New type of fire extinguisher

I was about to buy a fire extinguisher to have on standby when filming and for when doing my pfco practical.
The guy in the next office to me sells them by massive coincidence.
He has been raving about the new Fireoxo extinguisher.

He claims it puts out ALL FIRES. Its smaller, lighter, (500ml), safer, sexier and the same price as the old types.
It has featured on the BBC news. Has anyone else seen or used it?

I don’t want to fail my practical if I turn up with it, as no one has ever seen this type before. One of the classes it covers is class D, for magnesium.

The guy next door claims they are perfect for putting out lithium battery fires and is asking me if we sell sell them to drone users etc? Not sure if this has got legs or not?

Firexo | BBC News - YouTube for more info.
Any thoughts…?

I’m not fully convinced by the news report, that car fire was mainly internal and quite small. As for Lithium batteries, it will be interesting to see the cooling affect of the fire extinguisher.
Generally a device such as a drone can be put out with water, the lithium battery then needs a post knock down management and may mean submerging or continual application of water to bring the battery temperature down to avoid recognition.
I’m sure if and when the local authority brigades get to test it then time will tell but for now I am not personally convinced especially for lithium battery related fires.

1 Like

Some info specific to Lithuim battery fires.

https://argosfire.co.uk/lithium-battery-fire-fighting/

Nidge.

1 Like

@AG-Cranes Hi Alan. My best friend is a major shareholder and one of the company founders. I have been following their development on this for the last 3/4 years. It is the real deal and does live up to the hype surrounding the product.

1 Like

price?

£35 quid according to Amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SS5815M

3 Likes

This looks great but if you’ve ever had to use a fire extinguisher you’ll be shocked at how quickly they run out and by simply making it smaller you’ve got even less run time. For a drone battery I’d rather take my chances by chucking it into a big bucket of water as its more the thermal run away that causes them to keep on going and you’ve got to get rid of that heat and that small amount of liquid in that simply wont be enough.

2 Likes

I watched their demo on a fuel pool fire and I was shocked how long it took and the number of times it reignited in certain areas.

1 Like

Small world. Worked at Streets for seven years and Demag for forty.
I had a Phantom1 battery catch fire while charging. These were straightforwsrd lipos, no electronis wizardry, pretty scary. Got the charger and battery outside and tried the kitchen powder extinguisher on it. Still burning so just left it. Took about an hour to burn out.

1 Like

Question is, has it been through fire rating standards testing ie British Standards and/or CE EN?

1 Like

Yes.

I will ask if he will do a discount for Grey Arrow members.

I am taking my test with Icarus Fly.
They said it’s fine to take on the day, and seemed quite interested in it.

He has said we can do them less than that. I will ask how much as I’ve had a few inquiries over the weekend.

I know it can be bought slightly cheaper over the web, problem with purchasing over the web is that they come ‘un-commissioned’.

I accordance the the British standards each extinguisher has to be certified.
Every extinguisher we matey sells is certified, that is why we are slightly more expensive.

That said he can do the for around £34.50.
Alan.

Yes I know he may be qualified but please be sure!

There’s are Real & Potential dangers in NOT understanding

  1. What Type of Lithium Batteries you have - it is possible you have more than one type especially if you fly more than one craft. They may be Li-Po or Li-ion for example

  2. Knowing how to Identify & Use the Correct fire extinguishers for the particular incident response (For example Li-Po batteries should never be dropped into water (a bucket of, for example) or attempts made to deal with them using a Water Extinguisher

Li-Po & Water Mixed CAN result in explosions

So what to do?

Go to DJI App Go 4 As my example then Hamburger :hamburger: menu then Academy/User Manuals/Mavic Air Intelligent Flight Battery Safety Guidelines ( M-Air In my case)

Please note Mavic Mini will likely have different advices as I understand it carriers Li-ion Battery BUT please check this out for yourself

Happy and Safe Flying & if you must put them in an Ammo box please drill a hole in it otherwise you may create a ‘pressure cooker effect‘

None of us had fire extinguishers for our practical; I’m also not aware of any requirement. Have I missed some rule on this? Sorry, in my humble opinion, an extinguisher for a drone is near pointless. Right up there with carrying one in case your mobile phone explodes… Not in any way trying to sound rude; I just hate the over-complications the PfCO already imposes on people giving them practically no additional flying rights except the right to charge money…
(Rant over! :slight_smile: )

Cheers,
ian

4 Likes

Both type are the same except for the electrolyte used. Originally LiPo batteries used a solid plastic like separator but current flow would not take place until the battery was heated to 60degreeC. Today that separator has been replaced by a gel compound so current flow can occur at much lower temperatures. L-ion cells use a lithium salt based compound as the electrolyte.

LiPo is a little misleading when in actuality it is a Lithium Ion Polymer cell or battery as both types work on the same principle. Both technologies in the event of fire can be extinguished with the same type of extinguisher.

Nidge

1 Like

Company Checks out OK they a a retail outfit

Mods Info freely available from Companies House

So a class B extinguisher will extinguish the materials surrounding the battery. The battery will fail for a number of reasons but the battery will have thermal runaway. So it is generally the material surrounding the battery that is on fire and not the battery itself. As for submerging the battery in water. This is standard practice for all PEDs that fail in accordance with FAA and EASA crew training. A Dry Chemical or CO2 extinguisher may extinguish the material on fire but will not reduce the thermal runaway and the chances of recognition are high. Once the fire is out, don’t just pack up the drone, wait a while to ensure no recognition.

1 Like