Monthly Archives: May 2021

The Changing Face of Arctic Wildfires

Fire Attack Systems, Effective Fire Fighting Chemicals, Foams, Powders, Foam Inducers, Environmentally Friendly

Arctic WildfiresWildfires are becoming more of a problem than ever before, and experts have noticed worrying changes in the way they behave. In the last few years there have been reports about fires, from the unusual setting of the Arctic. Although fires burning in the permafrost of this region are not uncommon, their recent behaviour is alarming. Nicknamed ‘Zombie Fires’, these blazes are now burning areas of fire-resistant vegetation. International fire scientists warn that this has ‘strong consequences for the global climate’.

Apparently the 2020 Arctic wildfire season arrived about two months earlier than normal, and its scope was unprecedented. The vast scale of the fires was commented on by Dr. Merritt Turetsky, a permafrost ecologist at the University of Colorado Boulder. He said, “There are other trends we noticed in the satellite data that tell us how the Arctic fire regime is changing and what this spells for our climate future”.

Two new features of these Arctic zombie fires were identified, firstly, they saw much larger areas of holdover [or zombie] fires. These are fires from the previous season which have remained ignited and continued smouldering. This occurs over the winter in carbon rich peat which then reignites once the weather warms up again. The second feature of these devastating fires is the new occurrence of the problem in fire resistant landscapes. This is thought to be yet another consequence of global warming, which many fire fighting specialists are helping to tackle.

Companies such as the Laboratory of Expertise, Innovation & Analysis [LEIA] provide an innovative solution to all kinds of fires. They are based in the UK and are dedicated to developing fire fighting techniques, chemistry and equipment. Their team work alongside the fire fighting sector to test and analyse chemicals and equipment They also provide a vast amount of informed advice on all aspects of fire fighting chemicals, equipment and delivery. Their client base covers manufacturers in places like Europe, North Africa and Asia.

 

Wildfires, Petrochemical Fires & Nuclear Fires, Professional Range of Fire Extinguishers, Wetting Agents & Accessories

Tackling Wildfires in the UK

Fire Attack Systems Effective & Environmentally Friendly Fire Fighting Chemicals, Foams, Powders & Foam Inducers

Fire Attack SystemsMany locations across the US experience catastrophic wildfires, which devastate the land, animal life and those living in the area. Wildfires are also a big problem throughout the rest of the world including the UK. Veteran firefighter Shaun Walton has written a piece for the International Association of Wildland Fire, on his 30 years as a firefighter. The fascinating article talks about the difficulties of tackling fire many years ago without the advanced technology used today. Working in and around Greater Manchester, a varied knowledge of different types of fire was required. This is because the environment consisted of densely populated residential, commercial and industrial areas surrounded by large expanses of environmentally protected rural moorland.

Shaun, completed his training with Greater Manchester County Fire & Rescue Service (FRS) in North West England. In three decades, he has seen an increase in the scale and frequency of wildfires in the UK, and expects the situation to get worse. He believes the key to reducing these instances, lies in studying local, national and international wildfire solutions. A level of success in fire prevention has been gained globally by looking at fire weather prediction systems, pro-active prescribed burning and joint operational response.

The descriptive terms have changed over the years in line with the increased severity and destruction of wildfires too. Once widely labelled ‘moorland, forest or grass fires’, these fires are now known in the UK as wildfires or wildland fires. In those earlier years things were made more difficult by a lack of IT communication, as there was no access to mobiles, internet etc. The pooling of knowledge between services and sharing information about fire behaviour in recent years has been very effective.

The introduction of ground breaking products such as Fire Attack Systems [FAS], manufactured by specialists ABC Macintosh have also had a great impact. These environmentally friendly systems deliver high pressure foam and water for an exceptional solution. Read more about these systems here.

 

 

Wildfires, Petrochemical Fires & Nuclear Fires, Professional Range of Fire Extinguishers & Wetting Agents