5 thoughts on “Can you produce FOAM? How much? For how Long? Nozzle type?”

  1. My response is regarding class B foams…..

    I am a fan of the foam inductor system (125 or 250 GPM), 1 / 3 % AR (alcohol resistant) -AFFF, carried only in pales, and a common fixed gallonage fog nozzle. If each company carries three pales and have 500 gallon tanks they can each produce 3% AR polar solvent finished foam for their full tank of 500 gallons, or 1500 gallons finished foam of 1 percent for hydro carbon fires. By keeping it simple the incident commander of this set-up can request companies to bring there foam concentrate to where it is being used. Each company can carry there foam pale to the location of need. Also additional foam can be easily brought to the scene and deployed from storage.

    Other benefits include immediately noticing if there is a problem with the system. For example a inductor stops working simply just grab another one from a company on scene. No need for a a road for rig access near the fire. Minimal maintenance and reduced cost of equipment, flexibility in deployment, the ability to use different type of foam, less down time for engines do to problems with built in foam systems, longer shelf life of the product itself do to not being exposed to air in foam tanks, and a standard system on all engine that will not be different from company to company.

    I am sure I have missed some items I would like to mention, however for class B fires in urban areas I strongly believe a pale system has many inherit advantages over costly built in class B foam systems. Special equipment such as a foam tender or a class B foam rig with a large foam tank can be special called. A standard engine company should be provide a safe quick and effective way to start an initial calls B foam attack and have the ability to continue producing foam with the assistance of other responding companies on the box. If your department has all their front line engine spec’d with built in class B foam system and you only carry foam in the class B foam tank, you have effective limited that foam to that company.

    I am constantly amazed at what a saleman will advocate for a department, without taking into the keep it simple rule, durability, longevity, and other operational factors required by the fire service. That vast majority of the fire service in the United States based on their first due district would be well served be the good old foam inductor system with foam pales. That being said of course for refineries, airports and other target hazards, were it is the primary duty of responders to fight class B fire need built in foam systems with very large foam tanks 500 gallons and up. I am just advocating that for the rest of us, keep it simple and be able to start and maintain an initial foam attack with the first alarm companies, it does no good to just use all the foam concentrate in your 15 gallon foam tank/built in system and then have no way to sustain your foam blanket or continue your attack.

      • No problem, of course Pale = Pail and in a few places There = Their, but whipped this out off the top of my head. Sometimes things as simple as getting a foam line in operation and maintain a continuous operation, with non-stop flow, which includes a continuous supply of foam concentrate and water is over complicated by the built in gizmos that seem all to prevalent in today’s fire service. Lets face it, a foam line is just like pulling your initial line essentially, except you need a inductor, a foam pail, a nozzle and some common sense.

  2. CAFS…is the way to go but costs too much. We carry 40G on our Truck but unknown how long that lasts…we use our standard chief breakaway foam nozzle, don’t use foam too much anymore

  3. Our Engine carries 40 gal. class A. Our Rescue carries 30 Gal. class A with a CAFS system. Class A is a force multiplier. We carry inductors and have Class B also. It is also proven that class A doesn’t need to be used greater than 3 %,1% works great. Unless you have a CAFS system and you are making shaving cream to protect a structure. Smooth bore works well. You aren’t trying to make a foam blanket, like with a class B fire. Some math: 40 gal foam flowing @ 1% = 4,000 gallons foam product. flowing 200 gpm handlind you will have 20 minutes of foam.

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