SKYAID
New 
Mission
Overview   
Details    
Medical   
Watch   
Heart attack  
Stroke    
World health  
Emergency
Cost effective
Media 
- Site Map 

SKYCAR   
Details   
Overview  
VTOL   
Airline   
Military   
Transportation
Images 
- Site Map

Search

Translate 
  8 languages
 

Fire containment with Skyaid updated 10/12/02

It appears that Skycars can fight one and two story residential fires by use of a compressed air foam fighting system connected to an outside water faucet.

Class A fires (structures, wood, etc.) typically require 150 gallons of water being delivered at 40 gallons per minute to be totally knocked down with foam. However, 150 gallons of water weighs too much to be carried on the Skycar. 

Most fires can be contained or knocked down, with the 5-10 gallons per minute of water from a water faucet.

Big fires would just be contained by the foam until the ground-based fire engines arrive.

The technician would use the Skycar's engine to compress the air, draw water from an outside faucet, and would spray foam into the building while staying outside.  US regulations apparently require at least 6 fire fighters before anyone can enter a burning building.  Foam fire fighting equipment will add 200-400 pounds of payload to the Skycar

The Snuffer Corporation of Canada is one company with compressed air foam fire fighting systems. 
They state that their foam systems are 5 to 30 times more effective than water alone.

Compressed air foam will stick to vertical as well as overhead surfaces.

Los Angeles fire response approx 45 mile radius = middle circle

National Fire Protection Association report for 1998 (NFPA.ORG)
   - 380,000 fires in residential properties 
   - 3,000 fire deaths occurred in the home
   - $4.4 billion of fire damage to residential properties

If Skyaid can reduce the fire damage by 10%, it would reduce damage by about $ 440 million.
  (which might also result in lowering the cost of fire insurance for properties covered by Skyaid)

see also Fires @ Skyaid