Flemish company Radiant Color supplies pigment for pink fire-fighting water used in forest fires

The purpose of the pigment is to enable fire services to see from the air where fire retardants have already been dispersed. “We had to fulfil another urgent order for France just this week,” says managing director Olivier Frederix.

The pink fire-fighting water used by fire services in southern Europe to tackle the blazes owes its colour to paint pigments from Radiant Color in Houthalen. The company specialises in the production of these fluorescent pigments, which are used in all manner of applications, including Play-Doh modelling clay.

Radiant Color supplies the colourants to a French company that produces the fire-retardant Phos-Chek. This is a powder consisting of water, salts, colouring agents and corrosion inhibitors, used to combat forest fires. That company then supplies a wide range of customers, including fire services and fire-fighting aircraft.

‘The fire retardants are dropped from the air to fight the fires, and our pigment is designed to improve visibility,’ says Managing Director Olivier Frederix. ‘By using a colour, the fire service can mark out certain areas. This allows them to see from the air where they have already extinguished the fire.’

In France – unlike other countries that use the fluorescent pigment – an orange colour is also used. “Magenta is the main colour, used in all southern European countries and in line with the American standard. But some countries also use their own colour. In France, they use orange for aerial firefighting. The magenta colour is applied from the ground,” explains Frederix.