Impulse fire extinguishing technology has changed the world of fire fighting in only a very few years. The way it functions is actually very simple to explain: it discharges the extinguishing agent in a matter of milliseconds at a very high velocity right into the seat of the fire.
25 bars of air pressure in the pressure chamber provide the high discharge velocity; the extinguishing agent - usually plain water - is pressurized with 6 bars into the water chamber. The shot is triggered off by a high speed valve, which lays between the two chambers; the valve opens for only 20/1000 of a second.
Air resistance acting on the water stream breaks the water droplets down and reduces the normal mean droplet size from about 700 microns to an average of 100 microns. So the cooling surface of one liter of water is increased from the normal 5,8 sqm to 60 sqm, thus reducing the temperature in confined rooms from a deadly 1000°C to 40°C within seconds.
The whole secret of impulse technology can be summed up in two words: water efficiency. The smaller the size of the water droplets, the greater their absorption capacity; the higher the droplet velocity, the greater the amount of water that reaches the base of the fire.
This highly efficient use of water creates one of the greatest advantages of impulse technology: the system works independently of a constant water supply. Only a small amount of water has to be moved to the site of the fire for an effective initial attack. This makes for the high mobility of use.
Impulse extinguishing systems are capable of using most fire extinguishing agents - all kind of dry chemicals, wetting agents, biosolve and foaming additives, salt water - even special agents, such as dry sand or cement for fighting metal fires. However, in reality you mainly fight the fire with plain water and air - the cheapest and most readily available extinguishing agents that exist.