Biberach, 10.07.2018. On Tuesday, a new vehicle was added to the fleet of the volunteer fire brigade Biberach. The Handtmann Group of Companies donates a used vehicle, which was previously owned by the company and used to fight magnesium fires, to the town. “We believe that the vehicle is of much greater benefit if it is not standing around in our company but in the hands of the Biberach fire brigade,” says Jörg Hochhausen, Managing Director at Handtmann.
The company bought the vehicle, built in 1992, a few years ago in used condition when it put a workshop for the production of magnesium parts in operation. “Magnesium burns at around 3,000 degree Celsius, produces a very bright flame and reacts violently when you try to extinguish it with water. This is similar to tipping petrol into the garden barbecue,” says Daniel Weber, fire safety officer at Handtmann, explaining the hazards. The vehicle is equipped with a system containing 1,000 kilograms of a special extinguishing powder for magnesium fires. According to the powder manufacturer, battery fires in electric vehicles can also be extinguished with it.
Handtmann has meanwhile procured rolling containers with extinguishing powder, which are sufficient for smaller deployments. “There are more specialists in the fire brigade who can be alerted and dispatched faster than it would be the case with us,” says Hochhausen. Daniel Weber will also train the fire fighters of the Biberach fire brigade in handling the vehicle. This would be deployed if a magnesium fire were to occur at Handtmann sites in the municipality of Biberach, as well as if this were to happen at other industrial plants in the town or region.
Source: Schwäbische Zeitung Biberach
