All about FOAM

[BedfordFire 7]

I was just wondering... what are the various types of foam (if there are various types) and what their different uses are, as well as under what circumstances to use or not to use foam. I was also wondering the different capabilities i.e. foam tank sizes and other equipment that is used or stored on trucks around the area.

[Jason762 2]

I was just wondering... what are the various types of foam (if there are various types) and what their different uses are, as well as under what circumstances to use or not to use foam. I was also wondering the different capabilities i.e. foam tank sizes and other equipment that is used or stored on trucks around the area.

←

There are many different types of foam. Your best bet is to read IFSTA Essentials (fire streams chapter) or IFSTA Fire Streams book to get complete information. Also John Norman's Fire Officer Handbook of Tactics has quite a bit of foam information (and a lot of high-ex foam info). The basics that are still used for the most part are Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) and Film Forming Flouroprotein (FFFP). These have different properies and different beneftits and drawbacks, thus making them applicable to use in different situations. IMHO AFFF-AR is probably the best all around foam. AR stands for alcohol resitant. We run with the newer 1%-3% foam (1% for hydrocarbon fires and 3% for polar solvent fires). This allows us to use lesser amounts of foam at a fire which is a big deal since most of us don't carry nearly enough foam to handle large scale incidents. Off the top of my head I believe our foam tank size is in the area of 50 gallons, possibly smaller, I'm sure x152 will post the exact size (I'm too tired to look it up right now). Hope this helps.

[truckie45 1]

If you really want to get into foam I recommed taken FF2, The instructor went over what foam is, types of foam, how its made, when and when not to use it, and how to use it. There is a certain amount of percent of foam you want to use for the type of fire you are fighting. Believe it or not foam is not that difficult to use.

Take FF2 Brothers.

[mfc2257 464]

I was just wondering... what are the various types of foam (if there are various types) and what their different uses are, as well as under what circumstances to use or not to use foam. I was also wondering the different capabilities i.e. foam tank sizes and other equipment that is used or stored on trucks around the area.

←

This is a copy and paste from a post I made about a year ago when I was still Captain in Millwood before moving to Florida. The description of the apparatus describes its foam capacity.

Until a about a year ago with the exception of the airport, Millwood had the largest "ready to respond" foam capacity north of white plains. This may have changed with folks taking delivery of new apparatus. With a water source, running as a "taskforce" these apparatus can flow over 2000gal of foam product per minute.... Probably more under the right conditions and if you included the in line bucket eductors that are available too.

Engine 247 - 1998 Spartan/3D 1000/750. Location: Headquarters. Assignment: FAST UNIT. First Due (East of Taconic State Parkway) General Alarms, Motor vehicle Fire, Mutual Aid. Special Equipment: CAFS Pump A/B foam. 1200+ft 5in hose. FAST Equip. Thermal Imaging Camera. AED. K-12 and Chain Saw. Diesel generator. Misc other. No less than 40 gallons of each (A/:lol: foam on board.

Engine 248 - 2004 Spartan/Sutphan 1500/750. Location: Station 2. Assignment: First Due (West of Taconic State Parkway) General Alarms, Motor vehicle fire, Mutual Aid. Special Equipment: 1200+ft 5in hose. Class A/B foam (no CAFS) Lukas Combi Tool, Gas Detector, K-12 Saw. Hydraulic Generator. Misc other. No Less than 40 gallons of each (A/:P foam on board.

Mini Attack 10 - 1989 Ford F-350/Saulsbury 750/150. Location: Headquarters. Assignment: First Due Brush fire, wires down, water rescue. Special Call Source pumper, narrow driveway, class B foam. Special Equipment: Zodiac rescue boat, chain saw, winch, class B foam system. 1000+ft 4in hose.

Utlity 44 - 2002 Chevrolet 2500 Pickup. Location: Headquarters. Assignment: Special call to complement all Fire Department Operations. Available to transport our 80 gallon foam reserve OR 3 portable gas generators, OR 400gpm gas portable pump.

Edited April 12, 2006 by mfc2257

[cas2383 22]

Speaking of the lack of enough foam: The State of CT also has a foam trailer program. Set up by region, with foam trailers strategically placed, are used to respond to larger scale incidents requiring a lot of foam. ie like when the tanker burned and melted I95 in Bridgeport.

Here is the link incase anyone is interested:

http://www.ct.gov/cfpc/lib/cfpc/mobile_foam_trailer.pdf

[229909 0]

I was just wondering... what are the various types of foam (if there are various types) and what their different uses are, as well as under what circumstances to use or not to use foam. I was also wondering the different capabilities i.e. foam tank sizes and other equipment that is used or stored on trucks around the area.

←

F-500-is a new multy purpose foam that knocks down the heat of the fire but also the time it takes to put out the fire,it was tried on a car fire drill, worked great no mixing just add it in to youre pump tank and a way you go,it is also biodegradeable some how it breaks down the chemicals in a fire that makes it enviromently friendly,the other great thing is that it dose not make the ground a slipping hazard like other foams,speak to a rep from AAA they will come to youre house do a slide show and do a hands on with a old car,makes for a great drill,i belive the price was about $100-125-for 5gal.

[Geppetto 31]

If you're going to use foam, first decide what you are going to use it for. There are various types of foam available, but they are NOT interchangable. For example, if you are using it for pooled liquids, AFFF or FFFP (and associated derivatives) work great. Hi - Expansion (HiX) doesn't work at all. Likewise, if you are trying to flood an enclosed space, as in trying smother a stubborn cellar fire, then the moderate expansion rates of AFFF/FFFP do not work.

CAFS and Class A foams work great on just that - CLASS A fires. Essentially, the normal Class B fires laugh at you. Dumping Class B foams on "A" materials gives you some surfactant value - (soak in), but that turns out to be quite an expensive hobby. There are other foams available which may offer better vapor suppression, knockdown, or drainout resistance. Some that come to mind are specifically for Haz Mat Operations or Decon.

IFSTA puts out a good primer - Principles of Foam Fire Fighting, which should get you headed in the right direction.

A word of advice - just because it gets introduced into the system like foam, doesn't mean it is foam. F-500 works on the the reaction side of the tetrahedron.

You can still buy wetting agents and friction reducing compounds, (yes, there's one born every minute) which get introduced into your hose lines using an eductor.

AND

Whatever you do - don't ever mix concentrates, including F-500, because the end result will probably be a chemical knot thicker than a superball. That WILL ruin your day.

[mfc2257 464]

If you're going to use foam, first decide what you are going to use it for.  There are various types of foam available, but they are NOT interchangable.  For example, if you are using it for pooled liquids, AFFF or FFFP (and associated derivatives) work great.  Hi - Expansion (HiX) doesn't work at all.  Likewise, if you are trying to flood an enclosed space, as in trying smother a stubborn cellar fire, then the moderate expansion rates of AFFF/FFFP do not work. 

CAFS and Class A foams work great on just that - CLASS A fires.  Essentially, the normal Class B fires laugh at you. Dumping Class B foams on "A" materials gives you some surfactant value - (soak in), but that turns out to be quite an expensive hobby.  There are other foams available which may offer better vapor suppression, knockdown, or drainout resistance.  Some that come to mind are specifically for Haz Mat Operations or Decon. 

IFSTA puts out a good primer - Principles of Foam Fire Fighting, which should get you headed in the right direction.

A word of advice - just because it gets introduced into the system like foam, doesn't mean it is foam.  F-500 works on the the reaction side of the tetrahedron.

You can still buy wetting agents and friction reducing compounds, (yes, there's one born every minute) which get introduced into your hose lines using an eductor.

 

AND

Whatever you do - don't ever mix concentrates, including F-500, because the end result will probably be a chemical knot thicker than a superball.  That WILL ruin your day.

←

As a quick warning (that I've mentioned before) to all those who have new CAFS systems or new FF's who have never trained with them.... CAFS puts many of the typical residential fires we encounter out very quickly, BUT Suppressing an enclosed (ie: Room & Content) fire with CAFS creates a totally different enviornment than using water or Class A consentrate. CAFS uses VERY LITTLE water (think shaving cream) and thus does not have nearly the cooling effect that straight water or foam consentrates do. Thus, when you extinguish the fire you are left with a room full of superheated gasses that are nearly has hot as they were while the room was burning. DON"T STAND UP. Crawl back out of the room and establish a defensive position to protect against flareups until the room can be properly vented by the Truck Company if the OVM hasn't done so already. ALSO, if you are fighting a near flashover fire from a doorway, you aren't going to get nearly the penetration that water would give you (think of the difference between the force of a can of shaving cream VS a super soaker water gun). Once a room reaches flashover, the foam will begin to suppress the fire from combustable materials such as the walls and furniture, but the superheated gasses that are burning from floor to ceiling will most likely overpower your foam line. At this type of fire I would suggest a smooth bore and bounce it off the ceiling and walls to create an impinging fog.

Just a few thoughts.... Millwood bought the first CAFS pumper in the county (E247) in the late '90s and I've had a chance to use CAFS a few times. Its great but it's not the total solution that some folks think it is. There is still absolutely a demand for straight water at a some fires.