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BARRICADE® is a revolutionary product, developed to assist firefighters and property owners to control and extinguish fires, and to protect exposures from burning.  Utilizing the latest in technology, BARRICADE has been proven to dramatically improve and forever change the science of firefighting and exposure protection.

During recent years, the problems encountered during urban interface fires have made headlines around the world.  Devastating fires have cost lives and caused millions of dollars worth of damage to homes, businesses, and other structures. The development of BARRICADE will now enable our communities to better control these destructive fires and to reduce the tremendous loss of life and property.

• BARRICADE is a liquid concentrate composed of super absorbent polymers. These super absorbent polymers can absorb hundreds of times their weight in water.  It is this characteristic that gives BARRICADE it's tremendous ability in firefighting.  

• BARRICADE is intended to be used in diluted form.  When the BARRICADE concentrate is added to water at a rate of 1 to 6%, a unique fire-blocking gel is produced.  The BARRICADE gel, when applied to a combustible structure or material, provides an insulating zone between the heat of the fire and the protected surface, even at temperatures of 3500° Fahrenheit!  The thermal protective ability of BARRICADE is far superior to anything previously available to suppress fires and to protect exposures.

• BARRICADE is specifically formulated to adhere for long periods to most horizontal and vertical surfaces, including walls, roofs, ceilings, overhangs, glass windows, compressed gas cylinders, railroad tank cars, motor vehicles, watercraft, aircraft, trees, brush, shrubs, plants, and grass. BARRICADE will continue to adhere to protected surfaces even in high wind conditions.  

• BARRICADE may be prepared in the same manner as firefighting foams using standard foam eductors.  It can be applied using standard hoses and nozzles or master stream devices.  There is no extensive training or special equipment needed to start using BARRICADE today.

Using BARRICADE with water represents a dramatic improvement over the use of plain water alone.  For every gallon of plain water that leaves the nozzle, at least 90% runs off vertical surfaces due to gravity and plain water's poor ability to penetrate many fuels.  In contrast, BARRICADE treated water adheres for long periods to vertical surfaces and greatly reduces water runoff.

When water alone is used to combat large, hot fires, most of the water pumped through the master stream device never reaches the seat of the fire.  The water evaporates and turns into steam in the superheated air above the fire. When BARRICADE is mixed with water, the evaporation process is significantly slowed.  As a result, more fire quenching water is able to get through the superheated air and reach the seat of the fire.

When plain water is used to cool and to penetrate combustible surfaces, or to extinguish fire inside a burning structure, latent heat inside the structure often evaporates water, allowing the combustible surface to ignite or to re-ignite after initial extinguishment.  It is the unique characteristics of BARRICADE which reduce water runoff, slow the evaporation process, and create a thermal protective gel coating that adheres for long time periods to vertical surfaces, and dramatically reduces the chances of a fire rekindling. As a result, the use of BARRICADE treated water to combat fires will prove to be much more effective and safer than using plain water.

BARRICADE® also represents a significant technological improvement over traditional foam products.  Foaming agents are mixed with air and water to produce air bubbles in a process known as aeration.  Tests have demonstrated that air bubbles burst when exposed to temperatures in the range of 170° Fahrenheit.

In contrast, when BARRICADE is mixed with water, a hydration, rather than aeration, process takes place. BARRICADE is made up of tiny polymers that are similar to dry sponges.  During the hydration process, these polymers soak up water resulting in millions of tiny drops of water surrounded by polymer shells. The result is not really a bubble, because a bubble is air surrounded by liquid, nor however, is the result a droplet, because a droplet is simply a small drop of water.  Consequently, we have coined the word "bubblets^©", i.e., a drop of water surrounded by a polymer shell.

To fully understand the revolutionary properties of BARRICADE, it helps to examine the protective gel coating on a microscopic basis.  As BARRICADE and water are sprayed onto an exposed surface, millions of tiny bubblets^© are stacked one on top of another.  This stacking behavior is similar to that of AFFF or Class A foams, except that BARRICADE bubblets are water filled, whereas foam bubbles are only air filled. These unique water filled bubblets dramatically enhance the thermal protective qualities of BARRICADE over that of standard foam products.  In order for the heat of the fire to penetrate the protected surface, it must burn off each layer of the BARRICADE bubblets coating.  Each layer holds the heat away from the next layer of bubblets beneath.  The polymer shell of each bubblets and their stacking behavior significantly impede water evaporation.  As a result, BARRICADE can provide thermal protection from fire for extended periods even at 3500° Fahrenheit.

HOW MUCH  BARRICADE DO I NEED?

This will require a little calculating on your part.  Each 1¼ gallon container of  BARRICADE concentrate will coat 500-700 square feet of area.  The area you cover depends on how thickly you apply the product.  A ¼ inch covering is recommended. The average home will take between three and five 1¼ gallon containers of BARRICADE concentrate.
Note: When coating brush, trees and plants or creating fire-breaks, the 500-700 square feet of coverage area will not apply.
 

WHERE SHOULD I SPRAY THE BARRICADE® WHEN A FIRE IS COMING?

BARRICADE can be used on houses, shake roofs, decks, doors, windows, eaves, fences, outbuildings, sheds, dog houses, log piles, brush, shrubbery, trees, haystacks, cars, boats, grilles, LP and propane tanks.  Remember, it is not so important to completely encase your home in gel.  The eaves, windows, doors, decks and wood shake roofs are most important to coat.  Asphalt shingles do not need to be coated unless a tree or so other exposure is nearby.

Click Here For Additional Frequently Asked Questions about Barricade Fire Blocking Gel,