Fire extinguishing foam is the key part of successful fire extinguishing. This unique fire-fighting equipment was developed more than a century ago to put out oil fires that have problems with water applications. Since its birth, the fire extinguishing foam has changed its original formula, but its main work has not changed. Today, it is still used to knock down and fix flammable liquids that burn and are not ignited. Class A foam is also used for ordinary combustibles to help water be more effective in extinguishing fires. In this post, we will discuss what is fire fighting foam and how it can help firefighters put out fires.

What is Fire Foam?

Class B foam used for extinguishing flammable liquid is a mixture of foam concentrate, water, air and mechanical agitation, which can form a foam blanket to cover the fire. Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) has been the main product of fire services for many years, but we now know that they contain persistent chemicals, which can invade groundwater and may cause cancer or other diseases to people exposed to foam. In order to solve this problem, the fire industry is turning to fluorine free foam (F3) and equipment optimization to make full use of this product.

When extinguishing foam is used in a fire, the foam blanket will suffocate the fire, remove oxygen, reduce heat, and form a barrier to mitigate steam release. If you are familiar with fire tetrahedron or fire triangle (oxygen, heat, fuel), these items are necessary for fire combustion. If you take away one of them, the fire will go out. Foam is a tool that can solve the problem of fire tetrahedron in many ways. Besides fire foam, fire protection gate vavles we also need to know sometimes. Hereby, I send you link fire protection gate valves manufacturer, so that you may find out more information about firefighting things.

Reasons For Firefighters Using Firefighting Foam

Using water for flammable liquids poses many challenges. Compared with water, foam application shows significant advantages in terms of fire extinguishing time, and vapor seals the danger.

The foam stays on the top of the liquid, and removes oxygen from the flammable vapor by forming a physical isolation or barrier, thus suffocating it. It also takes heat away from the liquid and the surrounding surface.

Flammable liquids release vapors into the air. The extinguishing foam will form a vapor barrier to prevent the vapor from escaping upwards. This provides a safer environment for firefighters and individuals near the fire hazard or in the downwind direction.

Summary About Fire fighting Foam

Firefighters use foam to safely and effectively extinguish fires when water is ineffective or problematic or creates a hazard of its own. As you can see, fire suppression foam is an important fire suppression tool that, when used correctly, can lead to positive results and faster fire suppression.