FireDos GmbH is a market-leading manufacturer of high-quality foam concentrate proportioning systems and extinguishing monitors for firefighting. Established in 1979, the company makes a difference in the firefighting community, where certain fires can only be extinguished when using foam. Managing Director Frank Preiss discussed the company’s latest investments, in a report by Imogen Ward.
Every one of FireDos GmbH’s products improves the safety and accuracy of firefighting. With a strong commitment to protecting people, property and equipment, the company is dedicated to ensuring the quality of its products and the happiness of its customers.
“We are constantly striving to evolve,” said Managing Director Frank Preiss.
“Customer satisfaction is essential for us, as they are FireDos’ most valuable asset. We always work hard to create firefighting systems that meet customer demand and find solutions for their problems. That’s what makes FireDos so successful. So far, we have installed over 15,000 systems in more than 70 countries.”
Headquartered in Wölfersheim, Germany , FireDos has over 40 years’ experience designing and manufacturing innovative extinguishing systems.
A world first
Determined to make waves, the company developed the first fire engine compatible foam proportioner for the market and has continued to think outside the box ever since.
FireDos specialises in proportioning systems that mix water and firefighting foam concentrates together. The company diversified in 1994, moving from creating general industrial proportioning technology, to developing these unique dosing systems for the firefighting industry.
“Making a firefighting foam is kind of like a bath, you’ve got shampoo and water, when you mix it together and agitate it, you get foam bubbles,” Mr Preiss said. “The only difference being that firefighting foam is resistant to heat and can withstand the chemicals that are on fire. We specialise in building systems designed to admix the
foam concentrate – the shampoo – at a very accurate rate.”
With such a critical piece of equipment, FireDos felt it necessary to evolve the systems, ensuring that they remained up to date with all industry requirements. Having recently released the third generation of the FireDos proportioning systems, the company has guaranteed a more compact and safer model with improved properties and functionalities.
“In 2019, we released GEN III, our third-generation proportioning system,” Mr Preiss explained. “We reduced the pressure drop and improved its proportioning capabilities.
In 2013, the company diversified further, developing its own firefighting monitors. These can be used with both water and foam, delivering thousands of litres of water over a wide distance.
And it’s got the capacity to proportion a higher viscosity of foam concentrates, such as the newly introduced fluorinefree products.”
The system offers constant proportioning rate across a wide operating range which guarantees automatic adaptation to variable firefighting scenarios. The advantage of the cost-effective and eco-friendly proportioning rate testing method that works completely without producing foam or premix is, of course, still a standard of all systems.
In 2013, the company diversified further, developing its own firefighting monitors. These can be used with both water and foam, delivering thousands of litres of water over a wide distance. The bigger sizes deliver in the range of 40,000 to 60,000 litres of water or foam per minute, and generally reach a distance of around 150 to 170 metres.
The innovative oval-flat design and the use of hydrodynamic modelling resulted in a lower pressure drop to ensure a longer throwing range, which is safer for all involved. With the improved reach, firefighting personnel can stand further away from a fire, whilst still maintaining the same operational effectiveness – but with less risk.
Proportioning on the move
Following the success of its third generation proportioner, FireDos developed a portable version as a solution to the increasing number of wildfires. Typically, these fires spread rapidly and travel across areas that are unreachable by big fire trucks.
“The DZ1000 (that utilises the same proportioning technology as our standard proportioners) can be carried easily by two people,” Mr Preiss said. “The big advantage of this system is the accuracy of the proportioning while being able to create
foam or wetting agent. By using this technology and the proportioning accuracy an overdosing of foam agent can be avoided and users can create more wetting agent from the same amount of foam as other systems.”
By using wetting agent and opting for an accurate proportioning system, a massive water saving of 60% is made in comparison to pure water use. The DZ1000 is extremely compact and is not affected by pulsation or the number of hoses attached, making it the perfect solution no matter the location.
The company also has management goals in place, set to push its capabilities and improve its overall sustainability. As an example, FireDos has implemented reusable packaging for all components transported between its production facilities.
The company is also continuously monitoring its carbon footprint and is working to continue to decrease this level annually through various projects. Just put into operation at its Polish facility is a solar panel installation. The panels are expected to generate 30% of the plant’s energy demands, and in 2024, the company plans to increase this figure to 50%, before extending the project to its other manufacturing sites.
Whilst FireDos is committed to producing high quality products that aid the planet, it also maintains a strong devotion to the safety of the wider community. FireDos encourages employees to volunteer for the local fire department, with 10% of its employees currently on active duty.
“If there is ever a need for our voluntary firefighters to attend training or help extinguish a fire, we encourage them to go –providing them with the time off,” Mr Preiss said. “For example, we had a massive fire in Greece last year, and two of our employees were down there for three weeks to assist the Greek fire brigade. We also supplied our portable DZ1000 equipment. Following the depletion of the fire, we left the system with the Greek fire brigade as a resource for the local firefighters.”
Last year, FireDos also teamed up with a German company that manufactures foam concentrate, as well as various
German fire brigades, to donate a huge shipment of firefighting equipment to Ukraine to assist in replacing the country’s equipment that had been damaged in the war.
Committed and compassionate FireDos cares greatly about customer satisfaction and is fully invested in providing a ‘cradle to grave’ comprehensive service. Planning, commissioning, maintenance and repairs are all services a customer can expect when working with FireDos.
“Not only do our clients benefit from a product that provides them with technological advancements, but also, they receive a very hands-on service that continues even after installation,” Mr Preiss said. “Depending on their location, that service will either be provided by FireDos itself, or by one of our long-standing partners in over 40 c ountries. With the introduction of ‘Smart Proportioners’, a platform for remote access and predictive maintenance, FireDos offers the option to optimise maintenance processes, allow remote troubleshooting and reduce costs.”
During the pandemic, FireDos developed a virtual show room, which helped connect customers to the products. Giving customers the opportunity to explore FireDos’ product range and to host virtual meetings, this virtual world has been a hit. The show room receives over 150 visitors each month and has helped reduce the company’s carbon emissions by removing unnecessary travelling.
FireDos has developed strong partnerships with a multitude of companies in more than 40 countries. With most of its sales going through its partners, FireDos maintains an extremely stringent training programme for all partners, to ensure customers receive the quality of service that FireDos is known for.
“We are working hand-in-hand with our customers and partners to ensure we can achieve our goals,” Mr Preiss concluded. “Every project is unique, but we know we can find a solution that is perfectly tailored to suit the customer’s needs. That’s part of the FireDos promise.” n
To find out more about firefighting with foam, visit FireDos’ website and sample the webinars and newsletters: www. firedos .com
