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Antwerp Fire & Rescue Service issued a tender in 2022 to select the best available F3 foam on the market. After full evaluation score and real fire tests, FREEGEN was confirmed as the best option and our distributor in Belgium BFS received the first order earlier this year.

Hessle, Humberside. 24th November 2021

News Release: FREEGEN SF-LV

The largest fire seen in the Humberside area for many years was controlled and extinguished with FREEGEN SF-LV, a Fluorine free, Solvent free and low viscosity fire-fighting foam concentrate. The Thompson Plastic factory fire in the Bridgewood area of Hessle, Hull, involved more than 300 tonne of plastic and was declared a serious incident. This fire was attended and supported by as many as 100 fire-fighters and support staff from the region. Led by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) with additional support by fire-fighter colleagues from other regional Fire and Rescue Services.

The plastic factory which has been in existence since 2003 and boarders the residential area of Bridgewood. When the fire took hold late afternoon on Wednesday 24th November, residents in the area were evacuated due to the proximity of this large fire to homes and other businesses and fears of toxic gases being present in the smoke plume. Thankfully there were no serious injuries reported during the incident and all of the company’s 120 employees evacuated the 9500 m2 manufacturing facility safely.

During 2020 and 2021, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service were one of many FRS who have attended fire testing of FREEGEN SF-LV on five fuels at our test facility in Norfolk and then went on to undertake equipment testing at their own facilities. These fire tests at our test site in Seething, Norfolk, followed testing protocols described in EN1568, ICAO and LASTFIRE and included fuels such as Heptane, JET A1, Ethanol, Acetone and Isopropanol. These tests were organized to show that the highest levels of fire-fighting performance of a modern Fluorine Free and Solvent Free foam concentrate can work hand in hand with the highest levels of environmental protection without compromise to either requirements.

In reference to the plastics fire in Hessle, Steve Hellewell, BSc. Station Manager, Emergency Preparedness. Humberside Fire & Rescue Service commented, ‘The incident was declared a major incident with a multi-agency approach to public safety’…. ‘Our bulk foam stocks were requested which consist of a newly acquired Fluorine Free Foam which is also Solvent Free’…. ‘The speed of extinguishment using a modern high-performance Fluorine Free Foam was impressive and enabled us to very quickly stop the air pollution from the smoke plume’.

It is interesting to note that HFRS were one of the few Fire & Rescue Services that had already transitioned to a Fluorine Free foam over the last decade and during a recent review, chose to move to the most modern F3 available in the market today that offers the highest fire-fighting performance, that is also Solvent Free (SF) with Low Viscosity (LV). FREEGEN SF-LV has proven to be the reliable and versatile fire-fighting foam concentrate required by our Fire and Rescue Service’s in the decades ahead.

Plastics factory prior to the fire / Plastics factory following the fire

See Steve Hellewell’s full statement:

Humberside Fire & Rescue Service (HFRS) recently attended an incident at a plastics factory fire in Hull. The fire started late afternoon and quickly took hold with the whole building quickly becoming involved and producing a huge black smoke plume. Fire Service resources at the incident quickly escalated to 10 fire appliances plus numerous specialist appliances.
Many roads were closed and neighboring commercial and residential premises were evacuated. The incident was declared a major incident with a multi-agency approach to public safety.
We soon decided that a foam attack would be the quickest way to extinguish the 300 tons of burning plastics and eliminate the smoke plume.

A full environmental protection plan was discussed, agreed and implemented with the Environment Agency which involved containing the foam on site. Our bulk foam stocks were requested which consist of a newly acquired Fluorine Free Foam which is also solvent free.
The foam attack commenced late evening and had an immediate positive effect. By the early hours of the morning the fire was very much under control and the smoke plume was significantly reduced. A reduced foam attack continued until first light when the fire was extinguished apart from a few hot spots. The speed of extinguishment using a modern high-performance Fluorine Free Foam was impressive and enabled us to very quickly stop the air pollution from the smoke plume. All foam was contained on site using Environment Agency equipment.

On the 5-6th of October, 2021, took place the Naval Damage control Conference In Southampton U.K.
Our M.D. Gary McDowall made a presentation about the present and on-coming regulation about fluorinated fire fighting foams, and emphasized the fact that AFFFs will be forbidden in a foreseeable future. The replacement is at hand with the ultimate F3 technology Smart Foam FREEGEN

Renown publication International Fire Buyer releases in its latest edition an interview about the transition from AFFFs to F3 – Fluorine Free Foam. An exciting update about foam technology and environment !

Read article

3F UK installed this month 2 new foam tanks – 10,000 Litres each one – to cope with the growing demand for F3 – Fluoro-Free Foams! These tanks will allow 3F to keep its delivery capacity @ 20 Tons / Day for our customers worldwide.

The end of AFFF in the European Union: EU regulation for AFFFs to take place in a very near future

EU took the decision to move away from highly contaminating PerFluoroCompound – PFCs -chemicals and entered the last phase of consultation before releasing the PFCs ban.

Read the summary from LEIA Labs here….

Future legislation of fire-fighting foams

You need a dosing system, accurate, reliable and resistant? CTD have it.
You look for a dosing system to automatically fill the foam tank and transfer foam? CTD makes it.
You dream of a Wifi connected dosing system to your laptop or smartphone, able to locate the fire truck, and being serviced from a distance by the factory? Discover CTD IQ, tomorrow technology made available now.

To know more…

Technical Data Sheet – CTD IQ

• 100% Fluoro-Free : no Fluorinated Organic Compound
• Class 1-A under EN 1568:2015 for hydrocarbon fires and polar solvents fires
• ICAO Class B
• Technology SMART FOAM – Solvent-Free : Chemical Oxygen Demand is reduced
• Stable as a premix solution : no settlement or decay
• LV- Low Viscosity: UNIQUE Foam F3 usable with all existing dosing equipment

3F Americas, in order to offer a better communication and service to its network of distributors and customers in Latino America, now presents its support on digital marketing, to get easy access to our range of firefighting equipment.

Look for us on :

Website: 3f-Latam.com

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