To try to limit and extinguish devastating fires on the West Coast of the United States, authorities are using a firecracker pink flame retardant called Phos-Check.
While the Los Angeles region has been ravaged since January 7 by large fires which have destroyed more than 15,000 hectares, the authorities are trying by all means to extinguish these destructive fires.
A fuchsia pink powder that you may have already seen is used a lot by the California department. This is called Phos-Check, composed mainly of ammonium polyphosphate, it has been used since 1963 in firefighting in the United States. This powder diluted in water, which the Canadairs release from the sky “is the primary long-term flame retardant used by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection”according to the BBC.
It is also the most used flame retardant product in the world in 2022 according to the agency Associated Press.
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A very visible color
The use of this pink powder allows the treated surface to “transform into an flammable carbon when it comes into contact with a flame, which slows and prevents the spread of fire”according to our colleagues at Parisianwho cites Perimeter.
A question arises, why is the Phos-Check pink? This fuchsia color allows firefighters to quickly see which areas have already been treated or not, and thus act accordingly. Once landed on the ground, ground teams can better distribute the product. This pink color is caused by the presence of iron carbon oxide within the powder, which remains for several hours before turning brown.
“We tested all the colors of the rainbow and pink was by far the most visible”Melissa Kim, vice president of research and development at Perimeter, said in 2023. NBC Los Angeles.
