to PyroLance, whichenables fire crews to punch through virtually any material in a matter of seconds.
PENETRATING WITH UHP
PyroLance perfected and patented thetechnology to penetrate walls and other barriers by
flowing water at 10 GPM (38 LPM) with a pressure of 1,500PSI (100 BAR) at speeds of 400 MPH (650 KPH) through a specially
designed lance that integrates granite abrasive. This combinationallows firefighters to pierce or cut virtually any material at aphenomenal rate.
Once a barrier is penetrated, the operator continues to use the lance toinject UHP water fog into the thermal layer of the fire area. The UHPwater fog shot through the lance can reach as much as 35’-40’ (10m-12m), with a heat absorption capacity in excess of 6,000 BTU/sec. Andthe lance does this while allowing fire crews to operate from a safeexterior position! This explains why UHP firefighting is such a paradigmshift from the way fire crews have traditionally operated. Working withthe PyroLance system is more efficient, more effective and safer thanNormal Pressure.
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Safety Ergonomic• 60’ - 85’ (18 - 26 m) throw range • Ease of use• Immediate knockdown • Reduced weight• Hydraulic ventilation • Quick in-service and take-up time
Environmental Design• 90% water efficiency • Compact – less weight to carry• Less water runoff • Small installation footprint• Less damage • Easy to customize
In a series of tests conducted in Oklahoma City, fire was started and allowed to burn in asecond story apartment until the interior temperature reached 1,380°F (750°C). (Videofootage of this burn can be seen on the PyroLance website at www.pyrolance.com.)Crews entered the first floor of the structure, penetrated the first floor ceiling using thePyroLance’s mix of UHP and granite abrasive, and then continued to flow UHP water foginto the second story apartment. From the time crews water flowing, it took only 2:00minutes to bring the interior temperature of the second story apartment to 212°F (100°C).
It is important to note, crews were never exposed to extreme heat or the risk of aflashover in utilizing this new technology!
These same tactics can also be employed when penetrating and attacking a roof or atticspace from the safety of an aerial bucket or ground ladder; a basement fire from thesafety of an exterior position; or any type of vehicle, aircraft, train car, or shipcompartment fire.
The Oklahoma City tests concluded that the PyroLance offered the following advantages:
• Improved firefighter safetyo Indirect attacko Reduced stresso Lighter hoseo Non-sparking penetration
• Faster cooling• Reduced damage• Improved visibility• Less water additives• Preserved evidence for arson investigation
The main components of the PyroLance technologyconsist of a UHP pump, abrasive tank, hose reel andpenetrating lance. A gas or diesel engine, PTO orhydraulic motor can power the pump. The system is
available with a wireless lancethat’s controlled by theoperator or in manual versioncontrolled at the pump panel. At right is a standard configuration.
The base unit (shown at left) is compact and easily installed in acompartment or on a skid unit. The typical dimension is 36” W x24” D x 32” H (914 mm x 610 mm x 813 mm). The system isavailable with Lance only, Blitz only or in a combined Lance/Blitzconfiguration.
The lance has numerous features, including a collapsible stock andadjustable fore end grip to accommodate different sizedfirefighters. The fore end grip doubles as a stand when the lance isnot in use. The wireless version of the lance comes with a foldingantenna, safety lock on the trigger, abrasive on/off switch withindicator light, and a low battery indicator.
AbrasiveTank
WaterTank
UHPPump
HoseReel
ControlPanel
PiercingLance with
WirelessTransmitter
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About PyroLance
PyroLance is a revolutionary firefighting tool used by fire units around the world. Byintegrating granite abrasive with an ultra-high pressure (UHP) stream of water, PyroLanceallows fire crews to pierce through concrete, composites, plate steel and other barriersfrom a safe position, and then cooling the hot gases and attacking the fuel sources of afire with a powerful UHP mist. For more information about UHP firefighting and thePyroLance operating system, visit www.pyrolance.com, email [email protected] or call +1 (303) 766-1137.
© 2012 PyroLance LLC. All Rights Reserved.
525 Main Street · Box 120609 · New Brighton, MN 55112 USA
+1 303.766.1137 · pyrolance.com
