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FoamCalculation
FieldArea: 120
FoamType: ClassA
ProportionRatio: 3%
Applicationtime: 65min.
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Foamrequired:1525.5

Litres

Calculations of the above Fire Foam Calculator is based on NFPA minimum

applicationrateguidelines,howevertheyshouldNOTbeusedtosolelycalculatethe
totalamountoffoamneeded.

Acommonemergencythatfirefightersencounterisflammableliquidspillsandfires.
Statisticsevenshowthatflammableliquidreleasesaccountfornearly66percent of
allspills,andevenifyouhavenotalreadybeentoaflammableliquidfire,chances
are very good that you will sometime in your career. Therefore, it behooves us to
train for these emergencies, to handle them more efficiently and to keep our health
andsafetyintact.
PerhapsthebestweapontohandleflammableliquidspillsandfiresisClassBfoam.
Therehavebeenmanyfinearticleswrittenaboutfoamandhowtouseit,yetmany
firefighters seem to misunderstand and are confused over foam technology. One
authorevenreferredtofoamastheVoodooSciencebecauseofthegeneralfeeling
firefighters have concerning foam. In reality, Class B foam applications are fairly
simple.
SomeofthereasonsforthefirefighteraversiontousingClassBfoammaybefroma
lackofexperiencewithit,bothintrainingandinactualincidents.Notallflammable
liquidreleasesrequireflowingfoam,sotheexperienceofusingitatemergenciesis
notenoughto give a firefighter a confidence level. Also, since foam concentrate is
expensive (over $25.00 per gallon), fire departments do not train with it frequently
enough to leave a lasting impression on the people who use it at spill scenes.
Consequently,whenClassBfoamisneededatanemergency,theoperationsdonot
goassmoothaswewouldlike.
Outsideoftheequipmentusedinproducingfinishedfoamandthepropertechniques
for applying finished foam, the most perplexing issue for firefighters is the
calculationsforthefoamconcentratethatisrequiredataspill.Whiletherearefoam
formulas to figure the concentrate needed, many, if not most, firefighters will be
hardpressed to remember the formulas while in the midst of an emergency. The
formulasarecomplex,andintimesofstressthesimpleroperationscanbemade,the
betteroffresponderswillbe.YearsagothephilosopherThoreaustatedthatwemust
Simplify, Simplify, Simplify! This sentiment is also of value when it comes to
foamconcentratecalculations.
Inordertounderstandthesimpleformula,itisimportanttoknowthecomponentsin
a foam formula. The formula for calculating the needed foam concentrate at a
flammableliquidreleaseisasfollows:
AreaXCriticalApplicationRate(CAR)XEductionRate(ER)X15=Foam
ConcentrateNeeded.
"Area"referstotheareathespilloccupies,usuallyinsquarefeet.Areacanbe
calculatedbymultiplyingthelengthbythewidthofthespill.Ifthespillisinacircle
estimatethelengthandwidthforaballparkfigure.(Tobeprecise,andthisisnota
precisescience,theareaofacircleis3.14multipliedbytheradiusofthespill
squaredor3.14r2.)
The"CriticalApplicationRate"(CAR)istheminimumflowoffinishedfoamper
squarefoottoextinguishaflammableliquidfire.TheCARwasfoundfordifferent
fuelsthroughextensivetestingbytheNationalFireProtectionAssociation(NFPA).
TheCARforhydrocarbonfuelshasbeencalculatedtobe0.1gallonsperminuteper
squarefoot(0.1gpm/ft2)andtheCARforpolarliquids,likealcohols,hasbeen
calculatedtobe0.2gpm/ft2.
Thethirdfactorintheformulaisthe"EductionRate"(ER).ClassBfoamneedsto
beeductedatacertainpercentagemixedwithwaterinordertoproduceanadequate
foamsolutiontocoveraspillorextinguishaflammableliquidfire.Formanyfoams
theeductionrateforhydrocarbonsis3%(.03)and6%forpolarliquids(.06).Some
ClassBfoamsuse3%eductionratesforbothhydrocarbonsandpolarsolventswhich
simplifiestheformulafurther.Thereisevenonenewfoamonthemarketthatis
eductedat4%forbothClassAandClassBfoams.
ThefourthfactorinthefoamformulaisasafetyconcernthatcomesfromNFPA11
StandardforLowExpansionFoam.NFPA11statesthatweshouldhaveenough
foamconcentratetoflowfinishedfoamforaminimumof15minutesatthecritical
applicationrate.
Thereisoneadditionalfactor,whichisnotintheformula,thatiscalledtheX

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Factor.TheXFactoristheaerationexpansionratiothatthenozzleproduces.Since
somefiredepartmentsmayusenonaspiratingnozzleswithnoaerationcapabilitythe
XFactorwasnotputintotheformula.Ifyoudoknowtheexpansionratioofyour
nozzle,ornozzleattachment,thisfactorcanbeadded.Forexample,aTaskForceTip
(TFT)willaerate,orexpand,thefoamsolutionatthenozzlebyafactorof4(4:1).By
addingtheTFTnozzleattachmentforfoamoperations,theexpansionratiois8to1.
Thissimplymeansthatairhasbeenaddedtothefoamsolutiontoexpandit8times
theoriginalvolume.Aeratingnozzlesandattachmentsgreatlyextendyourfoam
supplybycoveringmoreofthespill.
Tosummarize,thefollowingformulascanbeusedatspillscenesinvolving
flammableliquids.
Forhydrocarbonspillssuchasgasolinetheformulais:AreaX0.1gpm/ft2X
0.03X15=foamconcentrateneeded
Forpolarliquidspillssuchasethanoltheformulais:AreaX0.2gpm/ft2X
0.06X15=foamconcentrateneeded
Now,thechancesofafirefighteraccuratelycalculatingtheseformulaswhileata
flammableliquidspillwithfirearefairlylow.Thereisjusttoomuchtorecall
especiallyinthemiddleofastressfulsituation.Thereisabetterway!
TofollowThoreauswisdom,theaboveformulascanbesimplifiedbydoingthe
multiplicationoftheknowncomponentsto:
HydrocarbonsAreaX0.045
PolarSolventsAreaX0.18
Becausethisisnotanexactscience,wecanroundthenumbersup,whichturnsoutto
beanothersafetyfactorinourfavor.Theformulasthenbecome:
HydrocarbonsAreaX0.05
PolarSolventsAreaX0.2
Wecanalsoexpresstheaboveformulasindivision.Theformulasthenbecome:
HydrocarbonsArea/20
PolarSolventsArea/5
Theseformulasarenowinamanageableandeasilyrecalledcontextthatmany
firefightershavefoundveryusefulatflammableliquidemergencies.
Toreinforcetheuseofthesimplifiedformulasthefollowingexamplescanbe
reviewed.
Howmuchfoamconcentrateisneededtocovera20X20spillofgasoline?
Fullformulais:AreaXCARXEDX15=Foamconcentrateneeded
1. Area=400squarefeet
2. CAR=0.1pgm/ft2
3. ED=0.03
4. 400squarefeetX0.1gpm/ft2X0.03X15minutes=18gallonsoffoam
concentrate
Simplifiedformulais:Area/20
1. 400squarefeetdividedby20=20gallonsoffoamconcentrate
Thesecondresulthereishigherbecauseofroundingbutstillonthesafeside.
Howmuchfoamconcentrateisneededtoextinguishanalcoholfirethatis30X
40?
Fullformulais:AreaXCARXEDX15minutes=Foamconcentrateneeded
1. Area=1200squarefeet
2. CAR=0.2gpm/ft2
3. ED=0.06
4. 1200squarefeetX0.2gpm/ft2X0.06X15minutes=216gallonsoffoam
concentrate
Simplifiedformulais:Area/5
1. 1200squarefeetdividedby5=240gallonsoffoam
Remember,intheaboveexamplesthe"XFactor"wasnotpartoftheformula.Witha
nozzleattachmentthathasanexpansionratioof8Xyourfoamsupplieswillgoeight
timesfarther.
Onelastconcepttorealizewithfoamoperationsiswhatyourlimitationsare.Inother
words,howbigofaflammableliquidspillwillyouravailablefoamconcentrate
reservescover?Thisspillareacanbecalculatedbeforeanincidentbyusingthe
followingformulas.
Forhydrocarbons:Area=foamconcentratereserveXaerationfactorofyour
nozzledividedby0.045orArea=gallonsoffoamX8/0.045
Forpolarliquids:Area=gallonsoffoamX8/0.18
Asanexample,ifyouhave20gallonsoffoamconcentrateandyouhaveagasoline
spill,howbigofanareacanyoublanketwithfoam?
1. Area=20gallonsX8/0.045
2. Area=3,555.56squarefeetor59.6X59.6

Youarelimitedtoanareaofapproximately60by60forhydrocarbonspills.
Anotherexample:Ifyouhaveanethanolspilland20gallonsoffoamconcentrate,
whatareyourlimitationsintermsoftheareayoucancover?
1. Area=20gallonsX8/0.18
2. Area=888.89squarefeetor29.8X29.8
Youarelimitedtoanareaofapproximately30by30forpolarliquidspills.
Knowingyourlimitationsisimportantbecauseitwouldbewastedtime,effort,and
foamtoinitiatefoamoperationsonaspillthatislargerthanyoucancoveralone.The
firemayburnbackandconsumethefoamthatyouappliedifyoudidnotcompletely
coverthearea.Itwouldbeprudenttoelecttowaituntilmorefoamarrivesbeforeyou
beginfoamoperations.
Itishopedthatthesesimplifiedformulasworkforyouandthe"voodooscience"of
foamoperationshasbeendemystified.Still,tostayadeptatfoamoperations,practice
isrequired,bothwithcalculatingfoamconcentrateneedsandwithyourfoam
producingequipment.Additionally,keepyourlimitationsinmind.Familiarity
throughtraininganddrillingisthekeytohandlingflammableliquidreleases
efficientlyandsafely.
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