Portugal Calls in Briton's Fat Water Invention to Halt Fires

It may be what firefighters dream about. Water that does not run away down the nearest drain - but can swell and stick to what is burning, so extinguishing the fire.

But fat water, which glues itself to vertical surfaces like trees and buildings, keeping them wet, is not wishful thinking or science fiction, it is a great British invention.

Tonnes of so-called water-swelling powder which creates sticky water were being flown to Portugal yesterday as a gift from British companies to start putting out the forest fires. It was the idea of the British Ambassador in Lisbon, Dame Glynne Evans, who had heard of fat water and was appalled at the damage to Portugal's forests caused by the out-of-control fires. She rang round British companies operating in Portugal to raise the money.

The man who invented fat water, Gordon Springell, with four senior firefighters from Northumberland, Durham, Lothian and the Borders, began training Portuguese firefighters in its use yesterday and it was being brought into action immediately. His wife Gillian and daughter Inga are the only staff of his firm Aqua Lider, in Cockermouth, Cumbria.

The powder he invented is made under licence and is already stocked by fire brigades in the north of England and Australia which have to deal with forest fires, but Portugal is its biggest test yet. It is a white, dry, granular powder that swells to form a gel when added to water. It can be sprayed on to trees and grass ahead of the fire to keep them soaked and prevent the fire progressing, or directly into the fire where it sticks to unburned areas, smothering the flames.

The product contains a super absorbent plastic, similar to that used in baby nappies, which enables water droplets to be encapsulated and allows the resultant gel to stick to vertical surfaces. This gives it added punch as a fire-fighting product since there is negligible run-off associated with untreated water. The product is administered at a low dose rate of two grams per litre. It is biodegradable, non-toxic, non-irritant, non-corrosive and leaves no residue to damage the environment.

The Europe minister, Denis MacShane, who has just returned from the south of France where he saw forest fires, said "Portugal asked for help and our extremely forceful ambassador thought of a way of doing it. She rang round British businesses and raised the money. This is a great British invention which has turned out a great success.

"This is an opportunity to help our oldest ally and show that Foc-Stop Fire Retardant, as it is properly called, really works on a large scale. Support and solidarity across frontiers is what the EU is all about."