FlameOut(R) Alliance Helps Reduce Premium Rates

Texas-based Summit Environmental Corporation Inc. announced an alliance with Davis-Garvin Insurance Agency of South Carolina and FireGuard Automated Fire Suppression Systems, designed to increase safety and reduce premiums for logging and timber operators.

FireGuard will be using FlameOut® in its AFSS firefighting units for logging and timber producing equipment exclusively.

Additionally, through Davis-Garvin Insurance, a direct underwriter for Lloyd’s, customers will receive a discount on the premiums for equipment when installing FlameOut® and the FlameOut® fire extinguishers. The fire extinguishers are either 2 1/2 gallon or 6 liter water extinguishers with FlameOut® concentrate mixed at 6 percent solution.

The opportunity for Summit to show the products and their capabilities began when Summit and Bituminous Insurance Company announced an alliance in August 2002. Since then, Summit has developed specific products to accommodate the specific requirements of the logging and timber producing industry.

Summit has contracted with a major fire extinguisher manufacturer to make a 2 1/2 gallon and 6 liter unit with an aspirating nozzle in order to meet the specific equipment needs. The company is bottling 1 liter FlameOut® topper bottles for each specific unit. To complete the implementation, Summit has designed a heavy-duty mounting bracket for the cabs of this heavy equipment.

“A customer was able to reduce their premium by almost 25 percent when FlameOut® and FlameOut® Extinguishers were added to a Hydra Feller Buncher 611E last week. This $150,000 piece of equipment saw a reduction in premium from $6,000 annually to around $4500,” states Donnie Watts.

The FireGuard AFSS fire suppression system is also being added to chippers and shredders. These types of equipment cost as much as $500,000. These systems are installed with spray nozzles in the vulnerable areas of equipment. AFSS self-contained systems are filled with FlameOut® concentrate and water. In extreme cold, recreational non-toxic antifreeze (Sierra) can be mixed with the water to prevent the system solution from freezing. FireGuard also plans on equipping a chipper with a FireCaddy® within a couple of weeks.