What is a Watermist lance?
A watermist lance, also known as a water mist nozzle or water mist gun, is a firefighting device that produces a fine mist of water to suppress fires. It is a portable and versatile tool used by firefighters to control and extinguish fires in various situations, particularly in situations where traditional firefighting methods may not be suitable. For example, fires in confined spaces like a container or the battery of an electric vehicle. This is because the lance is able to penetrate through the steel walls of a container, using the included hammer.
The fine watermist produced by the lance effectively cools the surrounding area, displaces oxygen, and suppresses the fire. The mist is created by forcing water through a specialized nozzle that breaks it down into very small droplets. These small droplets have a large surface area, which helps in absorbing heat and smothering the flames. By spraying a water mist over the blanket (with the car under it), the vapour coming off the blanket is kicked down so most of the toxic (white) vapour is kept under the blanket instead of flowing into the building/ship/area.
The use of a watermist lance in case of an EV fire
While applying a fire blanket is an effective initial response to contain the flames of an EV fire, further steps are often necessary to ensure the safety of both the vehicle and those responding to the incident. This is where the Watermist Lance comes in.
Once our car fire blanket has been deployed, the Watermist Lance offers an essential additional layer of protection. Its unique design allows it to generate a fine water mist that can be sprayed over the fire blanket to further cool down the car and, because of the water droplets, the blanket is made more gastight, which minimizes the amount of toxic vapour coming off the blanket. Another benefit of the blanket becoming more gastight because of the watermist is that there is less leakage of the potassium aerosol particles from the aerosol units. This increases the effectiveness of these aerosols.
When the secondary fire (assuming the fire started with a thermal runaway in the battery) has been extinguished, the water mist lance could also be used to penetrate the battery compartment and flood that with water. However, penetrating the battery is a highly debated strategy. There have been cases where a battery has been successfully penetrated and flushed, but reaching the battery in the first place and then safely penetrating it, is easier said than done in case of a car fire. The lance is insulated though, so the risk of electrocution is not there.
Product Information
Article number: FI-WMLANCE
The Watermist lance is constructed from high-quality stainless steel, and the top shaft is PE-coated to prevent electric shock. When connected to a water supply, the lance produces a fine water mist inside a container or confined space. The shaft’s length is adjustable, ranging from 500mm up to a maximum of 1350mm.
Dimensions: 300 x 1350 x 22 mm
Weight: 5,5 kg
Material: Shaft SS 304, Top PE Coated
Nozzle: SS 316
Nominal pressure and flow: about 90L/min @ 8BAR
Impact hammer: 45# (plating nickel on the surface)
Drill size: ø 19mm, 77mm in depth
Length of Impact Hammer: 478mm, weight 2,5 kg
The lance is ABS-approved and meets the requirements in SOLAS regulations II-2/10.7.3.
How to operate
Using the Watermist Lance is very simple. An easy-to-understand manual will be delivered with the lance.
Feel free to contact us for more information about the watermist lance or other Fire Isolator products, like our Fire Blanket or Aerosol Units.