Fire system plumbing

[Pranav]

My system has like 6 nozzles. I was thinking of putting one in the engine bay pointed right at/above the fuel rail connections, one above each of my shoulders, and one between the legs pointed up in front of the seat.

Not sure if I want to use up all 6 nozzles. What do you guys suggest?

[Supercharged111]

First of all, how big is your bottle? Mine's only a 5er, so I kept with 2 nozzles. I've got a 2 way on the trans tunnel at knee level pointing toward my torsal/crotchular area and a 3 way in the engine bay centered above/behind the intake manifold. That was the smartest thing I could come up with with such a small bottle. I think with a 10# bottle, I'd do a 3 way on me, one per bank in the engine bay, and one pointing at the fuel tankular area. Partly to keep the car from burning down, but moreso to quell the fire, wherever it's coming from, long enough for me to GTFO. 3 for the driver seems a bit much, could that possibly backfire and overwhelm you?

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/supercharged111/Camaro/IMG_20150511_222943_643_zps9qwrzg5z.jpg (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/supercharged111/media/Camaro/IMG_20150511_222943_643_zps9qwrzg5z.jpg.html)
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa70/supercharged111/Camaro/IMG_20150511_223222_897_zpsqxtvfxe2.jpg (http://s198.photobucket.com/user/supercharged111/media/Camaro/IMG_20150511_223222_897_zpsqxtvfxe2.jpg.html)

[BryanL]

What does the CCR say?

[mach1]

It also depends a little on what kind of system it is, AFFF works different than FE36. I am about to install my AFFF system, I have 4 nozzles, I am going to 2 on each side of the engine, 1 driver crotch area, 1 fuel tank area. I read something about the fact that 95% of driver injury is from the bottom area of the car in a fire.

[Trublu]

Somewhat on topic but I thought I'd share.

A few of us were at the WRL enduro at COTA this past weekend. The first (of many) red flags was for a serious fire which resulted in the driver being airlifted to hospital with burns to his face. Cause of said fire not established but here is what I learnt.

Helmet Visor- always have it down! This was a flash fire and the facial burns likely happened instantaneously. The driver did not have his visor down according to race control.
Car Egress- practice it! The driver did what he had practiced and got out quickly. The flames soon after were reported to be 15 feet above the car. (I need to practice this more)
Nomex Hood- wear one! I understand the driver was not and was completely within the sactioning rules.
Fire System- make sure its effective and accessable! Pranav you are on the right track. I need to reconsider if an accessable portable extinguisher is the best case when the worst case occurs
Fuel cell- install one! they wont seem that expensive when the flames are licking your ass

In this weekend's case the driver will (reportedly) recover (thank fxxk)

[Pranav]

This is the one I have. Looks like a 15 pounder? 4.25L AFFF:

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/bigpicture.asp?recid=5625

I'm not sure on the spray pattern on the nozzles.

CCR says one in cabin, one in engine bay at a minimum.

Craig, any details on what caused the fire?

[Trublu]

Sam picked up this post on another forum so I'm going to assume sharing with best interest of learning from the incident is appropriate and will not be taken out of context to draw conclusion on what happened and why.

Some of you already know about the unexpected incident at COTA this weekend involving a driver where the car burst into flames unexpectedly - for those who don't - please say a prayer for Stephen Cox who suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns to wish a speedy recovery.
Here's an update from his son, Stephen Dale - "An update on my father Good evening friends!
I want to first thank all of you for your patience and understanding. As I sit down to write this at 11pm Sunday evening, I can honestly say it's the first real chance I've had to do so, and it's been almost 36 hours since the incident.
On Saturday morning, February 13th, about 20 minutes into an 8 hour endurance race at Circuit of the Americas, the car my father was driving caught fire. The exact cause is unknown at this time, but it was not due to contact. It seems that a front right mechanical failure caused the car to drag the concrete during competition and the fuel line ruptured. He was out of the car almost immediately, but not before sustaining what was described to me as "2nd and 3rd degree burns to various parts of his body". The car fire was so severe that it required every corner worker at COTA to bring their fire equipment to fight it, though thankfully he was long out of the car by that time. As soon as the ambulance arrived in the paddock, I was informed of the accident. I was there as he consented to a breathing tube being inserted into his throat, to prevent his windpipe from closing due to swelling. We were then immediately airlifted to downtown Austin, Texas, and then very quickly sent down to the ICU at Brooke Army Medical Hospital in San Antonio.
Brooke Army Medical Center is considered the #1 burn clinic in the USA, and one of the top burn clinics on the planet. After his wounds were cleaned and dressed I was permitted to see him yesterday evening, but he was not cognizant of the visit due to heavy sedation. Today, I was anticipating that he would still be under sedation, and unable to speak or even to be even partially conscious for another 1 to 3 days. I was told to anticipate significant swelling, and to wait for the nature of the wounds to reveal themselves. So all of you can imagine my surprise (and considerable tears) when I received a call around 2pm in the afternoon from the nurse saying "Your father is awake and wants to know how soon you'll be here."
His swelling is nowhere near as severe as anticipated. He's a tough one. He asked for the sedation to be lifted to the maximum limit today (which isn't a lot) so that he could see his family members. Doing that causes him considerable discomfort as the breathing tube is still in. Thankfully the tube is expected to be removed tomorrow, and he accepted sedation in order to be able to sleep tonight. Today my mother arrived and she and I stayed with him until visiting hours were up.
While there is a long road of recovery ahead, you will all be relived to hear there is no neurological or respiratory damage!! Those of you familiar with racing fire injuries know that these are the main concerns, but both his brain and his lungs are 100% fine and unharmed. Also, none of the burns should in any way inhibit any of his motor functions. A complete recovery is expected. The majority of the burns appear to be 2nd degree, and will heal themselves with no scarring. There is an extraordinarily small percentage that is 3rd degree, and looks like it will require surgery, but should not leave any scarring. At this time I cannot give you anymore details because I truly don't know them. The full extent of the damage will be known in probably another 2 days when the swelling starts to disappear. I have been told that he is expected to be kept here in San Antonio for around two weeks.
His location is a military hospital (more or less) and is under heavy security. And the ICU only permits two family visitors at a time. When I have details on where to send get well cards, etc… I will let you know. But for now he is recuperating privately under lock and key.
I also want to extend a special thank you to the World Racing League, and all the safety staff at Circuit of the Americas. And I want to thank all of you for the outpouring of support and prayer you have sent. It means the world to our family and we are responding as soon as we are physically able. When I informed my father of the support you have all shown we both simply sat there and cried out of gratitude.
All the best!

[marshall_mosty]

Reposting this from my "start of the year" thread seems appropriate right about now...

http://www.motorsportretro.com/2013/02/f1-fire/

There is a reason why I wear nomex/carbon-x undies in addition to my multi-layer suit. I also wear a head sock, even though it isn't specifically required (for my goatee at least)...
Guys, check your crap. I don't want any of our family living thru this same type of hell.
Definitely sending up prayers for Steven Cox!!

[Tilton]

From the CCR


15.17.5
Eye and Face protection
A full-face helmet with an impact resistant face shield is required in “open” cars (FFR, sports racers, and formula cars) and highly recommended for all vehicles. Eye protection is required. Face shields, safety glasses, or goggles completely made of impact resistant material are permitted as “eye protection.” However, the choice of eye protection used, and the responsibility for any failure, belongs to the driver. Drivers with beards or long hair must also wear a face cover (balaclava) made of approved fire resistant materials. A full helmet skirt made of Nomex or other fire resistant material shall also satisfy this rule.

[mach1]

Wow, thanks for posting Craig. My visor on my helmet is broken so I have been using it half open, good thing I am buying another helmet soon. Hopefully we will get some data on what happened with the car that allowed an instant flash fire to his body.

[dtanker65]

The key instructions installing mine were to be sure not to spray the drivers eyes with suppressant and that getting the driver covered was most important to buy time so he can get out. The other guidance was there is not enough suppressant in any of the systems to contain a ruptured fuel tank that is burning. I only have two nozzles, one on my torso and one on the engine. With more nozzles I would add drivers legs and maybe behind the seat. If the fuel tank is behind the axle I think a caged fuel cell is important. One design I hate to see is a fuel tank in the trunk aft of the axle that is exposed to the cockpit. It should really have the rear seat bulkhead/package tray closed out with sheet metal all the way laterally to the quarter panels or close it out with a cover. My prayers go out to Stephen for a speedy recovery.

[Supercharged111]

Can anyone speculate as to how differently this would have turned out if he were wearing a nomex baclava and had had his visor shut?

[Rob Liebbe]

Much Better.