Efficient mobile fire-fighting

Is your aim to achieve unusually fast and effective fire suppression with minimal water damage as a very welcome side benefit?
The obvious answer is water mist. Nessie® water hydraulic pumps from Danfoss supply the necessary water pressure.

Mobile systems – an example
According to legislation, from 2002 it will be compulsory to install water mist systems in ships' engine rooms. The result is that users in the mobile sector are showing greater interest in water mist as a means of suppressing fires.

A further reason for the greater interest from the mobile sector is the fact that a water mist system only requires a water tank of 200 litres to give continuous fire suppression for about 10 minutes against the 1 minute or so achieved with conventional fire-fighting equipment.

Thanks to water mist technology, it has become possible to install an effective fire-fighting system in a light vehicle enabling it to respond quicker to an alarm call and reach the scene of a fire quicker than a conventional fire engine. Since time plays such an important role in fire fighting, the supposition is that up to 80% of fires could be combated with the system.

Firexpress
The Danish company Firexpress producing mobile fire-fighting systems has in cooperation with Danfoss developed a power pack containing a Nessie hydraulic pump for installation in smaller fire-fighting vehicles.

The first system has been installed in a vehicle belonging to the Danish rescue service, Falck. According to Danish legislation, three vehicles must respond to a fire alarm: a fire engine, a water tender and a support vehicle. The compact Nessie power pack is installed as extra equipment in the support vehicle which now, in contrast to previous times, is the first to arrive at the scene of fire. The vehicle has been based on a four-wheel-drive off-roader and carries specified support material together with the water mist system supplied by Firexpress. It also carries two firemen equipped with smoke helmets.

System description
In general, the Firexpress system distinguishes itself from other water mist systems by incorporating a changeover system so that either water mist or foam mist can be selected. Changeover between the two can be performed with a handle on the nozzle grip. In other words, it is possible to change from one fire-fighting method to another. A typical situation is a car fire where foam must be used to extinguish burning fuel on the road, and water mist to extinguish fire in the engine or passenger compartment.

Two basic systems are offered by Firexpress: one for installation in new vehicles and a modular system for converting existing fire service vehicles. Both systems incorporate Nessie water hydraulic components from Danfoss.