WHAT IS A BLOWHARD-FAN

A blowhard fan is a high-performance ventilation fan used by firefighters to quickly remove smoke, heat, and toxic gases from buildings during or after a fire. These fans are battery-powered, portable, and designed to create powerful airflow for positive pressure ventilation (PPV). This helps improve visibility, lowers temperatures, and makes conditions safer for rescue and firefighting operations.

BLOWHARD Fulfills DIN 14963

BlowHard firefighting ventilators have been tested and comply with the new DIN 14963 standard for portable ventilation equipment.

  • Squirt – DIN14963-EM-A-1-2
  • Quickee – DIN14963-EM-A-1-2
  • Commando –DIN14963-EM-A-2-3

17″ SQUIRT
Maximum ventilation power in a compact form. The 17″ SQUIRT delivers impressive airflow and strong tactical reserves

20″ QUICKEE
Firefighting fan. When optimum air performance and flexible use at low weight are required.

24″ COMMANDO
Firefighting Fan. Maximum ventilation power and substantial reserves for any tactical ventilation.

20″ XTENDO
High-Performance Fan. Extreme ventilation performance with ample power reserves for any tactical ventilation task.

20″ HOTTEE
Rechargeable Battery Fan. The BlowHard firefighting fan features advanced Milwaukee and DeWalt battery technology.

2.5 kW FLEXIBATT LITE
The FLEXIBATT battery pack provides additional portable power where conventional power sources are unavailable.

2.5 kW FLEXIBATT PRO
The FLEXIBATT battery case offers protected, rugged, and portable power for harsh environments.

BLOWHARD PRODUCT BENEFITS

Battery life is important for PPV Firefighting-Fans because every firefighter should decide for himself when he no longer needs the high-pressure fan. BLOWHARD relies on integrated high-power batteries because they enable a loss-free energy transfer, a longer running time of the fans, and a longer life than is possible with replaceable batteries. In addition to battery temperature management, the integrated battery technology also enables the IP 67 standard. The devices are therefore dust & waterproof and are therefore also ideally suited for tough firefighting operations.

The fundamental goals for every BLOWHARD Firefighting Fan are the highest and industry-leading performance values. Here, not only the battery, motor, and electronics used are decisive, but also in particular the aerodynamic design of the fan unit, such as the rotor blades and their number, as well as the design of the air grille and much more. The decisive factor is how efficiently the fan is able to handle the power provided by the battery.

Performance without control is useless. This also applies to firefighting fans. Even the highest air volumes and the highest air pressure are of no use if they cannot be targeted and used efficiently at the point of use. The BLOWHARD High-Flow-Jet airflow management system takes advantage of the already high-performance values of BLOWHARD fans and directs them precisely to the desired location. It simply offers you more options and reserves. It makes BLOWHARD an unbeatable helper in fire and smoke management.

Not every location is the same. The BLOWHARD fan design allows you to continuously tilt the airflow up to 180 degrees and precisely adjust the airflow to the conditions at the deployment site. This stepless adjustment capability allows for a wide range of tactical settings and arrangements at the job site. BLOWHARD provides you with simple but highly effective and safe PPV ventilation, no matter what the nature of your deployment site looks like.

On the emergency site, every second counts. BLOWHARD units are designed to be deployed very quickly and with maximum effectiveness at the fire scene. Both, the lightweight and the small volume of the PPV ventilators are of crucial importance for rescuers. The units are light enough to be carried to the scene by a single person and take up little storage space on fire trucks.

BLOWHARD firefighting fans are designed and manufactured for use in the toughest fire scene conditions. Water, sand, impact, and heat make little difference to the BLOWHARD fans. No wonder, because they were developed together with firefighting professionals. Despite their lightness, no compromises are made on solid construction. The firefighter fans are suitable and tested for many years of use under the toughest firefighting conditions.

At the scene of a fire, every second counts. This applies both to the fire scene and to the rescuers as well as the possible victims. BLOWHARD high-pressure ventilators, which are indispensable in such rescues, are therefore ready for use extremely quickly. The firefighters’ concentration should be on the operation and tactics at the fire scene, not on the cumbersome set-up and operation of the firefighting ventilators. BLOWHARD fans are built in such a way that anyone can quickly set them up at the scene, even without explanation

As easy as that – Simply set down the BLOWHARD fan, align it and start the high-pressure fan, focusing full attention on the source of the fire. The operation of the equipment must not be a mystery. Electronic “gimmicks” are of little use, as concentration should be on the mission and mission-tactics, not on the operation of the equipment. Even without technical training, BLOWHARD fans are very easy to operate.

BLOWHARD PPV positive pressure ventilators are designed for low operating costs. On the one hand, the units offer very high mechanical quality combined with a very long service life. The fire department ventilators always provide you with appropriate reserves, which reduces the overall load on the ventilators. The availability of spare parts and corresponding warranty plans further reduce your operating costs. Components of the highest quality are installed which have been developed in-house and manufactured for this purpose. Only the most modern, reliable, tested, and certified battery technology is used. So that the rescuers do not face any surprises.

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BLOWHARD ACCESSORIES

For more distant locations, you can rely on the wheelset of the large Commando fan. It makes it possible to transport the firefighting fan comfortably to the place of operation and does not take up any additional space on the fire truck. Valuable power resources on your part are available for hard work and not for transporting the pressure fans. Order your fan with these special accessories from BLOWHARD

With an appropriate suction and pressure hose, additional rescue options are created in smoke ventilation or pressure ventilation. The possibilities in tactical ventilation and especially in smoke extraction from trapped rooms increase. These suction and pressure hoses are now also available in a heat-resistant version. Order your fan with these special accessories from BLOWHARD

Protecting structures and emergency personnel and cooling is the task of water mist attachments. The BLOWHARD HIGH-FLOW-MISTER is specially designed for use on BLOWHARD equipment, can be mounted extremely quickly by means of a pot magnet, and does not obstruct the airflow. It enables the cooling of fumes, building structures, and also of emergency personnel. Order your fan with these special accessories from BLOWHARD

Secure the fire scene and the ventilation site in an optimal way. The easy-to-use high-power LED warning flashers from CARE-FLARE offer additional protection and provide increased safety for emergency personnel as well as victims due to their intensive warning function at a distance. CARE-FLARE is available in red/white, blue/white, and yellow/white and with different flashing functions. Order your fan with these Important Accessories from CARE-FLARE

ELECTRIC FAN, BATTERY FAN - BETTER A LOT OF WIND OR EFFECTIVE POWER?

Electric fans, battery-powered fans – There is a decisive relationship between air speed, air volume, and pressure at the scene of the fire. This determines the safety of the first responder and the speed at which the fire scene can be “exhausted” and subsequently extinguished.

Traditionally, the CFM value (m3/h) is used as an indicator to determine the effectiveness and strength of a fan, and often the values given are at zero pressure (AMCA). The CFM value (m3/h) is correct and important for making initial comparisons between different products. Nevertheless, it says too little about the real effectiveness and efficiency of the fan.

In order to be able to effectively “ventilate” distant sources of fire, it is not the air velocity or the volume that is decisive, but the pressure that is built up even over a long distance. Ventilation thus takes place through pressure differences between the interior of the building and the external environment.

Fans with modern airflow management maximize this pressure in a building to achieve maximum ventilation success. Thus, they do not rely on pure power, but on the smart use of available resources. Even though on paper the data is the same, fans with airflow management achieve greater efficiency in supporting and securing the operations team.

Whether a fan has airflow management can be recognized on the one hand by the rotor blade design, the inlet, and outlet grilles, and a corresponding electronic control system.

Smart management of energy and power is especially crucial for battery-powered fans. For example, maximum fan power is needed only briefly at the beginning of the operation to build up pressure in the building.

After that, it is advisable to adjust the fan power to the conditions at the site of operation. Fans with high-efficiency airflow management have decisive advantages here because the reduction in output can be made without losing efficiency at the source of the fire. This translates into an exponentially longer runtime for a mature fan.

Fans without appropriate management are loaded much higher to build up the same pressure at the source of the fire. This translates into a shorter battery life.

The AMCA problem in firefighter ventilator performance evaluation.

It is important to note that AMCA is a useful tool for comparing similar fan technologies, but should not be used as a comparison for different technologies. Cone units should be compared to each other using this standard, or even jet units. The same applies to new combined technologies such as those developed by BLOWHARD.


Because of these discrepancies, comparing fans has become difficult for both the buyer and the fan manufacturer. Today’s marketing seems to boil down to each company touting its product capabilities, whether they are true or not and then offering a one-dimensional solution to sell them. In reality, the effectiveness of a fan is not one-dimensional, but a combination of several factors. The dimensions addressed are

  • Equipment technology
  • Fire situation / building
  • Firefighter
  • Ventilation tactics

A firefighter’s workplace is always a “state of emergency with intense conditions” in a first-response situation and presents extreme physical and mental challenges to first responders, which are sometimes life-threatening. Therefore, the performance of a PPV ventilator (or any other apparatus used in firefighting operations) should be evaluated from the time the firefighter arrives on the scene until he or she leaves the scene.

While fan performance is an important metric in this regard, it is far from the only relevant metric. The true performance of a fan goes beyond simply turning it on in a controlled environment for comparison purposes and should be evaluated in the field. Certainty can only come from a test on your part. All qualified fan manufacturers have demo units available, which you should definitely try out against each other in a test.

Mandatory program: Stepless tilt adjustment

Ultimately, the success of ventilation also depends on how well you can position the fan at the inlet opening. But this inlet opening does not always play along and is often also above or below the normal level. Since we know that the distances to the inlet opening are important, it is often necessary to ventilate upwards (stairs) or downwards (cellar entrance).

Experiments have clearly shown that the optimal meeting of the entrance opening plays a very decisive role in the success of the operation. An optimal angle of inclination (negative as well as positive) makes it possible to use the whole power of the fan even in more inaccessible places. The differences between the devices can be proven in practice by means of suitable measuring instruments. However, it is recommended for practical use to adjust the tilt angle of the respective fan so that the airflow is directed centrally to the inlet opening. Not all devices are easy to adjust the tilt angle. Each manufacturer has its own system in use here and in some cases, the inclination angles are severely limited. Ventilations into staircases (positive) or into cellars (negative) or even shafts (negative) are made impossible (Attention: Shaft ventilation also requires EX-protected fans).

Not only does the inclination up or down promises the corresponding improvement of the performance, but also the positioning of the fan to the left or right (and thus out of the actually straight ventilation axis) can maximize the success depending on the location. But more about that in the part: Ventilation tactics of this knowledge series.

The rotor geometry and ventilation grille design

A motor from the shelf, a rotor from the shelf, and a ventilation grille made of round bars which protect against reaching into the rotor blades and ready is a fan for comparatively little money. However, this does not guarantee optimal success, because all these components must be optimally matched to each other.

The rotor is the most important component because it converts the available energy from the batteries into the desired airflow. Its geometry determines how strong the airflow is and what pressure it is able to build up. It decides how much the battery is loaded and how long the fan will run on one charge. It decides what noise your fan will make.

Make sure that the rotor is designed and manufactured specifically for this application. Indications for this are different geometries near the hub and in the outer area of the blades, double rotor fins, blade profile, number of blades, or whether the blades are guided at their end in the housing.

In addition, the ventilation grille has more than just a protective function. The ventilation grille is critical to direct the airflow appropriately. It shapes the airflow and is responsible for whether your device can form an effective jet airflow. In rotor blades and air grille lies the effective engineering performance of a professional fan.

FULFILLS DIN 14963

BLOWHARD firefighting ventilators have been tested and comply with the new DIN 14963 standard for portable ventilation equipment.

 

LONG BATTERY LIFE

BLOWHARD relies on integrated high-power batteries because they enable a loss-free energy transfer, a longer running time of the fans.

 

INTUITIVE OPERABILITY

Even without technical training, BLOWHARD fans are very easy to operate. As easy as that – Simply set down the BLOWHARD fan, align it and start the high-pressure fan

 

17″ Battery Firefighting Ventilator

BLOWHARD SQUIRT

 17

HIGH AIR PRESSURE

The fundamental goals for every BLOWHARD Firefighting Fan are the highest and industry-leading performance values

 

AIR FLOW MANAGEMENT

The BLOWHARD High-Flow-Jet airflow management system takes advantage of the already high-performance values of BLOWHARD fans and directs them precisely to the desired location

 

LOW OPERATING COSTS

BLOWHARD ventilators are designed for low operating costs.

 

WE SUPPLY RESCUE INNOVATIONS
At Vogt-CTE, we offer our European trading partners access to unique innovations in the field of rescue. Our solutions make rescue operations easier, faster, safer, and less resource-intensive. The products we represent are highly specialized, proven in the field, and make a real difference — saving lives every day. We don’t just bring products to market — we deliver progress. Together with our partners, we ensure that these innovations reach the people who need them most: those on the front lines of rescue operations.