Aqueous Based Automatic Fire Extinguishing System

Vehicle fires from FEM/IED attacks present multiple threats to personnel; an initial short duration fire from the products of combustion/explosion of the FEM/IED and a secondary, longer duration fire from ignition of vehicle fuel, tires, engine, or the surrounding environment. The Marines are concerned about soldiers being trapped in their vehicles while incapacitated. They are also concerned about the effect of wet and humid heat on burn injury to the soldiers. This project proposes the development of an aqueous automatic fire suppression systems to protect the soldiers under the above conditions. In Phase I we will design such a system, perform critical tests to establish its technical feasibility and deliver a brass board prototype for testing in Phase II. We will also characterize the effect of humid and wet conditions on thermal injury to the soldiers. This will be done by using the available dry heat injury data and combining it with analysis.