The first Ignitable Liquid Drainage Floor Assembly (ILDFA) was installed in 2020 for the U.S. Navy.
“Offshore helicopter platforms were somewhat the genesis of the idea. There are some designs out there that have a perforation in the top deck to drain away rain and potential fuel spills. This inspired us to take the approach of using a hollow floor to drain away fuel in case of a spill, instead of waiting until there is a fuel fire and then reacting to it with foam-based fire suppression system,” said Sam Bowen, Director of Business Development for Safespill.
The ILDFA is designed for commercial and military hangars and Bowen said it’s the best fire suppression system available, as per building codes like NFPA 409 2022 and FM Datasheet 7-93.
“It is 100% environmentally safe and it significantly reduces downtime for cleanup in the hangar when a fuel spill has occurred. The system basically cleans a fuel spill up automatically,” he continued.
According to Bowen, drip pans will be a thing of the past, as the ILDFA relieves some of the pressure to avoid fuel spills or clean up spills instantly during MRO activities. Additionally, aircraft can be washed inside the hangar.
The system has a lifespan of 50 years and comes with 10 years of warranty, which includes inspection and maintenance.
Multiple military bases have been using the ILDFA since 2020, and the first commercial MRO hangars are slated to have it installed in 2024. Bowen said they have over a dozen projects in various phases from design to near completion.
“Any of our clients that have dealt with AFFF or High Expansion Foam accidental discharges, instantly love our product. Another benefit of ILDFA over foam is rooted in life safety. As recent as august 2022, a hangar operator was stuck in a hangar while a foam system activated accidentally. Tragically he died while 8 of the first responders had to go to the hospital after they went in to try and save him. The health and environmental risk of PFAS in the AFFF and High Expansion Foam are eliminated by ILDFA. In terms of user feedback, we don’t get this in writing, but the fact that end users can basically spill anywhere on the floor and it is cleaned up automatically is a huge selling point,” said Bowen.
Bowen added that Safespill hosts weekly webinars during which an engineer guides attendees through the workings of the ILDFA, discusses design considerations and explains the installation process.
