Abstract
Smart firewater management and recycling helps reduce water use and protect the environment from pollution. However, contamination of recycled water may pose a health risk to fire fighters. This review assesses international literature to identify best practices, and to recommend new technologies and methods on firewater management and recycling. The literature assessment indicates that this is a new research area where insufficient findings have been published in Web of Science-referenced journals. Therefore, informally published materials (a.k.a. grey literature) were also assessed. Findings indicate the need for practical decision support tools to estimate consumption rates, predict “bottlenecks” and bund capacity, assess water quality and determine pump requirements. This article recommends that cost-efficient and rapid on-site treatment methods, such as compact and mobile filtration units for firewater recycling should be researched in the future. The filters should be based on compartments with different media. The empty pore space should decrease from inflow to outflow. A light plastic media should be positioned near the inflow to retain large particles, such as a grid. Activated carbon media could be placed near the outlet to remove fine suspended solids and dissolved contaminants. This should address concerns by fire fighters dealing with contaminated water, spray and foam.
Highlights
Smart firewater management and recycling helps reduce water use and protect the environment from pollution
The overall aim of this review is to provide a review of firewater management and recycling
Highlight the advantages and disadvantages of firewater recycling, discussing the impacts of firewater runoff on the environment and society; discuss firewater quantity estimations, assessing the cost implications of increased firewater and pump use, and new equipment requirements; assess firewater recycling options; evaluate firewater bund systems and in-drain containment; outline the role of firewater pumps, assessing potential damage to equipment due to obstructions caused by the recycled water; discuss current practices for a relevant case study; identify challenges associated with innovative strategies, methodologies and technologies; and provide recommendations based on “best practice” since about 2003
Summary
Anecdotal evidence indicates that on some fire incident occasions, firewater is collected and recycled by jetting it back onto the fire. There might be real commercial and environmental value to society in better understanding the benefits (or otherwise) and practicalities of firewater recycling for different incident scenarios. The impact of heated and/or contaminated fire water runoff on the built environment requires a full assessment based on best management guidelines and the wider literature. The potential to recycle runoff for different scenarios based on simple, transparent and rapid decision support tools needs to be reviewed. A critical assessment of appropriate runoff treatment technologies, methodologies and strategies was performed. Greater Manchester located in the north-east of England was selected as a case study area to assess different strategies of fire water runoff management.
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