Fire Fighting to Wild Fires - The Aloe Plantation as Fire Barrier Solution

Fire Fighting to Wildfires Requires a New Approach - Aloe Plantations are a New Fire Barrier Solution

The main issue of fire management is not only how to combat fire but fundamentally how to avoid it. Most policies are aimed to avoid fire.

Fire fighting wildfires has different solutions and different approaches to avoid or to fight the fire, with different results.

Aloetrade America is proposing a new approach. We are proposing a new form to fight wildfire: the use of aloe as fire retardant.

Aloe is a succulent. It is one of few plants used for years as fire resistant, sometimes in conjunction with other plants.

However, in many cases, it was used in a wrong way, without a right fire management system.

 

Our Fire Management Solution

We are now proposing a new solution in fire management.

Our solution combines the aloe properties as fire retardant and our vast knowledge and expertise into the aloe business.

With years of experience gained by assisting many aloe growers worldwide to establish aloe plantations, we have developed a fire management system which analyzes local environment factors, evaluating weather conditions (climate, moisture, humidity, rainfall, wind speed), type of vegetation (grass, savanna, chaparral, woods, etc) and soil characteristics (soil type, texture, pH) at any given location.

With such data, we extrapolate the information inputs in order to define potential fire risks and then choice the right solution.  


But what is the solution?

Our solution is a plantation with a mix of several aloe varieties.  Our solution defines a selection process of different aloe varieties to create the most appropriate fire wall to protect public or private assets, be located either at urban or rural areas. Our fire fighting solution is totally eco friendly and sustainable.

We have several options adapted to each eco-system and local environment. Rural environment have a different approach than urban cases. We define different combinations of aloe varieties considering the local conditions. Our combinations are based on our own developed models and uses different combinations of aloe barbadensis miller, aloe saponaria, aloe chinensis, aloe Arborescens, aloe ferox, aloe litoralis, aloe socotra, aloe secundiflora and/or aloe variegata, among other options.

These fire fighting models may be left at wild conditions or managed as a fire retardant system needing only a basic irrigation system.

Advantages of Aloe as Fire Retardant

Aloe means any species of the genus Aloe, succulent perennials of the family Lilaceae (lily family), native to the warm dry areas of South Africa and also to tropical Africa, but cultivated elsewhere.

The Aloe Barbadensis Miller, Aloe Saponaria, Aloe Ferox, Aloe Chinensis and aloe Arborescens, are the most commercially known varieties of more than 360 species of well-known aloes. Most aloe varieties are cultivated as ornamental plants, but all the above mentioned aloes are used basically in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, beauty, toiletry, food, beverage and apparel industry, as well as in other industrial sectors.

Our fire fighting aloe solution creates a very large natural firewall. With more than 12,000 plants and 175,000 leaves per kilometer, there is a strong fire barrier to protect assets. Aloe is a “water” barrier that must be broken by fire. On average, it means about 58,000 to 87,000 liters of aloe gel (98% water) per kilometer, based on leaves of 50 cm length, 9,5 cm wide and 2,7 cm thick.

The key issue to use aloe as fire retardant and to create fire wall is the fact that any aloe variety has more than 98% of water and 1.5%-2% of solids

This solid material contains over 75 different nutrients including vitamins, minerals, enzymes, sugars, anthraquinones or phenolic compounds, lignin, saponins, sterols, amino acids and salicylic acid.

The saponins are the more relevant constituent of aloe as fire retardant. Saponins are glycosides and represent about 3% of what is in the aloe gel. Saponins are chemical compounds abundant in different types of plant species. They are among the secondary metabolites and produce soap-like foam. Their structure is composed of one or more hydrophilic glycoside moieties held by a lipophilic triterpene derivative. Due to their surface-active properties, saponins produce stable foams. If there are about 87,000 liters of aloe gel diseminated along one kilometer, just about 2,600 liters per kilometer are saponins offering a foaming-like barrier against fire. All in a single plant.

There are some patented fire fighting foam formulation which includes a non-foam forming amount of a saponin, such as a tri-terpene type saponin.

The saponin significantly improves the heat resistance of the foam formulation when applied to fires, and can eliminate the need to use the non-ionic hydrocarbon surfactants.

In conclusion: As aloe contains saponins, it is a fire retardant system in a natural plant.


Advantages of Aloe Plantation as a Fire Barrier

There are several advantages to create a fire barrier with aloe varieties.

  • Ecofriendly option: Aloe plantation is a natural fire fighting option
  • Resistant to animal predators: Rodents and other natural predators do not eat aloe because is spiny and has bitter taste.
  • Resistant to insects: Most insects do not attack the plant
  • Resistant to pests: Few pests, fungus or sucking bugs may damage an aloe plantation 
  • A small investment: Compared to other fire fighting solutions, the aloe solution means a low investment to secure people, properties or other assets
  • Scalability of protection: With an adequate management, an initial aloe plantation with 12,500 plants expand to more than 75,000 units in less than two years, increasing exponentially the amount of plants available for fire fighting
  • Easy solution: Even when specific solutions are designed for every place and its environment, an aloe plantation is easy to develop, grow and maintain. It is an easy fire fighting solution


Furthermore, in certain cases or locations where certain predators, fungus and sucking bugs may harm the plant, there are effective and simple solutions defined on a case-by-case basis considering the local environment.

How do we work?

When a private or public entity requests our services, we firstly collect information about local conditions, local environment, fire risks and human activities in the area, i.e. if area to be protected is within urban limits or rural areas, labor activities, leisure activities and general conditions. We gather all the information from public agencies or private organizations.


Then we analyze and evaluate historical series of climate information for the given area or location to protect, basically the following items:

  • Temperature
  • Rainfall
  • Humidity and relative moisture
  • Pressure
  • Wind speed
  • Topography
  • Soil characteristics (soil type, texture, pH)
  • Fueling possibilities
  • Existence of grazing cattle or commercial crop
  • Type of vegetation (grass, savanna, chaparral, Woods, etc)


With all such information, we define the right aloe plantation to develop in the designated place requiring fire protection. The right fire fightingalso aloe plantation means to develop a plantation with different aloe varieties, designated for a specific place, and with irrigation or without it.

The aloe barrier solution indirectly will affect native plants. It also will change ecosystem since will modify soil stability and soil resources with the main objective to suppress the fire.

Our aloe solution must be considered as a plant invader. It will not modify the frequency, size, spatial pattern and intensity of fire. But aloe will affect fuels and fire regimes.

 

How is Our Service

Aloetrade America LLC is the only company in the world to offer this new approach to fire fighting. If wildfire is a problem, we are the only company with appropriate know how and the capability to ship hundred of thousands aloe plants or aloe shoots from several sourcing locations all over the world. We ship aloe plants from Argentina, Colombia, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Uruguay and Venezuela to any place in the world.

We offer the Aloe fire fighting services both to private and public sectors.

In the private sector, our services are offered to private homes, condos, villas, private clubs and similar properties.

In the public sector, our services are destinated to local, regional, state or national governements, fire prevention agencies, or other security bodies in charge of fire protection or fire control.

Our fire fighting solution is offered on a turn key basis in certain countries. Otherwise, we only transfer the know how, sell the aloe plants, and give the technical assistance to develop the plantation to a local partner or organization, be a private company or a public agency.

For a specific proposal or more information please contact with us. Depending on the location you may be contacted bya representative of Aloetrade America LLC, Aloetrade Latin America SA, Aloetrade Argentina or Aloetrade Europe.

 

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