Micon is a diversified coatings and chemicals company, focused mainly on developing, manufacturing and distributing passive fire protection products to the mining, commercial, and industrial sectors.
In addition to our world-class fire retardant coatings and chemical’s we manufacture a range of surface coatings which are supplied to retailers, contractors, and agents throughout South Africa.

The Oxford English Dictionary describes fire as:

“Fire: a process in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke; combustion or burning: His house was destroyed by fire.”

The best method in which to describe the way a fire  is through the Fire Triangle.

Heat – a fire cannot begin without sufficient heat to ignite the fuel

Fuel – the fuel is what the heat reacts with and consumes.

Oxygen – the oxygen that a fire need is used to support the chemical reaction which takes place when the heat consumes the fuel. Combustion is defined as the reaction in which oxygen molecules react with the molecules of the substances being burned.

Fire and Fire Retardants

A fire retardant is a substance other than water which reduces the flammability or delays the ignition of its protected substrate.Fire retardants work in the initial phase of burning, reacting to contain the spread of flame, securing and controlling the affected area until a flashover occurs, when this happens the fire will grow and consume more area of the fuel it is feeding off.Once this happens, the fire retardants will again control and secure the affected areas until the coating/chemical has been burnt out, and so the process repeats itself.

One of two things may happen next.

1. The ignition source may be effectively wearing out, taking the heat out of the equation, and the fire .

2. The process will slowly continue repeating itself, over and over again until the heat source and available fuel outweighs and overpowers the fire retardant capabilities, finally flashing over into a fully developed

Fire can destroy a property and all its contents in less than 20 minutes, and it can reduce an entire forest to a pile of ash and charred wood. It’s also a terrifying weapon, with nearly unlimited destructive power which kills more people every year than any other force of nature.

It is estimated that the annual cost of fire in developed nations is around 1 % of GDP. To put this in a South African context, the devastating effects of fire costs South Africans in the region of around R22 billion each year or R 60 million each day or R2.5 million each hour or an unbelievable R41666.00 per minute.

While it is possible to render something “fireproof”, it is nearly always not economically, environmentally, or logistically feasible to do so.

This is how the compromise of the application of fire retardants is reached, in event of a fire their ability to control, isolate, delay, protect and safeguard the lives and capital investments in its vicinity cannot be underestimated.

With over 25 years in the fire protection and coating sectors we will be able to assist you with all product enquiries and specifications.

We are a supplier of choice for many Blue Chip Companies across the construction,
mining and industrial sectors.