USFA offers water-based extinguishing agent report
Demonstration of Biodegradable, Environmentally Safe, Non-Toxic Fire Suppression Liquids, available from the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), presents research on the firefighting effectiveness of water-based extinguishing agents for Class A, Class B, and Class D fires. All agents tested were required to be biodegradable, environmentally safe, and nontoxic. The bureau of Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), conducted the research demonstrations for the USFA.
According to USFA Administrator Carrye B. Brown, the availability of national consensus standards based on demonstrated performance will allow fire departments to use efficient extinguishing agents with greater confidence. This report is considered an important first step in support of the fire service`s need for tools to evaluate an agent`s firefighting capability in relation to plain water or another agent in a given situation.
The report may be ordered from the National Technical Information Service at http://www.ntis.gov (order number PB98-1462931NZ); cost is $60, plus a $5 handling fee. Portions of the report may also be downloaded from the NIST Web site at http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire98/art044.html.
(Source: Fire Control Digest, Washington Capital News Reports, Inc., Jan. 1999.)
