New Tech To Prevent Fire Accidents

Fire retardant technologies emerging in the country may help prevent fire disasters of the type that claimed the lives of over 400 school children in Dabwali, Haryana, in 1995.

Special fire retardant canvas, coatings for electric cables, fire-blocking treatment for cushion covers, and fire resistant metallic composite doors have been developed at the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, a laboratory under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).

CBRIs fire engineering laboratory also offers fire dampers for air conditioning ducts, fire protection systems for computer systems, and flame retardants for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics. Many of these products were on display at a recent CBRI-industry meet in New Delhi.

The institute has developed a fire retarding water-repellent canvas that finds use in temporary shelters, tents, tarpaulins, shamianas, railway vestibules and in the Army.

A special fire retardant chemical is applied on both sides of the canvas. The treatment cost works out to Rs 120 per square metre and lasts five years, say CBRI scientists. A new fire protectant coating Checkfire using a material that swells on heating has been specifically designed to protect electrical cables, T P Sharma, head of CBRIs fire engineering lab, says. When exposed to fire, a chemical reaction causes the coating to swell, forming a carbon crust that insulates against heat and protects underlying cables from catching fire.

Checkfire has been jointly developed by CBRI and Calcutta-based Macrotech India.

The two organisations are also planning to launch a new fire retardant coating for wood in the countrys market by October this year.

The wood coating aims at making woodwork fire retardant while preserving the aesthetics of wood.

Checkfire is compatible with existing electrical cables that do not need to be replaced, CBRI scientists say.

Cables coated with the retardant remain intact and able to carry current for at least 20 minutes when exposed to fire which may be crucial during fire-fighting and evacuation of people. The material does not emit toxic gases or spread smoke.

A fire protection compound (FPC) developed at CBRI and transferred to Nagpur-based Signum Fire Protection (India) Ltd, protects relatively large openings, cables, conduits and mechanical pipe penetrations.

The material, a light gray powder, is to be simply mixed with water and can be trawled or pumped.

CBRI has also developed a fire blocking layer (FBL) to protect aircraft seat cushions, which is being used by the Indian Airlines since the last three years.

Aircraft seat cushions are made of highly inflammable flexible polyurethane foam that ignites spontaneously in case of a fire.

CBRIs fire blocking layer is a chemically treated thick denim fabric which is used as a lining and forms a protective barrier between the highly inflammable polyurethane foam used inside the cushion seats and the flames.

The treated denim fabric has high flame resistance, and produces carbon when set on fire that stop further spread of fire.

The polyurethane seat is protected with the treated denim lining and covered with woolen upholstery.

During tests, only the upper woolen cover smouldered but the polyurethane foam treated with the fire retardant remained unaffected.

The coated denim fabric has been tested by S G S United Kingdom Ltd, London, and the civil aviation authority of India.