Environmentally Safe Fire Protection for Aircraft Hangars Adopted in NFPA 409 2022 Edition

HOUSTON, Oct. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Safespill, a leader in environmentally safe fire protection systems, today announced that the company's core technology — the Safespill flooring system, also known as an ignitable liquid drainage floor assembly — will be added to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 409, the industry's Standard on Aircraft Hangars, 2022 Edition as an equivalent to traditional foam-based systems in hangars.

For the first time in more than 30 years, military and airport operators now have a new, environmentally friendly option for hangars at risk of liquid fuel fires. Until now, the industry has relied on two fire suppression systems — aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) and high expansion foam (HEF).

AFFF, while providing effective fire suppression, contains PFAS chemicals proven to be dangerous to the environment and human health, and a source of drinking water contamination at military bases and in communities nationwide. Additionally, HEF poses significant risks, damaging aircraft and creating unsafe situations for personnel during accidental discharges, which engulf hangars with large quantities of foam.

The NFPA 409 Technical Committee voted in July 2021 to add Ignitable Liquid Drainage Floor Assemblies (ILDFAs) to the standard following years of fire tests, including performance demonstrations at Safespill's test facility in Houston, TX.

In the ILDFA's basics, it is a hollow aluminum extruded floor with a perforated top surface and underlying channels, connected to a trench system to remove any spilled liquid to an acceptable location (i.e., oil/water separator, containment system, or as directed by the local authority). If a spill is ignited, the ILDFA will rapidly control and extinguish the flammable or combustible liquid fire.

"It's our mission to transition the world to environmentally safe fire protection," notes Safespill founder and CEO Tristan Mackintosh. "We have been on a journey to introduce our new approach to aircraft hangar fire protection to the NFPA 409 committee and the public as well. Now that Safespill's system will be included as an option in the NFPA standard, airport and hangar operators now have an environmentally safe alternative to the chemical-based systems they have been required to use for the past 60 years."  

In a recent article by John Frank, leader of AXA XL Insurance's Loss Prevention Center of Excellence and a member of the NFPA 409 Technical Committee, he describes the new ILDFA system. Compared to foam-based fire suppression systems, Frank notes, "The ILDFA technology eliminates all concerns about engulfment while delivering equal or better fire suppression performance. This is a multi-win technology that meets the needs of hangar operators, aircraft owners, insurers of all types, and local authorities."

Frank adds, "If you are considering building a new hangar — and the NFPA agrees to adopt this new technology [now adopted] — the ILDFA should be your first consideration. It solves everyone's concerns."

About Safespill
Based in Houston, Texas, Safespill Systems, LLC was founded in 2013 and developed its ignitable liquid drainage floor assembly after many years of R&D and fire testing. The company earned the coveted FM Approval mark in 2017 following rigorous fire and materials testing. It earned a second FM Approval in 2020 for larger floor areas, such as those used in aircraft hangars and distribution centers. The company is dedicated to transitioning the world to environmentally safe fire protection.

To learn more about Safespill, please visit safespill.com.

To view PFAS (the family of chemicals used to make AFFF) contamination in the U.S., visit this interactive map or safespill.com/esg-sustainability/ for more. 

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