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A technology has been devised and recently deployed in highway vehicle transportation to protect vehicle fuel tanks from impact-induced fires. The technology is currently employed in the FIRE Panel product, which exhibits an improved design based upon powder panel technology used for decades to protect military aircraft from ballistic-induced fuel tank-fed fires. The device comprises a shallow shell, filled with a powder fire extinguishing agent, which is mounted on or near a fuel tank or other flammable fluid reservoir. In the event of an impact to the fuel tank or reservoir, such as due to a collision, which might rupture the tank and spill fuel to be ignited, the adjacent FIRE Panel also impacted shatters as designed, discharging a plume of extinguishing powder to inert the space around the leaking fuel tank or other reservoir, even if the vehicle travels some distance after impact. The simplicity and low cost of the device make it practical for most transportation applications.

This paper discloses the recent results and experiences of use of the FIRE Panel fire safety device in motorsports, including NASCAR, and other related transportation. The device comprises a thin shell of a special polymer, which is filled with a powder fire extinguishant. It is mounted on or near a flammable fluid reservoir, such as a fuel tank or fuel cell, in a “peel and stick” application. When the vehicle is impacted severely near the reservoir, the FIRE panel is designed to shatter, with the energy of the impact discharging the powder as a plume surrounding the ruptured reservoir, preventing the leaking flammable fluid from igniting. It is an improved derivative of a similar device used to protect military aircraft fuel tanks from combat damage-induced fires. It was previously deployed on some SCCA Trans Am racing vehicles to protect their fuel cells from fire, successfully withstanding the rigors of competition.

This paper discusses the implications of recent analyses of toxicity and environmental impacts of in-car fire extinguishing systems used in motorsports competition. Halon chemicals have been used for decades as the de facto choice for race car fire extinguisher systems (with some exceptions in some applications) due to its “clean” nature of not leaving residue, ability to “total flood” in cluttered compartments, its high performance and presumed low toxicity (although drivers have complained of ill effects after the discharge of such systems). It was determined to be a contributor to the destruction of Earth's ozone layer, and was stopped in production after 1993. Since that time, motorsports fire systems vendors have relied on using the once abundant but dwindling supply of recycled Halon available in the commercial sector, knowing that its use will eventually one day end.