The video in our last posting showed the F-500 Encapsulator Agent testing for fighting transformer fires initiated by ConEdison generated a lot of interest. Below, you can click on a link to the 2nd/2010 issue of the FDNY magazine WNYF. There are several articles describing the transformer fire in Queens, NY that led up to the considerable commitment by ConEdison to begin testing fire suppression agents on transformer fires.
F-500 Encapsulator Agent was the only suppression agent tested that could be applied to energized transformers, up to 345 kV, without harmful electrical feedback to the firefighter’s nozzle (the recommended safe distance is streaming from 125 feet). F-500 EA does not create a blanket of foam, so it is excellent on three-dimensional fires. F500 EA has a unique ability to rapidly cool the massive metal in transformers and encapsulate the hot mineral oil, rendering it nonflammable. Also, F-500 EA interrupts the free radical chain reaction, greatly reducing the thick, black smoke and toxins in seconds.
In the Queens, New York transformer fire, F-500 EA extinguished the transformer fire in less than two minutes.
According to the Department of Energy, the average age of transformers in the US is 40 years and failures are expected to increase 500%.
You should read this article.
FDNY magazine