Mojave Spaceport Applies for FAA Matching Grant to Buy Advanced Firefighting Equipment

PyroLance firefighting system. (Credit: PyroLance)

By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

To deal with the challenges of new composite spacecraft being built and tested at the Mojave Air & Space Port, the East Kern Airport District has applied for a matching grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to purchase fire-fighting equipment that allow firefighters to rapidly bore a hole through the side of a vehicle and put out a fire inside of it.

The PyroLance Dual Firefighting and Piercing equipment would cost $47,500, which would be split equally ($23,750) between the FAA and the spaceport. Ten percent of the spaceport’s contribution is coming out of the rent of composite spacecraft builders at the facility as required under the grant program, spaceport CEO Stu Witt said on Tuesday.

The company’s website describes the company’s technology as follows:

PyroLance is a revolutionary firefighting tool used by fire units around the world. By integrating granite abrasive with an ultra-high pressure (UHP) stream of water, PyroLance allows a crew to literally pierce through concrete, composites, plate steel and other barriers to gain direct access to the source of any fire.

Once a barrier is pierced, PyroLance’s granite abrasive switch is disengaged as the unit continues to flow water at ultra-high pressure. Because UHP produces billions of tiny micro-droplets with far more surface area than normal water drops, PyroLance is able to take on the fire’s thermal layer directly, cooling temperatures by hundreds of degrees in just seconds. UHP is also much more efficient than traditional attack lines, using up to 90% less water with far greater extinguishing power.

If you’re looking for a practical, effective and affordable solution for your first responders, we invite you to explore this site for more details on ultra-high pressure technology and getting started with PyroLance.

The East Kern Airport District, which oversees the spaceport, submitted the grant application to the FAA’s Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching Grants Program. The FAA expects to announce this year’s grants on July 17.