h a l f b a k e r y"Bun is such a sad word, is it not?" -- Watt, "Waiting for Godot"
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I'm sure this must have been suggested before, but with so many ideas in this category and the Public: Fire category, I hope I can be forgiven if I overlooked it.
Ever seen one of those garden hoses that is flat and has a bunch of pinprick holes along its length for irrigation? I was thinking a
big
one, about 2 feet wide, could be mounted on a big truck and rapidly unspooled between an approaching wildfire and whatever it is that you're trying to protect, and fed under extremely high pressure by large tanker trucks. The pinpricks (on a hose this size, they'd probably be at least 1/2 inch diameter holes, so the pressure wouldn't bisect anybody) would spray water in both directions to ensure that any sparks that make it over don't have a chance to ignite anything on the side you want to protect. With the hose to provide cover for them, Hellfighters could work in *relative* safety to clear a more permanent firebreak.
published by Australian government scientific agency CSIRO
http://www.publish....u/paper/WF04028.htm
might be relevant - covers crowning [pertinax, Apr 06 2009]
[link]
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It probably wouldn't work in a forest, because the water wouldn't spray high enough to catch the spread of fire from treetop to treetop ("crowning"), but in more open bushland it might work. |
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Wasn't there an idea about a rollout plastic firebreak that would cover flammables below and avoid the nuisance of bulldozers, counterburns? I am sure there was. Can't find it now. But the issue: given the large areas to protect, how might would a roll of that stuff be? I seem to recall maths. But the same applies for a roll of hose, plus the tank of water to get it juicy. |
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the psi needed for this would have to be enormous. |
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why would you need holes in it ? a suitably large-diameter fireproof hose could operate as a firebreak in much the same manner as a trench (except for the lack of hole-in-the-ground); just put in enough water to keep it from rolling away and patrol the length occasionally. |
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For the pressure required, I was thinking it might need a separate tanker truck with a massive CO2 cartridge in lieu of a water tank. Wasn't sure how feasible that would be, and didn't want to taint an otherwise workable idea with something as iffy as that. I dunno, could something like that work?
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Pertinax, thanks for that input. I hadn't thought of crowning, actually. Maybe it wouldn't be best for use in those areas, then. Open bushland would definitely be easier. |
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Wasn't there some testing done with such hoses, but additionally filled with explosives, that covered the area in mist the moment the flame front arrived? - Can't find it on the net, but i am pretty sure it was quite effective, yet too expensive. |
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