Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

Laboratory investigations of the inflammability limits of conbustible vapours with halogenated paraffin hydrocarbons, carried out in U.S.A. and in this country, have indicated that certain fluorinated compounds containing bromine were more efficient extinguishing agents than existing materials, and were also far less toxic. Because of this combination of desirable properties, it became necessary to consider the possibility of replacement of existing installations in service equipment, by these newer agents of which the most promising appeared to be (1) trifluorobromomethane (CF3Br) and (2) difluorodibromomethane (CF2Br2) The Army Fire Service recently obtained a supply of trifluorobromomethane from the U.S.A. Military authorities and requested the Joint Fire Research Organization to arrange a demonstration for the British Service departments to compare it with other agents under more practical conditions than those of the laboratory tests. A limited series of trials was carried out therefore at the Joint Fire Research Organization, Boreham Wood, and the extinguishing agents were demonstrated on 12th June, 1952.