UltraGuard provides vital protection against arson

Recent tests carried out at Surrey Fire and Rescue Service have proved the value of the UltraGuard portable water mist fire protection system against arson attacks.

The demonstrations were organised by fire investigation and arson reduction manager Bryn Strudwick and attended by Mark Howells, Surrey Police crime reduction adviser, who respond to concerns of the police and rescue services about known threats of petrol arson attacks being made on families in the UK.

Supplied by leading fire protection specialists Ultra Surefire Group, UltraGuard showed in the tests (involving cardboard sheeting soaked in four litres of petrol and ignited) how the system could be activated by a flame detector or smoke detector to rapidly lower the fire temperature. Simultaneously, carbon monoxide and noxious gas levels were reduced to survivable levels and the fire suppressed within seconds.

Peter Kemp, managing director of Ultra Surefire, explained: “Holding 110 litres of water, UltraGuard acts as a first response in protecting the vulnerable. The system’s gentle water mist action will extinguish fire and the system is engineered to alert the fire and rescue services. The system can be installed in the hallway or fitted remotely with the nozzle in place to cover the area requiring protection.

“UltraGuard, using a small amount of foam additive, will fully safeguard a space of up to 20sq m and yet uses only ten per cent of the water required by conventional sprinklers. This minimises water damage to the property and assets as well as saving the occupants from the danger of injury or death.”

Statistics from a London borough claim that arson is the fastest-growing crime in the UK. Every week, an average of 2,100 fires are started deliberately across the UK, resulting in a weekly average of 55 injuries and two deaths. The cost per week is a staggering £40 million (see http://www.royal greenwich.gov.uk/info/870/community_safety/222/arson).

Bryn Strudwick, of Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, commented: “Typically, arson attacks on households involve between one and five litres of petrol being poured through the letterbox and then ignited. With stairways frequently leading directly from the front door area, fire can migrate rapidly to upper levels. These tests have confirmed that the UltraGuard water mist system is a fast-reacting and effective barrier for protecting those at risk.”

UltraGuard portable water mist system has received growing interest from fire and rescue services across the UK in line with their desire to have sprinkler or misting systems installed in the homes of the elderly and vulnerable. Those lacking mobility and particularly smokers are most at risk. Recently, BBC East Midlands TV highlighted the UltraGuard installation by the Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service after a Home Fire Safety Check at the property of an elderly lady in Long Eaton. A short while later a fire caused by a cigarette falling into a litter bin could have had disastrous consequences but for UltraGuard’s fast-acting water mist fire suppression.

Derbyshire’s Chief Fire Officer Sean Frayne said: “It was only a matter of time before a home where we had fitted domestic sprinklers or installed a portable misting system had a fire and the occupant was saved.”

Following a similar event involving UltraGuard coming to the rescue of an 86-year-old smoker whose cigarette had ignited newspapers in his living room, Chief Fire Officer Martyn Emberson of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service fully endorsed the provision and installation of the UltraGuard water mist system to help protect the most vulnerable in society.

“It really is like having your own firefighter on hand 24/7 to put out a fire,” he said.

Ultra Surefire Group

Freephone: 0845 6008330

Email: info@ultrasurefire.co.uk

Web: www.ultrasurefire.co.uk