Megan von Wedell from Johnson Controls on why Firefighter Air Replenishment Systems can provide a vital lifeline when tackling high rise fires.
With rapid urbanisation posing new challenges for firefighters, ensuring a steady supply of air when tackling complex building fires is a challenge. Firefighter Air Replenishment Systems (FARS), first developed in the late 1980s, are one solution being touted by the industry to assist firefighters with a steady supply of air they can use to refill their SCBA.
FARS are building installed standpipe systems for breathing air, designed to provide firefighters with a quick, safe, reliable and constant source of air resupply during all stages of a large structure fire. More than 200 jurisdictions in the US, including 12 major cities, have adopted requirements for FARS, which demonstrates the confidence fire departments place in FARS to enhance their ability to control fires in large buildings and reduce risk to their firefighters.
Please introduce yourself and your background
I am currently a Business Development and Sales Manager specialising in FARS. I work with architects, engineers, contractors, and public safety professionals such as the fire service to help improve firefighter safety in buildings.
What is FARS and how does it work?
In its most simple form, the FAR system is going to have an exterior fire department connection panel on the outside of the building. That allows for the fire department to connect their mobile air unit, and then air is supplied through a piping distribution network to the air storage system and the emergency airflow panels within the building. A FARS system can have an air monitoring system with an air storage system. The air storage system can have the capacity to fill up to 50 fire department SCBA bottles. This means that the firefighters are going to have immediate access to air when they arrive on site at the structure, so they can go up to level 20 or level 60 of a high rise building, and they are going to have air available to them without that mobile air unit on site.
The FARS system also monitors for pressure and air quality and there is also air quality and pressure displays located at that exterior connection point. So, when the fire department arrives on scene in the event of an emergency, they can open the panel door and they will be able to see the pressure and the air quality readings and that the system is ready for use.
In high rise buildings, emergency airflow panels are usually going to be placed in the stairwells, and they are usually every two to three floors apart. Within those airflow panels are a minimum of two refill hoses. In the event of a fire emergency, the firefighter will open one of those emergency airflow panels, connect the refill hose to their SCBA, and they will be able to refill their SCBA within two minutes or less while under full respiration.
What is the history of this technology?
FARS was developed after the First Interstate Tower fire in the late 1980s which happened at a 62-storey high rise and it was the tallest building in Los Angeles at the time. During this fire event, 383 firefighters were deployed and more than 600 SCBA air cylinders were used. The Los Angeles Fire Department realised that there was a need for air replenishment to be more efficient. After that event in Los Angeles, the first FAR systems were designed, engineered and then installed. From the 90s onward, to the early 2000s, FARS were primarily only on the West Coast of the US. Then in 2015, FARS was introduced to the International Fire Code Appendix L, and a more advanced air monitoring system was developed so that includes six-point air monitoring system. Every fire system is monitoring for the six air quality alarm points which are displayed at the exterior connection point so when the fire service arrives, they can see that immediately. There are over 200 jurisdictions in the US that have adopted a code for FARS, and there are over 450 FARS systems installed throughout the US.
