A programme of continuing investment and a commitment to maintain the highest production standards demonstrates PROFOAM's determination to be the eminent firefighting foam specialist.

As was demonstrated at the UK Buncefield depot fire in December 2005,  firefighting monitor excels not only in its striking power but also in its ability to gain maximum ‘reach’ advantage during its application of water and foam.

There is now a wide choice of detectors available to the fire engineer - and detector selection can now be focussed on to the particular products of combustion and site specific conditions.

“Fires inside long tunnels are rare but can be catastrophic,” says Markku Vuorisalo, the  Business Segment Manager, Transportation Segment of the Marioff Corporation.

Concern over tunnel fire safety worldwide has led to the increasingly widespread adoption of VSD or Video Smoke Detection.  Recently D-Tec’s system has been installed, for example, in the new 2.5 km Alassio Tunnel in Italy and in the 13-year-old, 2.3km, four-lane Sydney Harbour Tunnel in Australia, reports Ian Moore is Managing Director of D-Tec, the world’s leading authority on camera-based fire detection.

A long-range thermal imager from GB SOLO Ltd, the STEALTH is capable of identifying people over 500 metres away through smoke, fog, darkness or camouflage and is said to be suitable for use onboard helicopters.

Portable gas monitors from ISC

The peace of a quiet morning on Sunday, December 11th, 2005, was shattered by a series of explosions at Buncefield, an oil depot  located just north of London - initiating the biggest fire of its type seen in Europe since 1945.

Jan Crucq comments: “Since halon-based systems have been decommissioned, the shipping industry has been looking at suitable alternatives. At the moment there are several replacement systems that have worldwide recognition within the maritime sector.

Halon 1301 and Halon 1211 were once regarded as the ‘wonder remedy’ when they were introduced in the 1960s. They were ‘clean agents’ which did not leave any corrosive or abrasive residues after use, unlike water, dry chemicals and foams which were associated with secondary non-fire damage.

The recent DDA and EN54 directive has once again placed emphasis on the importance of ensuring safety and warning systems are up to standard.  Not only that, but there is also now a need for companies to install more versatile systems that can cater for both the visually and audibly impaired.

It was five years ago that 3M announced (May 2000, shortly before InterSchutz 2000) that the company was withdrawing from fluorosurfactant manufacture using perfluorooctanyl sulphonate (PFOS) chemistry.

With the emergence of a new Class ‘B’ foam technology it is time for the industrial firefighting industry to examine the benefits of this technology,  Solberg Scandinavian AS has been involved with the manufacture of fire-fighting foams since the 1980s.

There should be no doubts that the blasts and fires at the Buncefield oil terminal, just outside Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, on the 11th December 2005 will be discussed and the outcomes debated for many years to come.

The following are all essential terms used in the world of foam:

JOIFF, the Organisation for Emergency Services Management, concerns itself with the protection of life, property and the environment in those sectors in which its members operate.