Belgium’s Pink Pigment Helps Fight Southern Europe Wildfires
As Southern Europe battles one of its most severe wildfire seasons on record, a small Belgian company in the Limburg region is playing an unlikely but critical role in the fight. Radiant Color, based in Houthalen-Helchteren, produces the fluorescent pink pigment that gives firefighting water its distinctive hue — a visual marker that helps pilots and ground crews track where fire retardant has been dropped from the air.
Why Pink Water?
The principle is deceptively simple. When firefighting aircraft drop water or Phos-Chek retardant over a blazing forest, it is nearly impossible for pilots to see where they have already sprayed. By adding a fluorescent magenta pigment, the dropped zones become clearly visible from the air. According to VRT NWS, the color allows firefighters to mark perimeters and coordinate their efforts more effectively.
CEO Olivier Frederix explained: “The fire retardants are dropped from the air to combat the fires, and our pigment aims to increase visibility. By using a color, the fire department can mark out zones. This way they can see from the air where they’ve already extinguished.”
Radiant Color supplies its pigments to a French company that manufactures Phos-Chek, a widely used fire retardant consisting of ammonium phosphate, water, colorants, and corrosion inhibitors. The magenta color follows the American standard used across Southern Europe, while France also deploys an orange variant for aerial operations.
Soaring Demand Amid a Severe Fire Season
The 2026 wildfire season in Southern Europe has been exceptional. By late July, over 250,000 people had been displaced across France and Spain, with 32 fires burning simultaneously in France alone. Against this backdrop, orders for Radiant Color’s pigment have reached unprecedented levels.
“This year orders are extraordinarily high,” Frederix told Het Laatste Nieuws. “We are receiving many additional orders and we had to prepare an urgent order for France this week.” The company’s pigment remains visible for weeks after application; while water evaporates and soaks into the ground, the fluorescent color stays on the surface, slowly fading under sunlight.
A Global Player with Deep Roots
Founded in 1966 as a European branch of Radiant Color USA, the company has grown into a global leader in fluorescent pigments. Today it is part of RPM International Inc., a U.S. multinational with over $7 billion in annual revenue. Despite its Belgian home base, only 3% of Radiant Color’s revenue comes from Belgium; the remaining 97% is exported across Europe and the world.
As Radiant Color’s history notes, the company’s legacy includes painting the Apollo 11 Lunar Module “Eagle” in 1969. Today its pigments can be found in products ranging from Play-Doh and fluorescent spray paints to safety vests and traffic cones. The company opened a Resin Centre of Excellence in Belgium in 2024 to advance research and development.
Balancing Effectiveness with Environmental Concerns
The use of chemical fire retardants has raised environmental questions, particularly regarding their impact on waterways and ecosystems. Commenters on local news articles have voiced concerns about the effects on fauna and flora.
Frederix acknowledges these concerns, describing the current pigment as “one of the greenest products we have chemically,” while noting it remains a chemical product. The company is actively researching ways to make its pigments more environmentally friendly, driven in part by upcoming EU microplastics regulations (EU 2023/2055).
What’s Next
The trend is clear. As climate change makes weather patterns increasingly unpredictable and wildfire seasons more intense, the demand for Radiant Color’s pigments will only grow. Frederix summed it up: “We notice that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to predict the climate. It will certainly not decrease — the need for our colorant will only increase.”
For a small Belgian company in the heart of Limburg, that means its fluorescent colors will continue lighting the way for firefighters battling some of Europe’s most destructive wildfires.