NEWS IN BRIEF
NFPA adds new Building Fire Safety Systems member section
The newly established Building Fire Safety Systems member section held its first meeting in November during the National Fire Protection Association’s fall meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. The section is open to NFPA members professionally involved in the design, approval, manufacture, distribution, installation, maintenance, and certification of alarm, detection, suppression, and smoke-control systems; users and owners of these systems; and individuals responsible for training relative to these systems.
The section’s functions will include coordinating fire and life-safety equipment and systems in structures, forums for the transfer of technology on fire protection equipment, education and training related to fire protection equipment, joint meetings with other NFPA member sections, and communication among NFPA members.
Membership in one or more member sections is free to NFPA members. For more information, contact the NFPA at (800) 344-3555.
Factory Mutual and Underwriters Labs move to facilitate ISO registration
An agreement recently entered into by Factory Mutual Research Corporation (FMRC), a unit of Factory Mutual Engineering and Research (FME&R), and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) will expedite the process of registering systems according to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9000-9004 standards, according to FMRC.
Itie move will eliminate unnecessary duplicity and make the process of ISO assessment and registration easier and less time-consuming, explains John Rennie, FMRC vice president.
For more information, contact Tiffany W. Anderson or Mary Gendron Picower of Middleton & Picower, Inc. at (212) 9809060 or Diane Viera at FME&R at (617) 255-4660.
Halon replacements
3M Clean Extinguishing Agents (CEAs) 410 and 614 will replace Halon 1301 and 1211, the company recently announced. Known as perfluorocarbons, which have been used safely in the workplace for decades, the agents are derived from common organic compounds. Their carbonbound hydrogen atoms have been replaced with fluorine atoms, making them completely fluorinated fluids.
Both effectively extinguish fires, leave no residue, are low in toxicity, and are electrically nonconductive. They do not contain chlorine or bromine as part of their chemical makeup, giving them zero ozone-depletion potential.
CEA 410 (perfluorobutane, chemical formula C4F10) is a gaseous agent, as is Halon 1301. Its Underwriters Laboratories (UL) extinguishing concentration for heptane is 5.2 volume percent and 5.0 volume percent for Class A. Its boiling point is 1 ATM of 28.4°F (-2.0°C), thus lowering the potential for thermal shock. According to the company, it is best suited for fixed total flooding systems to protect against explosions and class A, B, and C fires and is recognized by NFPA 2001, Alternative Protection Options to Halon, adopted in November 1993 (and scheduled to be issued in mid-March, according to the NFPA), for use in occupied areas, A UL listing for use in preengineered systems is pending.
Dolton (IL) Fire Department receives sweepstakes rescue truck
Eleven-year-old Nicole Finney, winner of the “Win This Fabulous Rescue Truck for Your Town” sweepstakes, cosponsored by Emergency One (E-One) and Navistar International Transportation Corporation, won a rescue truck worth SI70,000 for her hometown fire department in Dolton, Illinois. The air-conditioned truck has an International 4900 chassis with a six-passenger, four-door crew cab; a 226-inch wheelbase; an Allison MT-643 four-speed automatic transmission; and a Bendix/lnternational four-wheel control antilock brake system. Finney presented the truck to Chief Robert Kapusta during a special ceremony at the 1993 Fire Rescue International Conference (formerly the IAFC Convention) held August 29-31, 1993, in Dallas, Texas. Finney’s entry, shown above, was one of tens of thousands submitted by children across the country.
Applications for CEA 410 include highvalue computer rooms; broadcast facilities; records storage; telephone exchanges; offshore drilling platforms; control rooms; and other areas where water, foam, carbon dioxide, dry chemical, and other halon alternatives could be harmful to personnel or sensitive equipment. It also may be used for inerting applications in petrochemical facilities to prevent ignition of explosive atmospheres.
CEA 614 (perfluorohexane, chemical formula CF1) is intended for use in handheld portable and wheeled extinguishers and other streaming devices used to protect military aircraft on flight lines and in commercial portable applications. It is being tested for use in armored military vehicles, such as tanks, to suppress explosions and fires, according to 3M.
The U.S. Air Force Halon 1211 Firefighting Agent Replacement Program selected CEA 614 as its primary clean agent replacement. It is comparable to Halon 1211 in firefighting effectiveness in typical USAF tlight-line tire scenarios. Its extinguishment concentration for heptane using the cup burner method is 4.0 volume percent, and its boiling point is 132°F (56°C). A liquid at room temperature, CEA 614 simplifies agent handling, extinguisher recharging, and recycling.
For more information, contact 3M Specialty Chemicals Division, Dept. CH93-12, Bldg. 223-6S-04; St. Paul, MN 55144-1000; (800) 621-6413.
Fire safety exhibit opens in Florida museum
One-third of the Explore Galore exhibit space in the Great Explorations Hands-On Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, is now dedicated to fire safety. The permanent safety exhibit, which opened September 18, 1993, was designed and constructed by St. Petersburg Fire Department employees and volunteers under the supervision of Tom Young, deputy fire marshal responsible for public education, code enforcement, and fire investigation.
The exhibit offers children up to six years of age opportunities to slide down a fire pole to a padded floor from a two-step platform in the Fire Station area; to try on child-size bunker gear, including heavy coats, boots, and hats; and to sit in the driver’s seat of a mini fire truck (four feet by 10 feet). The engine has ladders, red lights, a video monitor, a microphone, a pump panel, and rear jump seats. Bypushing various buttons, a child can light up the truck for a minute and activate a monitor showing a video of firefighters receiving an alarm at the station, sliding down a pole, getting into a fire engine, and responding to the call. Acrylic holders mounted on the walls of the exhibit contain brochures on fire safety for adults.
The Home Safety area provides practice. in handling emergency fire situations. The child, for example, learns how to stay close to the ground, get out of the house, and react quickly. The child is instructed by audio to lie on the simulated bed, which contains a micropressure-sensitive switch that activates the alarm of the smoke detector located above the bed and starts a timer. The child then is instructed to crawl out of bed under the simulated smoke condition, open the door, and go to an indicated safe spot, where the child pushes a button that stops the timer. Children are able to repeat this exercise to improve their reaction times.
For more information on the exhibit, contact Deputy Fire Marshal Young at (813) 893-7709.
