A revolutionary design that will save money
Why did we design it?
For the majority, the most costly element of fire protection is the annual servicing of all fire extinguisher equipment.
This, unlike the half-yearly visual inspection, must be carried out by trained & certified fire safety engineers. A discharge test is also required every 5 to 10 years (depending on size of extinguisher) which requires the extinguisher to be discharged and refilled by certified engineers to check its internal structure.
Why do traditional fire extinguishers need servicing?
The necessity for servicing is because traditional extinguishers are comprised of metal which corrodes externally and internally, especially around weak areas such as linings and under skirt rings – with faster corrosion occurring in salt-laden atmospheres.
A corroded extinguisher can potentially be dangerous to the operator. We wanted to eliminate these risks and this maintenance cost for our customers.
Where is the money saving?
So we have designed an extinguisher which is so revolutionary it requires no servicing and no discharge testing! There are also huge improvements in its performance, durability, strength and environmental impact compared to the traditional extinguisher.
Since extinguishers are pressurised vessels, any damaged units have to be condemned and replaced with new ones immediately – but as the risk of corrosion and related damage is now eliminated, so too is the cost of replacing damaged units.
In the event of a fire, any expended FireWorld extinguishers will be replaced free of charge on submission of your incident number (provided by the Fire Service when a fire is reported).
Who can save money?
Any business with the responsibility for providing fire fighting
equipment can save significant amounts on their yearly budget –
just consider the cost of servicing & maintaining a fire extinguisher
over a 10 year period!
Over time businesses can replace all their existing extinguishers. New businesses or new sites can benefit straight away by installing FireWorld service-free extinguishers.
Any business with outside facilities or extreme weather conditions can
see cost savings immediately based on wear and tear and
maintenance costs of existing equipment.
Organisations with remote sites will not have to send fire engineers to hard-to-reach locations, saving considerably in transit costs.
Our agents can even audit your company’s fire fighting equipment to provide an estimate of the cost-savings annually.
SAVING ON SERVICE
Why is this so unique?
We have used design technology first pioneered by motor racing,
defence, aircraft and aerospace industries.
It uses an extremely tough, yet light fibre material from the aramid family known by the name Kevlar. Kevlar is so tough it is used as the primary composite material in bullet proof vests and fire proof gloves!
It is the first time composite materials have been applied to the design of fire extinguishers. We have also replaced the corrosive metal with a toughened plastic outer surface which is more resistant to the elements.
The inner Kevlar body is very strong. Unlike a conventional fire extinguisher, an extinguisher made of composite material has
to undertake extensive testing.
The Kevlar is protected by a high density polyethylene outer casing which carries a UV protection and is corrosion-free, giving protection from the elements.
With the problem of corrosion and related damage eliminated, this gives us the ability to provide a 10 year guarantee on every FireWorld
extinguisher.
A 10 year guarantee comes free with every Britannia Fire manufactured FireWorld extinguisher.
How is it inspected?
A simple in-house inspection is all that is needed annually – massively reducing your maintenance spend. There are two gauges, one to calibrate against the other. In addition the gauges themselves can be checked annually for accuracy using a magnet to zero the forward facing gauge.
Inspection is just 3 easy steps – a visual inspection to check for damage, a check of the pressure gauges, a check of the manufacturing date – as easy as ABC!
SAVING LIVES
How well does it perform?
The FireWorld extinguisher is approved under EN3 with additional testing to the composite gas cylinder regulations. Under these gas cylinder regulations is a 12,000 cycle test.
The test is 0 to 25 Bar, 12,000 times, after which the unit must complete the crush test and the burst test In the ‘EN3 burst test’ all extinguishers have to pass a minimum 55 bar pressure testing, however FireWorld extinguishers have a burst pressure consistently reaching in excess of 80 bar.
Testing of the P50 foam and P50 powder extinguishers was carried out at Britannia Fire’s test facilities – a purpose built fire test ground – allowing us to do all the tests in-house, witnessed by the European inspection authority Apragaz FireWorld extinguishers incorporate two patented elements – the loose weave and the locking neck ring.
This innovative design provides ultimate protection with the added features of being lightweight and extremely durable.
What types of fire?
Britannia Fire has chosen to provide two types of FireWorld
extinguisher – powder and foam. Powder with a fire rating of 43A / 183B and foam with 27A / 183B, we believe it meets all the requirements for first aid fire fighting and provides excellent fire fighting capabilities.
SAVING THE PLANET
This is a carbon-neutral and 100% recyclable product! This product will eliminate untold mileage in engineer service and maintenance visits – and therefore will massively reduce a large corporation’s carbon footprint and help them to achieve yearly environmental targets.
The product is 100% recyclable. At the end of its life, Britannia Fire can provide a replacement programme. The old canister is then completely recycled at Britannia Fire’s factory and even the fire fighting medium inside is recycled.
The manufacturing process of FireWorld extinguishers is a chemically clean process, requiring little energy. Unlike metal extinguishers it requires no welding, no cleaning, no degreasing, no shot-blasting and no painting.
With a 10 year guarantee on each FireWorld extinguisher, the necessity for regular retrieval and replacement of extinguishers
will be gone, saving on transport costs and carbon footprint.
All metallic extinguishers require discharging to enable internal
corrosion inspection every five years, also to ensure internal polythene linings are not separated – which is a common area of failing.
The inspection requires the fire fighting chemicals to be discharged, however most chemicals are not reused and end up in landfill sites.
FireWorld extinguishers have no internal polythene lining and also do not corrode – internally nor externally – therefore this risk is eradicated and so too is the need for internal inspection, associated inspection costs, chemical waste and pollution.
Roger Carr is the inventor of the new generation FireWorld product range.
Roger launched his first extinguisher range in 1970 having founded UK Fire in 1968. This Norfolk range incorporated Roger’s earlier invention – the ‘seize and squeeze ‘ control valve, which involves pulling out a pin and squeezing two levers – the invention is commonly used on extinguishers today.
He then launched the Britannia range, with its patented balance valve and using zinc alloy, in 1986. Britannia Fire manufactures Fireworld,
Britannia, Blazex and Firemaster hand portable extinguishers and
Norfolk mobile extinguishers at its UK based factory in Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, England “In 2006 I could see a way to improve fire fighting equipment by making our equipment quicker and easier to use” Roger
said “but this new generation of extinguisher came about from
listening to the concerns of our customers.
Whilst other product manufacturers – such as domestic appliance and car manufacturers have used new technology to remove extensive maintenance, it seemed that fire extinguisher manufacturers were simply not willing to take this step.
It was also questioned whether fire extinguishers remained reliant on servicing for the commercial benefit of the industry rather than the benefit of the customer.
It’s taken five years to perfect a revolutionary fire extinguisher which requires no servicing, though every step of the design and consultation process has been rewarding”.
The FireWorld range addresses all the issues surrounding the cost of servicing and maintaining fire fighting equipment, but also answers other needs including durability, resistance to damage, resilience to the elements, guaranteed long life-span and addresses clients’ environmental targets.
Britannia Fire is a UK based multi-million pound manufacturer and exporter of fire equipment.
