BLUERAD LTD

Facts

[1] Information Bulletin of the World Fire Statistics Centre. Geneva Association. www.genevaassociation.org[2] Fire statistics Great Britain, 2011 to 2012 December 2012 Department for Communities and Local Government[3] CDC injury Fact Book 2001-2002. Residential Fires. United States Center for Disease Control 2003.[4] www.bisque.co.uk largest selling range classic radiator holds 12 liters

[5] Ref: Essentials of Fire Fighting and Fire Department Operations 5th Edition correlated to the 2008 edition of NFPA 1001.[6] Ref The Case For Space Royal Institute for British Architects 2011[7] Ref. The Building Regulations http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations

Initial Goal: To develop a device that can be attached to a radiator or heating panel and activate in the event of fire1.Can a plastic device be used to release the fluid in the radiator? (Yes, Proven)2.Will it activate on confirmed fire?

– Sprinkler activation is by heat exposure. It expands, fails open, releases water in all directions.

– A thin plastic wall would behave the same, but it would self-target. A bursting disk!! (Yes, Proven)

•Will it meet the temperature and pressure requirements of a household radiator under normal operating conditions? (13 bar and 75 oC)? [8] (Yes, Proven)

[8] Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE)

1. Can a high tech plastic device be used to release the fluid in the radiator?(Yes, Proven)

Can plastics behave like a sprinkler? They are better! plastic goes through phase changes:

1. 1st The heat deflection temperature phase. 2. 2nd The Vicat temperature phase, where the exposed

surface starts to soften on exposure to heat. The internal pressure forces the surface area towards the heat source. It basically self targets.

3. 3rd Surface Failure along the lines of least resistance. These lines can take the form of a Maltese Cross pattern.

Spherulites embedded into a mosaic mesogen in the Maltese Cross pattern

[9] American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

A fire tested sample proving the Concept.

Thinned WallSection

Will it activate on confirmed fire? (Yes, Proven)Consider Full Scale House Test Temperature profilesParameters•Accelerant•2 Floors•Doors Closed•ThermocouplesPositions shownAccurate to plusOr minus 7 oC

Source for the graph: US Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Full – Scale House Fire Experiment for InterFIRE VR May 6, 1998

At Height of Vent plug on Radiator

Heat Deflection Temp 103 oC

Melt Temp 230 oC

Vicat Temp 160 oC

Based on these figures the activation time is estimated to be between 80 and 100s

(Activation time observed during testing was between 43.5 and 90s)

Integrity during fireWhat happens during the fire and will the head melt?

• The air trapped at the top is driven by the pressure through the surface during the Vicat (softening) phase.

• As the following fluid passes through the device it cools and maintains the integrity. • During full scale fire experiments the above held true. It retained its integrity as

shown below. (Yes, PROVEN)

All Fire experiments by direct flame impingement

Typical spray patterns during activationWith flame impingement on one side of face

What happens to the flowing fluid during a fire?• The fluid changes phase and obeys the gas laws.• On release, it expands rapidly and fills the available space, assuming the

door is closed.• It absorbs the heat from its surroundings. The volume of water vapour is

1,700 times greater than liquid water, at 540°C this expansion is over 4,000 times. [10]

• It displaces the oxygen and deprives the flame front of its fuel source. Asphyxia Strangles the flame. It creates a barrier against the inflowing air oxygen mixture stopping the depletion above survivable limits. (Yes, Proven)

• So the pattern is not important but getting the fluid into the room is! • This has now been confirmed at GI by the National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) [11] The whole structure is cooled throughout. (Yes, Proven)

[10] Ref. Essentials of Fire Fighting and Fire Department Operations 5th Edition correlated to the 2008 edition of NFPA 100

[11] Source: Fire Behaviour and Tactical Considerations Aug 23rd 2013 IAFTV NIST UL

How long before the fire is suppressed?

• The graph shows that the rate of decay occurs almost as fast as the rate of rise.

• So basically the room should be cooling within 20 to 50 seconds from activation as the fluid is released.

• Test chamber cooled in seconds.

• (Yes, PROVEN)

Source for the graph: Fire Mutual Research Council Serial No. 21011.4 RC75-T-31 June 1975

Blueproof device activated: fluid

released

Source Fire Behaviour and Tactical Considerations Aug 23rd 2013 IAFTV NIST UL

982-> 426 oC

482-> 260 oC

71-> 71 oC

315-> 176 oC

143-> 98 oC

371-> 148 oC

648-> 149 oC

Water characteristics

• Under static conditions the available fluid in the domestic system is at raised/room temperature, so we have a faster rate of vaporisation.

• Under operating conditions the available fluid in the domestic system is at raised temperature, so we have an even faster rate of vaporisation with a Central Heating system.

• Under emergency service operations the available fluid is at low mains temperature and less effective (slower to vaporise) during suppression of the fire.

• Why is the vapour production so important?– The formation of a (vapour) sky prevents roll over, back draught or Flash Over

as it is commonly called. – The smoke falls out as the vapour interacts with it making it easier to breath.– The survival time increases as the temperatures plummet.(Yes, Proven)

Source: Fire Behaviour and Tactical Considerations Aug 23rd 2013 IAFTV NIST UL

815-> 37 oC

815-> 21 oC

843-> 121 oC

454-> 204 oC

649-> 204 oC

71-> 71 oC

Normal operating conditions

[12] Seetru hydrotest results September 2013.

GOVERNORS ISLAND, N.Y. — July 3, 2012, Governors Island, NYC — Underwriters Laboratory’s (UL) has partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the New York City Fire Department, and the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation to utilize rigorous scientific methods to advance firefighter safety. The collaborative research team worked together for months to design the experiments that were conducted over six days in July on Governors Island in New York City and consisted of a series of live burn experiments that replicated conditions in modern homes [13]

[13]. www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/corporate/aboutul/noteworthy/ulliveburnevent/presscenter/

Full Scale Experiments

Note the distinctLack of cluttercurtainsrugs, picturesbooks etc. Thatwould add to the fire effect duringexperiments.

Source Fire Behaviour and Tactical Considerations Aug 23rd 2013 IAFTV NIST UL

Accelerant added Fire started Fire doused by 5 distinct streams createdDuring experiment

Constant temperature and gas analysis throughout experiments

Crib to ISO

Blueproof head location

• The objective was to study where the fire fighter discharged the water and the effects it had on the structure.[11] What impact did have on the street fire fighter and tactics.

Not on the effects on the occupants. Based from initial assumptions that:

• ‘hot gases flowed from the area of high pressure to the area of low pressure, basically cool air in low hot gases out high. In a ventilated fire’.[11]

• ‘temperatures increased dramatically when a flow path was established’. [11]

• ‘when a door was closed. The temperatures fell’ [11]

176.6 -> 510 oC

426 -> 982 oC

49-> 71 oC

426 -> 982 oC

426 -> 871 oC

76 -> 143 oC

Source Fire Behaviour and Tactical Considerations Aug 23rd 2013 IAFTV NIST UL

Note: the temperature rises

Source Fire Behaviour and Tactical Considerations Aug 23rd 2013 IAFTV NIST UL

43-> 43 oC

107-> 88 oC

426-> 149 oC

926-> 149 oC

315-> 93 oC

121-> 93 oC

648-> 204 oC

Note: the temperature falls dramatically

Source Fire Behaviour and Tactical Considerations Aug 23rd 2013 IAFTV NIST UL

204-> 93 oC 37-> 48 oC

482-> 121 oC

204-> 65 oC

482 -> 65 oC

537-> 93 oC

The door was removed, with a hose trained on it, Flashover did not happen. The technicians involved have been fire testing for over twenty years and knew exactly what was physically required to invoke flashover. One upholstered chair has the potential to cause Flashover at around 2 mega watts.

• Impact of not putting water on the smoke means that you are crawling under where the fire is and where it wants to go.[11]

(Basically when the firefighter enters the area if the smoke gathered at the ceiling has not been cooled by water it maintains its threat and by entering the area a path is established where the fire wants to travel and this called flashover)

• Immediate fire attack has a major influence.[11]

• You may never see fire! ‘What you do see and commonly think is a fire is represented by the flame front. The yellow flame is the visible portion of the fire. Where the gases interface with the air. You may see it at the doorway or window. It could follow you from behind as you make way to the oxygen supply during your escape. The fire wants the oxygen as much as you do.[11]

• The hot gases at the ceiling are in excess of a thousand oF (around 800 oC)[11]

• Introducing a short burst of water into a basement fire lowers the temperature at the top of the stairs.[11]

• The GI experiments demonstrated that applying water directly into the fire compartment, as soon as possible, resulted in the most effective means of suppressing the fire[11]

• This is not new and has been called by many names [11]

– Blitz attack– Resetting the fire– Early water– Transitional attack

What Blueproof did was provide the method to achieve thisby already being available in the fire compartment

Impact on Building Occupants• Additional ventilation reduces potential survival time.[11]

• Fire suppression from the exterior, as soon as possible, increases potential survival time. [11]

• Fire suppression from the interior at onset with Blueproof massively increases the potential survival time!

• The GI research provides:• Improved understanding of fire behaviour in structures [11]

• Additional tactical options for improving the survivability of both occupants and firefighters [11]

Fitted in 5 minutes

8 months with Central Heating activated: NO LEAK / NO FAILURE

When will it be safe to enter the room?• It will not be!!!• The room may be wet and the fire could have been started by an electrical fault

that could make the floor live leading to electrocution.• We don’t enter the room until the emergency response teams have isolated the

power and identified the cause.• We leave it to the professionals.• In isolated properties, such as homesteads in South Africa, we will produce room

entry procedures for the home owner. These will be made available on the packaging and Website.

• So we have an item that can be moulded from a relatively inexpensive high tech material that we can fit in everyone's home. And very soon it could whistle loud enough to wake the street. Fires are silent but very soon they will not be.

• Now we optimise design, verification, further testing, certify, manufacture and get it to the people of the world.

• Let’s save lives stop children getting burnt alive and eliminate the threat from people pouring accelerants through doors. We can stop it happening.

• Give them a chance to get out alive!

Thanks