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Carl J. Haddon |
I’ve been asked the question, “How does the topic of encapsulator agent correlate with the column title ‘To the Rescue’?” Great question, easy answer.
Webster’s Dictionary and Google define “rescue” as “coming to the aid of; save from imminent danger or imminent harm.” Technical rescue equipment and apparatus are typically what come to mind when you see my column title. Read on while I explore the possibility of changing the title of this column … or not.
Those we are sworn to serve are not the only ones who need rescue. The nature of our chosen profession puts us in harm’s way and imminent danger at every turn. With the new and increasing dangers, threats, and especially cancers facing fire, rescue, and emergency medical service personnel daily, I have chosen to seek out new and innovative products and equipment that not only can help those we respond to but also can help minimize threats to our (emergency responders’) health and well-being. I hope to showcase these goods and services here in my column. This is the first installment.
Encapsulator Agents
Electrical transformer explosions and fires are nothing new. Solar panel arrays and solar panel covered rooftops (especially commercial) are becoming more and more common across the country. Fires involving (always energized) solar panels are also on the rise. The average age of electrical transformers in the United States is 40 years old. Have you ever really looked to see just how many transformers exist in your response area? Because of age and degradation, we are seeing more and more of them catastrophically fail with resultant fires. These fires are typically difficult to fight because of the extremely high temperature of the spewing, burning, heavy oil inside the transformer and the very high temperature of the metal encasing the oil. Remember, too, that when the oil inside the transformer catches fire, it expands, causing a spewing and flowing (three-dimensional) fuel fire. This is to say nothing of the fact that it may or may not be energized. The good news is that you can (usually) have the power to these transformers cut. The problem is that sometimes it takes a while to get that power cut. Until now, these fires would often take hours and hours to fight.
Unlike electrical transformers, solar panels are 100 percent live 100 percent of the time. Basically, if light (most any light) is reaching solar panel cells, they should be considered and treated as energized. These panels often now feed lithium ion battery banks (the subject of a whole other article), which pose a new and VERY challenging firefight. With the aforementioned hazards and makeup of these fires, it has been proven that water, foam, and dry chemical extinguishing agents are most often ineffective and often contraindicated because of the presence of electrical current feedback potential.
Unlike these other extinguishment tools, (real) encapsulator agents form a cocoon around the water molecules (spherical micelles), which allows the agent to contact the heat source first, thereby “insulating” the water molecules from both heat and (under approved conditions) electricity. In other words, this technology allows for super rapid cooling of the oil and metal by way of “thermal conveyance” as opposed to plain water’s steam conversion. This rapid cooling allows for lowering the autoignition temperature of the heat source. Additionally, because of the polarity of the encapsulator agent’s molecular structure, the agent solution (3 percent) “encapsulates” the hydrocarbon fuel o