FIMA signed a contract with one of the world’s oldest manufacturers and providers of fire safety engineering systems, the German company Minimax Viking (hereinafter referred to as Viking GmbH & Co.KG) in February. With more than 100 years of innovation in the firefighting market, the firm offers a complete range of fire safety equipment which pushes technological boundaries. A new generation solution – a very effective and cost-efficient low-pressure water mist extinguishing system, EconAqua, – has now become available in Lithuania.
Fire extinguishing systems sector is a promising area for FIMA where it is constantly working to achieve the highest standards. FIMA and Viking GmbH & Co.KG share an integrated approach to firefighting solutions. This partnership will allow FIMA to offer the best solutions and systems to our customers to meet their future needs and plans. The FIMA team responsible for installing these systems has received special training from the manufacturer.
Viking GmbH & Co.KG is renowned for designing, manufacturing and certifying hardware for fire safety engineering systems as well as the design, assembly and maintenance of them. In addition, it has an in-house fire research centre. Full-size models are developed to test the system and its elements and are then tested until the insurer confirms the correct operation of both the system and its components and issues a certification permit. It is a complicated and costly process that most competitors do not invest in.
FIMA is the only provider of a unique new generation low-pressure water mist extinguishing system, EconAqua, in Lithuania. The system uses water very efficiently. In the case of a conventional water-based system, 1 litre of sprinkled water spreads over a surface of 3 m2. EconAqua, however, converts the same 1 litre of water into a mist of water droplets which spreads over a surface of 60 m2.
Water mist droplets replace part of the oxygen in the room, efficiently preventing the fire spreading. It takes less time for smaller droplets to heat up and evaporate so the cooling process is faster. Such extinguishing efficiency is normally only available with high-pressure systems but these are costly and tricky to operate. This system needs slightly higher investment than a conventional water-based one but is cheaper to operate and causes less damage when it extinguishes a fire.
EconAqua uses less electricity and up to 85% less water than conventional water-based systems with its extinguishing station and water tanks taking up between 60% and 80% less space, which allows the system to be integrated with the other engineering systems in a building.
“Representing Viking GmbH & Co.KG means a lot to us. The company selects business partners based on their proven ability to ensure best quality when it comes to installing equipment. What follows is regular communication and advice. For example, should we have any issues when installing a specific system, we could visit a site which has faced similar difficulties to discuss the most practical and efficient solutions in that particular case. I know of no other manufacturer which provides such versatile service and support,” FIMA’s project manager, Raimundas Skapčius, said.
