JUPITER, FL / ACCESSWIRE / June 5, 2018 / GelTech Solutions, Inc. (GLTC), an innovator in the use of environmentally-friendly polymers for fire suppression and protection, today announced the newest break-through in wildland firefighting technology, the FireIce Mobile Automated Base System (F-MAB). The F-MAB is the most technologically advanced tanker base ever built, designed from the ground-up to mix and load exclusively FireIce products, and is presently deployed in the United States and Canada. GelTech partnered with Saskatchewan-based Gel Systems Canada in an exclusive agreement to design, build and service F-MAB units.
The new computer-controlled, fully-automated F-MAB is capable of loading any airtanker platform, from a Single Engine Airtanker (SEAT) to a DC-10, with the press of a button. The F-MAB is a game-changer in rapid fire response and improves airtanker base safety immensely. Combined with the performance and cost benefits of FireIce medium-term retardant, it is the most effective product and equipment combination available to firefighting agencies today. There are a number of industry-leading features that the F-MAB delivers that no other tanker base system offers:
- Capability to control viscosity depending on fuel type and agency-specific requests from fire leadership
- Equipped with the state-of-the-art mobile mixing-on-demand system, no longer requires the bulk storage of wet product
- Real-time satellite and cellular communications enable fire managers to get real-time data of what aircraft are being loaded, the number of gallons loaded, and the fire location that they are assigned to as part of the mission
- Year-round operational capability, with 15-minute winterization and startup times
Four prototype units were built in 2017 and put on a contract during last year’s fire season; two in Saskatchewan, Canada that load 2,000-gallon CV-580 large airtankers, one in Colorado, and one in Montana. This first season had outstanding results for the equipment, and additional software updates have been provided for this upcoming season.
“Timing is everything in wildland fire response,” stated Matt Struzziero, Vice President of GelTech. “The F-MAB provides agencies with the safest loading capabilities in the industry, along with unprecedented levels of data collection and communication. With this equipment in place, agencies will be able to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness in aerial firefighting like never before.”
“We have seen the devastation hit so close to home after the LaRonge and Fort MacMurray disasters in Canada, and simply desired to build a tool for firefighters that currently did not exist,” said Jim Boire, President of Gel Systems Canada. “We are extremely pleased with the industry feedback, and the effort the agencies put into making their aerial firefighting programs better.”
The F-MAB is now open for the season at the Fort Collins Air Tanker Base in Colorado. One of the units has also recently been opened and is in use at a tanker base in Saskatchewan, with the second unit in the province slated to open for this fire season shortly.
About GelTech’s Wildland Fire Division
GelTech Solutions Wildland Fire Division specializes in providing cutting-edge fire chemicals and equipment, as well as training and support, to wildland fire agencies around the world. Our talented team has extensive wildland fire and aviation experience in federal, state and Canadian government agencies, allowing us to understand the specific needs, challenges and goals of our customers in the wildland fire industry. As an agile organization, we have an ability to be fast-moving, flexible and robust – capable of rapid response to unexpected challenges, events, and opportunities in a wildland fire environment where the “new normal” of large and complex fires is unprecedented.
Agencies that have implemented FireIce as part of their air tanker and engine programs have seen significant cost reductions in both direct costs, personnel support required and product efficiencies. GelTech Solutions also provides fixed and mobile air tanker and helicopter bases which can be rapidly deployed with our FireIce products to accommodate additional firefighting resources in a cost-effective and timely manner, with expert support available at all times.
GelTech Solutions, under the guidance of chief technology officer Peter Cordani, developed the original FireIce product as a next-generation, environmentally-friendly firefighting agent in 2007. Over the last ten years, GelTech’s team of wildland fire specialists has expanded the original FireIce product to a portfolio of FireIce branded fire chemicals, equipment, and services designed to help wildland fire agencies around the world fight fire in a safer, more effective, less costly and more environmentally friendly way.
About Gel Systems Canada
Gel Systems Canada is an amalgamation of Research Engineering, Manufacturing experts, Risk Managers, and Firefighters who have all been affected directly or indirectly by recent disasters, and wanted to make a difference, not jump on a bandwagon. The group is focused on wildland fire and the wildland urban interface, so that product development can stay fast and focused, and get the product meeting customer expectations as fast and Safe as possible. We are pleased to be working with the most environmentally friendly product ever developed for firefighting!
More Information
For more information on FireIce, visit www.fireice.com.
For more information on GelTech, visit www.geltechsolutions.com.
