Fighting urban fires with missile technology

A major Chinese company that develops tactical guided missiles is using its defense technology to battle fires in high-rise towers.

Researchers at the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, or CASIC, have come up with a "missile fire-fighting system" that can tackle a blaze in a skyscraper more than 300 meters from the ground.

"The heights of urban buildings continue to grow and many are beyond the capabilities of traditional fire-fighting equipment," Qiu Xuyang, chief engineer at the Second Research Institute of CASIC, told China Economic Weekly.

The decision by the defense company to look at solutions followed a series of major tower fires.

In 2009, a high-profile blaze broke out at China's Central Television's (CCTV) 159-meter block, recalled Li Jin, then deputy director of Beijing Municipal Firefighting Bureau. It proved a daunting challenge for the authorities.

In a move to tackle similar incidents, CASIC has developed a truck equipped with 24 projectiles containing agents that can control and extinguish a fire once a building has been cleared of people. They resemble missiles, but of course, they do not explode on impact. Instead, they release a concoction of chemicals that smother the blaze.

"This is a perfect solution," Qiu, of CASIC, said. "You can launch a projectile with the same accuracy of a military missile."

By using cutting-edge technology, there is no need to have fire trucks at the exact location of the blaze.

"The projectiles can be launched from several hundred meters away," Qiu added.

Last May, the system was used in an anti-terrorist drill in Beijing and extinguished a fire on a ninth-floor room in a tower block.

"The projectile destroyed nothing but the glass window," a military official, who took part in the drill but declined to reveal his name, said. "Even the window frame remained intact."

Guided missile technology had already been adapted to tackle forest fires, but it was considered unsafe for urban areas. "It posed security risks when used in cities," Li, of the Beijing firefighting bureau, said.

But those concerns have been addressed by CASIC after the company rolled out its "green launching technology".

"Our firefighting projectiles are environmentally friendly," Qiu told China Economic Weekly. "When they are launched, there are no flame trails or smoke."

The system is also flexible and efficient. The projectiles are contained in a special fire truck and can be directed and fired in three minutes after arriving at the scene, according to Qiu.

Ma Si contributed to this story.