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Project to demonstrate the functionality and effectiveness of a traction fire engine for extinguishing forest fires <LIFE02 ENV/E/000223>

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PROJECT TO DEMONSTRATE THE FUNCTIONALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF A TRACTION FIRE ENGINE FOR EXTINGUISHING FOREST FIRES

LIFE02 ENV/E/000223 Location of the project: Castilla-La Mancha, the Community of Valencia, Castilla-León, Murcia and Madrid. Total cost: 1,414,759 � EU Contribution: 639,761 �

Beneficiary Entity: EMPRESA DE TRANSFORMACIÓN AGRARIA, S.A. C/ MALDONADO, 58 - 28006 MADRID (SPAIN)

Contact: Manuel López Hernández e-mail: [email protected] tel: 913 22 63 55

Website: www.tragsa.es Project website: www.velif.com Duration: 1 January 2002 to 15 October 2004

Summary of the project’s scope and objectives

This project consists of the modification of an M48 A5E2 model combat tank into a self-drive track-mounted pump vehicle, for the extinction of forest fires, and demonstration of the vehicle’s funcionality and efficiency, with the aim of significantly reducing fire extinction times.

One of the most important aspects is the reconversion and recycling of military vehicles for their

use in civilian tasks, their application in fighting forest fires providing inestimable social, economic and environmental benefits.

This prototype underwent a series of modifications to obtain the most complete and safe fighting resource possible. It subsequently underwent field trials during the 2004 fire season, as part of Toledo province operating resources.

Forest fires currently represent one of the most serious problems for the natural environment and forestry sector in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin. This has multiple negative consequences, both economically and

Project to demonstrate the functionality and effectiveness of a traction fire engine for extinguishing forest fires <LIFE02 ENV/E/000223>

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ecologically, and in landscape and social terms.

This project has involved the modification of a discarded M48 A5E2 model combat tank into a highly efficient forest fire extinction vehicle resource, capable of working in the worst possible extinction conditions where other resources, such as aerial elements, are unable to act.

Description of the techniques/methodology applied, and the results

The design of the V.E.L.I.F. drew on the collaboration of the company Servicios y Proyectos Avanzados (henceforth SPA) which did the re-engineering work, along with the construction of the prototype based on previous experience with other track-mounted extinction vehicles like the A.C.R.I.F. (Self-drive pump on Reinforcement Tracks for the Extinction of Forest Fires), a prototype forming part of an earlier project assigned to us, for which the base vehicle was the Soviet T-55 combat tank, but which was eventually abandoned because of major mechanical limitations in the transmission system.

This previous project did however provide us with very valuable experience, so that it has been possible for this current LIFE project, using a more modern combat tank as the base vehicle, without the mechanical limitations referred to above, to be developed in line with expectations.

This project used as its point of departure an M48 A5E2 combat tank discarded by the Spanish Army in 2002; the elements not needed to fight forest fires were removed, such as the turret and other additional components on the outside structure.

The resulting vehicle is driven by its own drive unit comprising a 740 CV diesel motor and an automatic gearbox transmitting the movement to the tracks.

A cab was incorporated onto the chassis, with air conditioning and wide visibility thanks to a large laminated glass front window protected against impact by a grill. Reliable and easy-to-handle control and manoeuvre elements are located inside this cab. Some of the control components are duplicated on the outside of the vehicle to facilitate extinction-related operations such as laying the hose. There are three seats in

Project to demonstrate the functionality and effectiveness of a traction fire engine for extinguishing forest fires <LIFE02 ENV/E/000223>

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the cab for three operators, entering through hinged side doors using fold-out steps. The cab is protected by a perimeter anti-tip structure made of high-strength structural section (HEB240), whose dimensions are somewhat larger than the cab, to prevent it from hitting the ground should the vehicle overturn.

Immediately behind the cab a 16,000 litre capacity water tank is installed, designed as an interchangeable and removable element. For enhanced stability, a wave-breakup system is installed in the tank, dividing up the interior to prevent load movements. On it, a sturdy water impeller gun is installed, with a hydraulically operated three-way movement.

Forming part of the tank there is a 500 litre foaming recipient, suitably treated to prevent corrosion which the additive may cause to the material the recipient is made from. The foam is dosed by means of an electronic device (Dosifor).

The water projected through the various devices is driven by a self-aspirating “2 stage” main water pump, operated by a 150 CV air-cooled diesel motor independent of the tank engine, both of these elements being mounted on the rear of the vehicle. The water can be impelled through outlets which are high-pressure (2 early-rescue reels) or low-pressure (4 outlets for hose-laying, monitoring gun, a self-protective device and a blade-spray device).

At the front of the frame, a impeller system was installed comprising a hydraulic thrust blade with a combined three-movement angledozer type system. A system of extinction nozzles was installed on that, to fight low-intensity fronts.

There is also a set of components to ensure the safety of the extinction work, such as a radio and video communications system operated from inside the cab, allowing real-time transmission of audio and video signals to a sensor located in the backup vehicle. There are also three independent autonomous respiration units for use in emergencies, and a vehicle self-protection system comprising a set of perimeter sprays.

Finally, at the top of the cab and tank, two path-finder directional lamps are installed, three long-range lamps and the rotating light elements necessary to use the V.E.L.I.F. as an emergency vehicle.

Some phases in the production of the prototype using the M-48 A5E2

Project to demonstrate the functionality and effectiveness of a traction fire engine for extinguishing forest fires <LIFE02 ENV/E/000223>

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The forest fire extinction vehicle installation also incorporates all the elements standard in this type of pump: a set of branch pipes, and D 70, D 45 and D 25 lance tips; manual extinction tools; auxiliary lamps for night work; tools for maintenance and minor repairs.

The upshot of the project is a go-anywhere vehicle on tracks, adapted to the extinction of forest fires, and capable of fighting with a combination of water with or without foam, and an angledozer blade.

Thus a resource of great efficiency has been obtained, able to mount a direct attack with water at greater distances than most existing resources, thanks to the monitoring gun and the powerful motor-pump driven by its own, independent motor. Direct attack is also possible with the blade, in a way like that of heavy machinery currently in use.

It is also possible to place 16,000 litres of water very close to the source of the flames, thanks to the high mobility across hills, enabling it to ascend longitudinal slopes of 35%, and 30% transversal slopes.

The incorporation of a thrust blade makes high performance possible (1770 m of line/hour in a single sweep) rupturing horizontal continuity and making it a very effective resource for indirect attack and clearance work.

Assessment of the environmental impact of the project

The environmental problems tackled in this project are the consequence of forest fires, and the medium- and long-term repercussions. Moreover, an effective fire-fighting resource has been developed which will help to reduce these effects significantly.

This problem is very common in some EU countries, particularly those with a Mediterranean climate, characterised by Summers coinciding with low precipitation and high temperatures, ideal conditions for the starting and propagation of fires.

Forest fires represent not just an environmental disaster, but loss of human life and high economic figures in both material or in productive losses and in terms of equipment and the resources used in extinction work. Substantial funds are expended on fire extinction, control and prevention, on both private and public land. It is hard to assess the impact of a forest fire, since it involves assessment of returns from forests which include vaguely defined present and future values, with or without commercial value. Forest fire damage includes not just the market value of commercial timber and young growth destroyed, but also direct, indirect and intangible losses to hydrographic basins, biodiversity and other non-commercial values. Tangible losses are those which can be expressed in monetary terms, derived from real or simulated market prices, or from the estimate of the cost of repair or replacement. Intangible losses can be defined as those which are not entirely measurable, but which are acknowledged as valuable to the satisfaction of human desires and needs.

Forest fires currently represent one of the most serious problems for the natural environment and the forestry sector in countries of the Mediterranean Basin. While fire

Project to demonstrate the functionality and effectiveness of a traction fire engine for extinguishing forest fires <LIFE02 ENV/E/000223>

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has throughout history been a natural phenomenon in almost all Spain’s geographical regions, it was from the nineteen-seventies that the problem of forest fires increased. This rise was due mainly to the progressive abandonment of the country, where the combustible charge in forests accumulated as a result of the reduction of exploitation and removal of wood, along with the drastic drop in the livestock load. The dry period of the large fires at the end of the seventies extended well into the eighties so that, in 1985, there was a huge loss rate in all Mediterranean countries, with more than a million hectares consumed by fire, leading to damages valued at 425 million euros.

As a consequence of the loss of flora, there is a serious risk of desertification in the absence of plant growth, much more marked in certain areas, particularly in the south of Spain, where it is difficult to produce the possibilities for natural regeneration, aggravated by the lack of rain and low relative environmental humidity. Such desertification is an extremely serious problem in some areas where it assumes disproportionate dimensions, making it a problem of maximum priority because of the ecological risk.

An added problem is the loss of habitat for animal species, worsened when thought is given to protected animal species, given the danger of extinction they run.

There may be a greater ecological problem if forests are destroyed in protected spaces, for example in Natural Parks, where the ecological loss is even greater. This project fills a vacuum in trying to alleviate such problems, where action is not possible with any other type of vehicle, those having been used until now having been motor pump vehicles on 4 x 4 chassis, and bulldozers (tractors running on tracks).

For all these reasons, we think that good progress on this project is a matter of absolute priority, given the urgent need to improve fire-fighting resources, both in this country and in others in the EU where this also represents a very serious problem.

Disused war materiel has been recycled, so that the project is in line with Community directives on waste (3 Rs).

The environmental results expected with this project are in the same line as European directives referring to forest conservation: Community Regulation No. 215/92 of 23 July 1992 on the protection of Community forests from forest fires; Community Regulation No. 1727/99 of 29 July 1999 setting up the provisions applying to European Regulations No. 2158/92 of 23 July 1992 on the protection of Community forests from forest fires; and Community Regulation No. 804/94 of 11 April 1994 establishing the provisions applicable to forest fires.

Cost-benefit analysis of results (economic and environmental benefits)

The aim in starting this project has been to provide new solutions in confronting major disasters. Until now, the main alternatives were aerial resources (helicopter and spray-plane), and other ground means such as conventional motor-pump vehicles. Comparison with non-mechanised brigades may be left to one side.

Project to demonstrate the functionality and effectiveness of a traction fire engine for extinguishing forest fires <LIFE02 ENV/E/000223>

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The great advantages offered by this vehicle compared with aerial resources are in its ability to operate in adverse weather conditions, specifically in wind and poor visibility. In such conditions, fires propagate very fast, they are usually larger, and so able to cause major environmental disasters. They can also operate without daylight, so gaining fundamental time. It must also be remembered that the hourly working costs of the V.E.L.I.F. are about 10% that of aerial resources, its cost per day on-site less than one third, and the capacity of the water tank is enlarged from 1000/4000 to 16,000.

The advantage of this system in relation to conventional motor-pump models is their greater operability, with entry to steeper areas with fewer access paths, precisely where the forest fires which most propagate usually occur.

The cost compared with them is hardly doubled, while operability increases proportionally.

More than an alternative method, bulldozers are a complement, their use being required at other times and in other conditions, and the working procedures they demand are always more aggressive with the environment.

It can be concluded that, from an environmental standpoint, the investment is justified, given the operability, since use of the V.E.L.I.F. can reduce damage in areas of environmental value which are infinitely higher than the cost of the vehicle.

Use by large industrial enterprises is intended to avoid disasters which, in principle, are financial, but which are not without their related environmental cost.

The prototype developed in this project has not generated revenues, the concern of TRAGSA being, as an instrumental resource and technical service of the General State Administration and the Administrations in the Autonomous Communities where this is provided for (Royal Decree No. 371/1999), to enhance quality and services in the fire-fighting field.

From a strictly economic standpoint and should series units be built in the future, the project would yield a return of approximately 37%, with recovery of the sums invested in the fourth year following commissioning.

This calculation has taken into account 150 hours of work per year for units posted with the Fire-Fighting Reinforcement Brigades. For units assigned to large corporations, working days are all the days in a year, billed by days posted to the duty station. In these conditions, 300 euros per working hour can be billed, and 1,500 euros per day of posting. The operating costs for each unit would be 126,213 euros per annum.

During the years when this project has been developed, work has been done to assess the vehicle’s real possibilities, making it possible to optimise its operation and for it to be used in following years on a generalised basis.

The cost of recycling of each combat tank into a forest fire extinction vehicle is approximately 500.000 �.

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Potential transferability of the project results

Through the Directorate-General of Biodiversity and its Area of Forest Fires, the Ministry of the Environment has shown specific interest in the use of this resource in fighting forest fires, considering the possibility of integrating it into its network of national resources for the prevention of and intervention in forest fires which it provides to the Autonomous Communities.

Likewise, the Ministry of the Interior (Civil Defence) has shown interest in possible use of this equipment for intervention in other possible disasters.

The intention of this project is the introduction of a highly efficient means of fire-fighting, and its adaptation and use in all Autonomous Communities, though it is also designed for other extreme situations, such as possible oil refinery accidents.

Thus there are now several entities (including at the international level) which are genuinely interested in ensuring a positive outcome for this project, for its possible incorporation and to prevent greater risks with rapid and efficient action.

The V.E.L.I.F. can also operate in very specific functions for environmental procedures in ecological disasters, so that it will be made available to the Ministry of the Environment. For all these reasons, we think that the use of this track-mounted motor-pump vehicle may be very broad and of great interest, given the way the work is done quickly, efficiently and safely.

According to market studies, its commercial potential will be very great, not just in Spain and the EU, but also in other countries, for example on the South American market. The project seeks to implement environmental policy at the level of the Autonomous Communities, since the Regional Authorities will be those most interested in this product for its use in emergencies. The Spanish Autonomous Communities willing to bring it on stream in future campaigns are those in Valencia, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla León, Murcia, and Madrid; elsewhere in Europe, Portugal has expressed great interest in the V.E.L.I.F.