Fire in a diesel powered vehicle or machine could have catastrophic consequences. This is where Fogmaker South Africa provides an innovative solution.
Once a fire is detected the Fogmaker system generates a high-pressure mist of water mixed with 3% aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) to suppress the fire in seconds. The AFFF is meant to prevent the fire recurring after the dousing.
“In essence, our solution attacks the three components of the fire triangle, namely heat, oxygen and fuel,” explained Managing Director John Russell. “We call it the Fogmaker Triple Action effect.”
The Fogmaker is a mechanical device without electrical wiring to enable the system. If a fire occurs in the engine compartment, a trip line burns through, causing the pressure to drop, and this activates the fire suppressant.
According to Russell, the mechanical system comprises a small pressurised piston accumulator containing water (H2O) and nitrogen (N2), coupled to 8 mm stainless steel piping with patented nozzles installed within the engine compartment.
The Fogmaker system is compact and smartly engineered to be installed in any orientation inside space constrained machines and vehicles. This applies particularly to the military, marine, mining, commercial, industrial, as well as freight and passenger transport sectors including airports and harbours.
“At the previous Africa Aerospace & Defence event, our daily live demonstrations attracted much interest,” said Russell. “Our team ignited diesel fuel in a mock engine compartment in which gas temperature rose to 800°C before the Fogmaker was manually activated to extinguished the fire successfully in seconds.”
This demonstration highlighted the total flooding capability of water-mist technology, as well as the ability to integrate the system into OEM equipment to ensure safe operation.
More than 250 000 Fogmaker units, designed and manufactured in Sweden, have been installed in 50 countries around the world since 1995. Fogmaker South Africa is the sole distributor for Southern Africa, with representative offices in several cities in South Africa, Zambia and Botswana, as well as distributor partners in Ghana, Nigeria and Togo.
Manufactured according to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards, the system has been certified by globally recognised authorities to meet global fire suppression standards.
Among its global certifications and approvals are the United Nations UN R-107 Vehicle Registration, the Australian AS5062 standards, Sweden’s PCR 197/183 Swedish Fire Protection Association and the SMA, Swedish Maritime Administration. Fogmaker also holds approval from the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa and the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).
