Fire fighting using foam

Introduction
A fire fighting foam is simply a stable mass of small air-filled bubbles,
which have a lower density than oil, gasoline or water. Foam is made up of
three ingredients- water, foam concentrate and air. When mixed in the
correct proportions, these three ingredients form a homogeneous foam
blanket.

Fire fighting foam are widely
used to control and extinguish
fires involving flammable liquid.

When applied in correct manner
and in sufficient quantity, foam
forms a stable blanket that floats
on the surface of the flammable
liquid.
How they work
Foam extinguishes flammable or combustible liquid fires in four ways-
Excludes air from the flammable vapour.
Eliminates vapour release from fuel surface.
Separates the flames from the fuel surface.
Cools the fuel surface and surrounding metal surfaces.

Type of foam- 1.Chemical foam
2.Mechanical foam (based on expansion ratio)
i) low expansion foam
ii) medium expansion foam
iii) high expansion foam
low expansion foam are most commonly used in our terminals.
Cont..
Foam concentration are the most commonly used by fire fighters-

Protein foam concentration
Fluoroprotein foam concentration
Film forming fluoroprotein foam concentration(FFF PF)
Aqueous film forming foam
concentration(AFFF)
Alcohol resistant foam
concentration(AR-AFFF)
Synthetic detergent foam
(mid & high expansion)



Protein foam- regular protein foam(RP) are intended for use on
hydrocarbon fuels only.
They produce a homogeneous , stable foam blanket that has
excellent heat resistance , burn-back ,drainage and slow knockdown
characteristic.
RPF may be used with fresh or sea water.

Aqueous film forming foam(AFFF)- Deigned to provide the
fastest possible knockdown on hydrocarbon fuels .Their fluidity
allows them to quickly flow around obstacles.

Standard AFFFs are premixable, can be used with either fresh or sea
water.
It is the combination of fluorochemical surfactant and synthetic
foaming agents . This extinguishing fires by forming an aqueous
film.
This film is thin layer of foam solution that spread rapidly across
the surface causing dramatic fire knockdown.

Alcohol resistant aqueous film forming foam(AR-AFFF)-
Are produced from a combination of synthetic detergents ,
fluorochemicals and polymer.
It is also conventional as AFFF on hydrocarbon fuels.
It is used for handling fires involving methonol,ethanol,etc.


Testing of AFFF
Foam compound stored in tanks or open containers should be tested
once in 3 year as per IS4989- 2006 guidelines. These tests cover PH
,viscosity, sludge content and spreading coefficient.
Foam compounds kept in store in sealed containers need be tested
only once in 10 year.

Foam characteristics- to be effective ,a good foam must contain such
characteristics
Knockdown speed and flow-This is required for a foam blanket to
spread across a fuel surface or around obstacles and achieve complete
extinguishment.
Heat resistance- The foam must be able to resist the destructive
effects of heat radiated from any remaining fire from the liquids
flammable vapour and hot metal.

Fuel resistance- An effective foam minimizes fuel pickup so that
the foam does not become saturated and burn.

Vapour suppression- The vapour tight blanket produced must be
capable of suppressing the flammable vapour and so minimize the
risk.

Alcohol resistance- due to alcohols affinity to water and because a
foam blanket is more then 90% of water, foam blankets that are not
alcohol resistant will be destroyed.
Conveying system
System consists of an adequate water supply, foam concentrate. Suitable
equipment, a proper piping system. Foam makers and discharge devices
deigned to adequately distribute the foam over the hazard. There are three
type of system-
1. fixed foam system- It comprises of fixed piping for water supply at
adequate pressure, foam concentrate tank, suitable proportioning equipment
for drawing foam concentrate and make foam solution ,fixed piping system.

2. Semi-fixed foam system- gets supply of foam through the
mobile foam tender. A fixed piping system connected to the foam
maker cum vapour seal box in case of cone roof tanks and foam
maker and foam pourers in case of floating roof tanks conveys
foam to the surface of tank.

3. mobile system- includes foam
producing unit mounted on wheels
which may be self propelled. These
unit supply foam through monitors
to burning surface.

Foam piping & accessories
A) foam tank- these are tanks above ground ,which will have a
capacity equal to the 30 minutes operations requirement of the
largest tank in the group.it will be usually kept at a higher
elevation in order to get gravity feed of the concentration for the
system.

B)Inline foam inductor- it is used to induct the foam liquid
concentrate into the water stream to supply solution of the liquid
concentrate and water ,to the foam producing equipment.
Inductor are designed primarily for use in the fixed foam
installation to provide a simple and reliable method of
proportioning in constant flow application.




C) foam deflector- this is a deflector plate welded to the inside
shell of the storage tank where the foam pourer is fixed.
It directs the generated foam to hit the shell and gradually spread
the compound over the burning liquid without splashing.

D) foam nozzles- for the most effective and economical use of foam,
foam solution must be properly expanded .standard fog nozzles
generally do not provide optimum expansion and therefore do not
provide for the best , most cost effective application of foam.

Foam fire fighting application techniques

a)Bounce-off technique- when foam
nozzles are used ,particular care
should be taken to apply the foam as
gently as possible , for straight stream
use, the foam should be banked off of
a wall or other obstruction when
available.



b)Bank-in techniques- foam can also be rolled onto
the fuel surface by hitting the ground in front
of the spill , and allowing the foam to pile up
in front of the spill.

C) Rain-down technique- The foam nozzle is
directed almost straight up and the foam stream
is allowed to reach its maximum height and break
into small droplets . This technique can provide
a very fast and effective knockdown.