The Germany-based company FireDos has become an established specialist in the field of designing and manufacturing high-quality foam proportioners and monitors for firefighting worldwide.
“About 20 years ago, we were the first company to develop a proportioning concept for firefighting which comprises a water motor and a piston pump,” says Managing Director Frank Preiss, portraying the company’s early days. This concept became established in the field of firefighting very quickly. The company FireDos produces stationary proportioners for industries like oil/chemistry, automotive and logistics as well as for fire brigades. Product approvals such as the Europe-wide VdS accreditation or the international FM approval which was achieved in 2008 confirm the company’s very high product standard. The testing facility installed at the Woelfersheim premises is unique throughout Europe, too, as it allows testing of proportioners and monitors at water flow rates of up to 40 000 liters per minute (10 566 gpm).
One of the FireDos proportioners’ most prominent characteristics is the ability of testing the proportioning rate without generating foam or premix. “Particularly this eco-friendly and cost-saving testing of the proportioning rate is a great competitive advantage. In addition, we function-test all units before delivery in order to guarantee the highest level of quality,” says Frank Preiss. This focus on quality and environment is an integral part of the company philosophy and also shows in the products themselves.
Many fire scenarios can be tackled successfully and effectively only if foam is used. In order to produce such foam, a foam concentrate must be admixed to the extinguishing water at high precision. “What makes our concept so special is that our custom-made water motors and piston pumps work in proportional ratios. This makes the admixing precise, no matter what the water flow rate, pump pressure and extinguishing agent’s viscosity is. This way, we always stay within the tolerance requirements of international regulations for foam proportioning,” informs Ingo Weiss, Sales Manager. Further advantages of this system include its easy operation and independency of electricity, driven just by the extinguishing water flow. As Weiss stated, the fire departments of several major German cities chose the FireDos system just because of that. The next generation of proportioners, which is more compact, lighter and optimized in almost all performance relevant characteristics, is currently undergoing approval testing and will enter the market by the end of 2019.
Fire Monitor Experts
In 2013, monitors for firefighting were added to the company’s product portfolio. Designed by FireDos this new development does not only make a visual difference to competitors’ equipment. “We took new paths in functionality and design,” says Preiss. The octagonal ‘Oval Flat Design’ allows an even flow profile with minimized turbulence, resulting in only very low pressure loss. The extinguishing agent jet can therefore achieve an extended reach. The portfolio is available with flow rates of up to 60 000 liters per minute (15 850 gpm) and a range of 180 meters (590 ft). Optional it allows a continuous adjustment of the water flow rate during operation. The monitors can be actuated either manually or electrically. “This makes them an all-rounder in firefighting and fit for individual adaptation to the most variable fields of operation,” reports Weiss. Handling is easy, too. Only little force is necessary to swivel the monitors. This helps the operator in the manual version just as it is to the benefit of the drives in the remote-controlled version since the power consumption stays low. Such components that are exposed to the extinguishing agent flow are designed to withstand a testing pressure of 64 bar (928 psi), which makes them extremely sturdy and fit to handle sudden loads.
“We focus on our stationary proportioners, fire brigade systems and fire-fighting monitors to stay market-leading experts in these fields. We are strengthening our service capabilities to offer our customers an all-round worry-free package,” states Preiss. And successfully so: More and more industrial companies and fire brigades rely on the products made by FireDos.
For more information, go to www.firedos.de
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