Do Foam Systems Ever Work Right?

[x635 4,066]

Seems like the many times I've drilled with foam, with different agencies, methods, and equipments, there's always been problems getting the right mixture of air, water, and foam to produce a satisfactory foam blanket.

Granted, I've been there when it's succesful, but it seems that's the exception.

Now, before I start this story, I want to say that I'm a supporter of CAFS.....especially in rural and urban interface situations, and areas without adequate water supply- such as interstates.

I recently heard a story about a department officer who was pushing for a CAFS system on a new engine. Supposedly, it cost $40,000 extra. He brought in a demo from the manfacturer, and the manufactuer's experts who were doing the demo couldn't even get the system to work right. This demo was supposed to show how easy CAFS was to use for the pump operator, apparently just the flip of a switch, basically. But the experts couldn't even get it to work. Now, this department officer suddenly lost some more credibility, and tarnished the image of CAFS in already skeptical firefighters eyes. I hope this officers history of dissapointments and failing people for his own personal gain won't deter this depatment from making a progressive move and adding CAFS to their engine- albeit guarenteeing it will work properly first.

I also heard of another department that was trying to use Class B foam from their 5 year old engine. The engine had a 30 gallon Class B foam tank- that was used once while training on the, at the time, new engine. Since then, the foam hadn't been touched, and had "gummed up" in the tank and was useless.

Does foam ever work without hickups, 100% of the time in typical engine company (non-airport crash truck) use?

The only time I've seen CAFS and foam systems that are intergrated into a pump work properly is the Pierce Husky foam system (past 2 model years).

[Fex404 0]

Personally I am a big foam fan. We have a truck that has the cafs system and as a pump operator it is simple but there are a lot more levers and knobs on the pump panel that it does make it intimidating.

On the note of it getting "gummed up" - this will happen if you dont run your foam system and flush it once a month. As many of us know most of the time the foam just sits in the truck forever untill one day at a fire a lightbulb goes off and they decide to use it only to find out that it is clogged up. The way my dept gets around this is we do a foam drill every month and run the foam out of our trucks and systems and then flush and fill again. It does bring up the issue of wasted foam and money but it costs a heck of a lot more to get the system fixed.

Something someone brought up on the foam issue is keeping the tanks empty and filling it on scene. Personally i feel that the last thing that we need to worry about is climbing on top of the truck and filling up the foam. Manpower is usually tight, and idealy we want that foam flowing immediately especially in no hydrant areas where you may be waiting for tankers.

[Guest]

we dont have a foam system, but we do have the TFT Pro pak which works pretty well

[JetPhoto 626]

When you do your foam drills do you report them to the DEC and get a spill number?

[ny10570 745]

Every time I've seen someone have trouble with foam its been human error. Mistakes at the pump or people who thought they knew a trick. JUst pump the right numbers and use the foam stick and you will get a blanket. As for the Foam Pro system we run, sadly I haven't been around nearly as much as I want or even should be and have only seen it used once.

[IzzyEng4 427]

I'm not a big fan of using foam for structural firefighting since a lot of factors and right conditions must be idea for proper application. I've seen it used so many times incorrectly also, mainly because of lack of training and also lack of knowledge. We have Class A and Class B (more B since we have a major highway that runs through my district). So far we have had luck using our foam system on incidents required iots usage. We've trained a lot on it.

The new Class A foam can sit for a long time abut Class B foam systems must have a hihg level of maintence to keep it from gumming up. If you have on board foam tanks, regardless what the manufacturer states, you should drain and flush out the tanks, using the product to make sure the system works properly every year. Now before anyone says "foam is too expensive, your wasting it", if the foam is still in its "liveable date" you should be able to reuse the product again after you check its consitency. But I don't know of any process that would let you do this. Any suggestions?

[firefighter36 52]

If running the foam system or purchasing foam for such a purpose is "too expensive," isn't that a factor that a department should look into before implementing such a system? To me, it seems like buying a vehicle and then saying that oil changes and wiper fluid are too expensive to purchase. The initial cost of a tool is just a starting point, maintenence and usage costs over time are just as important, and sometimes overlooked.

[EFFDCO4 0]

I'm a huge fan of foam. We actually use it on most fires, structural, vehicle, etc. We have a prepiped CAFS system that automatically premixes the foam with the water. Simply press "FOAM" on the pump panel after you open up your discharge and you're off and running. Remember though, before shutting down, turn off the FOAM button and flush the line with water for about 30 seconds to remove any deposits. This works very well for us. With the automatic mixing, the Foam tank lasts a long time and does a very good job extinguishing the fire.