PyroLance adds punch to Air Force firefighting

  • Published
  • By John Burt
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  No fire can hide from Air Force firefighters, thanks to PyroLance.

Fielded by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, the PyroLance is a hand-held, ultra-high pressure piercing and firefighting tool designed to help firefighters safely fight hard-to-reach or hidden fires in structures, aircraft, aircraft weapons systems or in areas contaminated by hazardous materials.

The technology mixes a granite abrasive material with an ultra-high pressure stream of water at almost 1,500 pounds per square inch. It's powerful enough to penetrate concrete block walls or steel up to one half-inch thick to get to the source of the fire.

Once through the barrier, the PyroLance's UHP spray can lower interior temperatures from more than 1,300 F to around 200 F in under a minute. This is because UHP expels millions of tiny water droplets yielding 16 to 20 times more surface area contact with the fire than the larger droplets of lower pressure systems.

"It will improve safety for our firefighters," said Fred Terryn, operations and fire vehicle program manager in AFCEC's Det. 1 Readiness Directorate at Tyndall.

"Being able to punch through an external wall or aircraft fuselage and put firefighting agent into those enclosed areas will quickly reduce the heat and help prevent dangerous backdraft conditions," Terryn said, adding this creates a safer environment for firefighters to enter and helps them extinguish the fire in record time.

"We can quickly access the fire from the outside so the second wave of firefighters can get in and save potential victims or the contents inside," said Senior Airman Frank Butler, a firefighter with the 325th Civil Engineer Squadron at Tyndall.

The Air Force is the first in the Department of Defense to adopt the technology that can be effective in both aircraft rescue and structural firefighting situations.

AFCEC has purchased 212 PyroLance systems, negotiating a bulk price with the manufacturer to save the Air Force more than $508,000. They are also developing tactics, techniques and procedures for using the PyroLance as well as materials for all Air Force fire departments to incorporate in their local training programs.