News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes 

An important part of the resources on hand to fight the fires in the Cariboo is the mobile Phos-Chek unit. Along with the truck and tank where the gel is mixed with water, there is equipment for pumping water from available water sources on site and for storing the mixed solution to be picked up by helicopters. 

The truck is one of a kind---a Hydro-seeder modified for fire application. The truck on site in the Cariboo is on loan from the US while a new one is being built for Phos-Chek at their main mechanical shop in Idaho, where most of the equipment is manufactured.  

The truck is equipped with sprayers on the center and the sides of the front bumper and can spray an 8-10’ swath to help create a fire guard. A hose can also be attached to the tank so that the gel can be sprayed by hand. 

The mobile unit is set up as close to the fire as possible and part of the crew’s duties is to scout near-by water sources to be pumped into the tank and mixed. They fly by helicopter to find the best water source to do the job. 

The gel is mixed on-site and pumped into holding tanks, including a large circular tank that the helicopters dip into to spread on the fires from the air.

On site there will be a total of 14,000 gallons of the gel retardant ready to go. 

The gel fire retardant used in the Cariboo is from Phos-Chek, part of ICL Performance Products LP, which is North America's premier phosphate chemical manufacturer. 

Phos-Chek AquaGel-K belongs to a group of Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) chemical firefighting additive products described as ‘water enhancers’.      

A dry granular crystalline product that is environmentally friendly, it is mixed with water and forms a gel-like mixture. It can retain large quantities of water many times the size of each individual crystalline structure. Depending on the concentration and water quality, the result can be anything between a slightly thicker-than-water appearance to a coagulated mass. 

This unique product quality works as a highly efficient barrier against rapid evaporation from heat and allows for water coherency when applied from the air. AquaGel-K provides reduced drift, better controlled evaporation in advance of the fire, controlled evaporation on the fire, and increased cooling and wetting time on the fuel. 

The mixture on hand for the Cariboo complex fires is ½% gel, which can either be clear or coloured, depending on what is required.  The gel is used directly on the fire to stop it from spreading, and is sprayed half-in and half-out of the flames. 

For more information about fire retardants used on the Cariboo fire complexes, visit www.phoschek.com

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