HEN Modern Fuel Demonstration Burns
Oklahoma, March 2024
In March 2024, HEN Nozzles coordinated and facilitated five demonstration burns in QuaPaw, Oklahoma, using modern fuel packages. Ian Bennett acted as Incident Commander, managing the Go/Stop sequence and conducting PAR checks, while Ray McCormack oversaw the evolution designs. These burns aimed to showcase the HEN nozzle's capabilities in replicating contemporary fire behavior, with each burn plan meticulously developed and approved by HEN's internal experts in collaboration with the three companies.
The burn demonstrations conducted in Oklahoma showcased a range of fire suppression techniques and equipment effectiveness in various scenarios. In the Garage Fire simulation, a 570 square foot area with heavy fire load was controlled using a 265 GPM flow from a 2.5” handline in full blade mode, demonstrating wide area coverage and suppression ease. The Three-Room Fire highlighted the suppression of interconnected residential rooms using a 160 GPM wide blade stream, effectively handling open floor plans. In the Multi Room Fire, multiple fully flashed over rooms were tackled with a vertical 160 GPM wide blade stream, emphasizing the importance of thorough suppression before advancing. Lastly, the Hallway and Bedroom Fire simulated fire spread along a flow path, where a horizontal 160 GPM wide blade stream efficiently cooled surfaces and ensured firefighter safety. Each demonstration illustrated the versatility and efficiency of Hen's equipment in different fire conditions. The stream characteristics of the HEN nozzles enhances firefighting strategies.
The Four Burns
Burn #1 :
No Vent Fire Room Hallway Push with VES Implications
In this burn, post-flashover conditions in the hallway and bedroom prompted suppression, facilitated by a 160 GPM wide blade stream, covering the hallway's width and effectively cooling surfaces for safer corridor access and superior fire coverage. Bedroom #2 had no vent in front of the flow and move wide blade attack, while “simulated” VES members in Bedroom #3 opened their door in front of the push, with a window open behind them.
Note: In the footage between 2:40 to 2:54 clearly demonstrating searching around the Bladed pattern in this dead-end vent profile, is not only safe, but extremely effective in providing good searchable protected environments with better cooling, coating, net gas contraction, good level of positive air entrainment, creating excellent lift and dominate suppression.
Burn #2 :
Garage Fire, and Attic Suppression
The Garage fire, spanning 570 square feet, showcased the efficacy of a 265 GPM flow from a 2.5” handline in full blade mode, demonstrating the HEN 265's ability to efficiently suppress fires and handle attic extension with a 160 GPM blade stream through a ceiling opening in the living room.
Note: in the footage between 3:00 to 3:10 where the 265 GPM Blade’s pre distributive effect on application captures surfaces in orders of magnitudes better than straight or solid tight stream of similar gpm and nozzle pressure. Similarly, from 4:00 to 4:14 the Bladed stream characteristics pick up ceiling joist, rafters and multiple rafter bay decking easily with a couple passes.
Burn #3 :
Multi Room Fire, Living Room to Bathroom to Bedroom
Using a 160GPM wide blade stream in a vertical orientation, this fire suppressed multiple fully flashed over rooms, requiring an active advance from the living room to the hallway, bathroom, and bedroom to ensure complete suppression without allowing fire to develop behind the nozzle team.
Note: The Blade’s actions from 2:46 to 2:52 in main room, 6 seconds to total capture of a large space, 4 sweeps to full surface interaction and a few progressive sweeps fully lifts heat with no viable hot spots for re-ignition after advance risk visible in TIC view. At 3:19 coating, cooling, contraction, and lift with good levels of air entrainment is firmly developed for searching members and by 3:51 initial suppression is so complete a member of the suppression team can fully stand in the large room visible in TIC footage.
Burn #4 :
Three Room Fire, Open Floor Plan
In this demonstration of a common open floor plan, three fully flashed over rooms interconnected without barriers facilitated a large area fire, suppressed effectively using a 160 GPM wide blade stream operated horizontally from the exterior entry door until full suppression was achieved in all rooms.
Note: At 2:36 to 2:50 during entry flow the Global Impact of the Blade’s pattern downstream along pathways, in open floor plan. The wet center of the Blade and its wide arc captures the majority of down range surfaces with minimal effort. Global suppressive effects are clearly seen in windows that are remote from the nozzle position, with cessation of vent point ignition and an established clean neutral plane (good air in bad air out). Perhaps the most telling of all is the Kitchen TIC view, which shows lift remote of nozzle position at the initial 2:50 flow.