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Extinguishing vegetation fires quickly and in an environmentally friendly way
Risk of dry phase
Fighting wildfires
As climate change favors dry periods in nature, the risk of wildfires is also increasing worldwide. The "wildfire season" is becoming longer and more intense from year to year. As a result, the demands on extinguishing technology are also increasing. The aim is to fight vegetation fires quickly and effectively, using as little water as possible — without causing additional damage to the environment.
Main risks:
- High temperatures, little rain
- Coniferous forests
- Arson
Wildfire types
A distinction is made between different types of forest fires such asground fires, crown fires, aerial fires and trunk fires.
Ground fire
Wildfires are also known as surface fires or ground fires and usually occur during dry periods due to ignition sources such as tobacco residues, barbecues and burning fields. They are the most common forest fires. The fire catches leaves or falling branches and spreads quickly in an elliptical shape. In the worst case,ground fires can lead to full fires and large scale fires.
Crown fire
Even if ground fires spread primarily horizontally and not vertically, crown fires can also be caused by ground fires, depending on the wind conditions, which are carried from treetop to treetop. Crown fires spread faster than ground fires and can run ahead of them. In combination with ground fires, they are referred to as full fires.
Aerial fire
If burning objects or materials are whirled up by thermals, this is called an aerial fire, which often contributes to the spread of forest fires.
Trunk fire
Trunk fires are caused by lightning strikes or the impact of fireworks. They are rare, but can also cause ground fires.
Requirements for extinguishing technology
Mobility is a decisive factor when fighting wildfires. Fire engines cannot penetrate deep into the forest. In addition to the speed at which fires spread, weather-related influences such as wind speed and direction also require quick and flexible action. At the same time, the lack of infrastructure in forest areas makes it crucial to use water resources sparingly. Fires need to be extinguished as quickly as possible with as little water as possible (25 — 50 l/min). Rough terrain and the rapid spread of fire often make access to the source of the fire difficult and dangerous for firefighters.
Emergency vehicles: Robust and equipped with the right technology
In forest fire operations, all-terrain fire engines are required that are capable of attacking, but also provide sufficient protection for the emergency personnel. Only a fraction of fire departments are equipped with a TLF-W, a forest fire fighting vehicle. The vehicles specially designed for forest fire operations offer a large supply of extinguishing water, are protected against the effects of heat and enable personnel to attack directly from the moving vehicle. At the same time, they offer high off-road mobility, a self-protection system and breathing air connections. In most cases, however, conventional TLFs with additional equipment or rescue fire fighting vehicles (HLF) are used to fight forest fires. Equipped with an extinguishing monitor, fires can be fought from a safe distance. A proportioning system installed in the fire truck, such as our FZ1000, is recommended, which reliably mixes even low proportioning rates in order to generate wetting agent and thus extinguish forest fires quickly and with low water consumption.
Wetting agent fights wildfires faster with less extinguishing water
Wetting agent is extinguishing water with a reduced surface tension. It is created by adding multigrade foam concentrate or wetting agent to the natural extinguishing water at a certain proportioning rate. Thanks to the reduced surface tension, the wetting agent penetrates deeper into the burning material, such as wood, than normal extinguishing water. Forest fires can therefore be fought faster, with a smaller amount of water and less foaming agent. This saves costs and increases extinguishing efficiency by up to 100 %. In addition, the foam concentrate industry now provides suitable foam concentrates for fighting forest and vegetation fires. According to the manufacturers, these are harmless to the environment when used as intended and are 100% biodegradable. The foam concentrate is proportioned at low proportioning rates of 0.1 % to 0.5 %, which must be strictly adhered to. A proportioning system, such as the portable proportioning system DZ1000, is used for proportioning.
Portable proportioning systems for mobile use
Portable proportioning systems are indispensable for fighting forest fires. They are lightweight, extremely compact and, depending on the model, can be carried by one or two people. The DZ1000 proportioning systems from FireDos guarantee precise proportioning of the foam compound over the entire operating range, whereby the proportioning rate can be switched in a few simple steps during operation. They therefore offer maximum flexibility for varying extinguishing scenarios, e.g. for fighting vegetation fires or forest fires. As mentioned above, the proportioning systems of the DZ1000 family are also suitable for generating wetting agent, even with low extinguishing water volume flows from a flow rate of 70 l/min. The devices are compatible with all types of nozzles and can also be used optimally for impulse extinguishing.
Extinguishing robots for hazardous areas
In addition to logistics and rescue work, fire departments are also supported by extinguishing robots when fighting forest fires. Equipped with an extinguishing monitor, they can enter hazardous areas to extinguish the fire from a short distance and thus protect emergency personnel.
Foam proportioners for fire trucks
FireDos proportioning systems have been specially developed for installation in fire engines. They can be installed in fire-fighting group vehicles or tank fire-fighting trucks, for example.
Wetting agent: Fighting wildfires faster
Wetting agent penetrates deeper into the burning material so that fires can be extinguished more quickly. We have compiled a guide to extinguishing fires with wetting agent for you.
Portable proportioners for mobile use
The DZ1000 and DZ1000 light portable proportioners from FireDos offer maximum flexibility in mobile use and guarantee precise proportioning of the foam agent over the entire operating range.
Contact us
Are you interested in our extinguishing technology solutions for fighting wildfires? Please contact us. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
Fire risks
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Dry phases: high temperatures, little rain
Long periods of drought are increasing worldwide from year to year, which also increases the risk of forest fires. If there is also wind, the danger increases even more.
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Coniferous forests
Coniferous forests, especially pine forests with a high resin content, are usually affected by forest fires as they are more flammable. Historically, pine forests are monocultures, not mixed forests that have been artificially created by humans. Due to the greater distance between the trees, they offer more space for wind, which accelerates the fire. Another influencing factor is the lack of deadwood, which serves as a water reservoir in deciduous forests. In addition, soil organisms break down tree needles less quickly, so that more combustible material is available. In general, deciduous wood stores more water and therefore burns more poorly. The leaves also keep out sunlight. It is therefore cooler, damper and darker in deciduous and mixed forests.
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Arson
The most common cause of forest fires is arson, whereby a distinction must be made between negligent and deliberate arson.
Application examples
Developing a fire protection concept: What you should bear in mind
- Educate forest visitors
- Keep access routes clear
- Sufficient extinguishing water extraction points — even in areas that are difficult to access
- Mobile and compact extinguishing technology to be able to fight fires independently of the infrastructure
- Use of wetting agent to extinguish fires quickly and efficiently with low water and foam agent consumption
- Robust fire trucks equipped with an extinguishing monitor and proportioner to generate wetting agent
- Use of extinguishing robots in hazardous areas
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