Hi, I’m Paul Darley, thanks for tuning in to watch the February issue of Inside Darley.
At the beginning of every year, we like to find trends that will impact the rest of the year. One of the best resources for this is “The Global Risks Report for 2020” from the World Economic Forum. The article is our first attachment. It discusses how the environment is the top concern, geo-economic and political pressures are top short-term concerns, and more. It’s a great primer for obstacles to expect in 2020.
One of the big issues that has recently surfaced in the fire industry is forever chemicals PFAS, which has been found to contain C8 compounds in some older AFFF Foam. These foams are leaking into and causing damage to our waterways. The best solution is to move away from these products and use alternatives. We have two attachments, one from The Guardian and another from Nikwax on that issue. We also have a link to CNBC, which reported on these forever chemicals contamination that is happening in and around military bases. Some experts are estimating this could be a $100 billion problem.
The House recently passed the PFAS Action Act of 2019, we have attached the Government Affairs Memo to give you some information on the Act. The department of defense announced that all AFFF foams will be banned effective October 2024. At Darley, we have stopped selling AFFF effective 2020. Thankfully, we have an alternative called Florine Free Foams (FFF). Our fourth attachment is an article by the NFPA on the effectiveness of FFF. The initial assessment is that it needs to be applied at a higher rate than AFFF foam, so that could cause some issues because it will be more viscous.
We are very proud of our Flaim Trainer Systems. The system was heavily showcased at Intersec in Dubai. The system is paving the way for virtual fire training around the world. We’ve attached information on that and our Flaim Extinguisher system. The Flaim Extinguisher can be used to train non-firefighters on how to properly use an extinguisher.
Thanks for tuning in to this issue of Inside Darley. If there is anything we can be doing to assist you, we hope you reach out to us.
