By Eric Ansen
Irving, TX - Irving police officers could soon share something in common with racecar drivers besides high-speed chases.
To help protect officers from car fires, city officials want to purchase Halon, a popular fire suppressant used in the automobile racing industry.
It appears to be a new approach to stomping out police car blazes. Many other cities across the country, including Dallas and Mesquite, are instead choosing powder-filled panels that erupt during crashes and prevent fires.
Departments are scrambling for suppressants because of fiery rear-end crashes involving Ford Crown Victorias, which dominate the country’'s police fleets. A Dallas officer died in a crash in 2002.
The Irving City Council is scheduled to vote as early as Thursday on whether to award nearly $47,000 to a Farmers Branch company for Halon-filled containers, which would be secured in the trunks of police vehicles. At 268 degrees, liquefied Halon gas, which seeks heat, is propelled out of the container and smothers the flames, company officials say.
Although the company, Fire 911, says it has serviced between 50 and 100 auto racing teams, Irving would be its first police client.
That doesn’'t deter Sandy Cash, Irving’'s deputy city manager.
“Halon is proven technology and is proven in high-speed racing vehicles,” he said. “It’'s superior.”
It’'s unknown how many police departments use Halon to prevent car fires. The market is new, said Lu Burch, Fire 911''s president. Three law enforcement groups, including the Texas Municipal Police Association, say they haven’'t studied the popularity of various fire suppressants.
While Halon might work at a speedway, it’'s not proven in police vehicles, and it may not be safe, said Bill Eckholm, president of FIRE Panel LLC, which lost the Irving bid to Fire 911 for fire-suppressant devices. The Arizona company’'s powder-filled panels are used in up to 20,000 police cars in about 200 police departments throughout the country.
Irving officials should study the matter further, he said.
“Ignorance might seem like bliss, but we’'re talking about peoples’’ lives in the balance here,” he said. “They are willing to pay ... for a guinea pig.”
Mr. Eckholm’'s criticism doesn’'t concern Ms. Burch, who says that her product has undergone extensive testing, although not in a police car, and is proven in the racing industry.
“Everyone has to have a first,” she said.
If the Irving council were to approve the purchase, Halon containers would be placed in 125 vehicles.
Irving would install the containers in a variety of cars, not just Crown Victorias, said Sgt. Michael Christy, who has been looking for the ideal suppressant for the Police Department. At least 18 law enforcement officers nationwide have died from fuel-tank fires in rear-end collisions of Crown Victorias. Ford maintains that the cars are safe. Irving hasn’'t had problems with the cars.
After hearing about car safety concerns, Ms. Burch and Candy Brom, Fire 911''s vice president, approached police departments about their Halon system.
The duo developed a Halon system for racecar drivers. NASCAR requires drivers to have fire-suppressant agents on board, of which Halon is an option, said Mike Zizzo, NASCAR’'s senior communications manager. The agents are effective and aren’'t as messy as other suppressants, he said.
Halon would be effective in police cars and is a better alternative to what’'s on the market, Fire 911 officials say.
Alternatives include FIRE Panel’'s devices, which are attached to fuel tanks.
Mesquite police have confidence in the panels, said Sgt. Shannon Greenhaw, department spokeswoman. She wasn’'t aware of whether department officials have looked into Halon containers.
Irving officials are concerned the panels might not work in all crash scenarios.
They worry that this is a possibility: The panel erupts when the car is hit hard enough, and the powder disperses, but only later does the fire start. By then, the powder is not helpful.
If Halon protects police officers, it has the support of Officer Dan Miller, president of Irving’'s Fraternal Order of Police.
“We are most definitely in favor of any device that helps increase the safety of our officers on the streets,” he said. Irving “should be proactive instead of reactive. Take the steps before a tragedy happens.”