1 / 56

Types of Concentrates (Water Additives)

Types of Concentrates (Water Additives). Not to be mistaken for Class A concentrate. Foam Concentrate - Water Additives. Wetting agents Class A foam concentrate Class A Foam Class B foam concentrate Protein & Film Forming Fluoroprotein (FFFP) Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF)

ronna
Download Presentation

Types of Concentrates (Water Additives)

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Types of Concentrates(Water Additives)

  2. Not to be mistaken for Class A concentrate Foam Concentrate - Water Additives • Wetting agents • Class A foam concentrate • Class A Foam • Class B foam concentrate • Protein & Film Forming Fluoroprotein (FFFP) • Aqueous Film Forming Foams (AFFF) • Alcohol Resistant-AFFF (AR-AFFF) • Emulsifiers / Spill response agents • Gels

  3. Concentrate Usage • Class A foam (Proportioned 0.1-1.0%) • Wood, paper, tires, any Class A combustible • Effective in initial attack, overhaul, mop-up and exposure protection • Does NOT affect application rates or manpower requirements • Class B foam (Proportioned 1.0-6.0%) • Hydrocarbons and polar solvents • Emulsifier/Spill response agent (Various rates) • “Fuel neutralizer” and hydrocarbon recovery • Gel (Various rates) • Exposure protection

  4. Class A Foam

  5. Class A Foam Characteristics Finished foam adjusted by concentrate percentageusing the proportioner Wet 0.2% Overhaul Fluid 0.5% Initial Attack Dry 1.0% Exposure

  6. Wet Foam At 0.2% - Overhaul Small bubble structure and quick drain time

  7. Fluid Foam At 0.5% - Initial Attack Medium bubble structure and slower drain time

  8. Dry Foam At 1.0%Exposure Protection - Long Lasting Produces a dry foam blanket with a very slow drain time

  9. Foam Properties • Expansion ratio • Volume of finished foam to volume of foam solution • Hose-end appliance dictates expansion ratio • Based on amount of air introduced • Low Expansion 1:1 - 20:1 • Medium Expansion 20:1 - 200:1 • High Expansion 200:1 +

  10. Exterior Low Expansion Application

  11. Medium Expansion Foam

  12. High Expansion Foam High expansion generator Flowing down a hillside

  13. The Value Of Using Class A FoamImproves Fire Fighting EffectivenessBy 2 To 4 Times

  14. Salem TestsFire Engineering, February 1993 • Temperature drop from 1,000° F to 212° F, at a four foot level Water: 223 Seconds Foam: 103 Seconds CAFS: 39 Seconds Water Foam CAFS

  15. Dr. Holger de Vries (Germany) Fire Chief Magazine, August 1999 • Crib burn - controlled test conditions • Class A foam vs. plain water • 40% less solution than plain water • 43% less extinguishing effort than with plain water (extinguishing agent volume x time to extinguish) • Conclusion • Reduced exposure to hostile environments and improved fire fighter safety

  16. Palmdale StudyFire Chief Magazine, August 2001

  17. Palmdale Study • L.A. County Fire Dept. scientifically conducted tests to compare effectiveness of: • Plain water • Foam solution • Compressed air foam • Temperature readings obtained via wall and ceiling mounted thermocouples at one foot increments

  18. Palmdale Study • Three identical 1100 sq./ft. homes and contents

  19. Cubic Feet Involved100 = GPM 9,075100 = 91 Critical Application Rate • The IOWA formula was used to calculate flow rate

  20. Water Foam CAFS Knockdown Time Results Water: 50 seconds Foam: 25 seconds 50% better than water CAFS: 11 seconds 78% better than water 66% better than foam

  21. Water Foam CAFS Gallons Required To Knockdown Water: 73 gallons Foam: 44 gallons 40% better than water CAFS: 16 gallons 79% better than water 64% better than foam

  22. After 225 gallons, IC ordered foam to aid overhaul Total Gallons Used Water: 320 gallons Foam: 95 gallons 71% better than water CAFS: 45 gallons 86% better than water 53% better than foam Water Foam CAFS

  23. Time To Cool: 600°F To 200°F Water: 6:03 min Foam: 1:45 min 71% better than water CAFS: 1:28 min 76% better than water 17% better than foam Water Foam CAFS

  24. Total Foam Concentrate Used Foam CAFS Concentrate Cost: $15/gal Foam Solution: 31 oz = $3.63 CAFS: 5.8 oz = $0.68

  25. What These Tests Prove • Naturally aspirated foam (NAF) beats water • Time to knockdown • Gallons to knockdown • Total water used • Cooling • Compressed Air Foam beats NAF - in all categories

  26. Why Does Foam Work? • Smaller droplets – faster heat absorbtion • Reduces surface tension – penetrates and wets fuel • Foam blanket – provides protection

  27. Water And Class A Concentrate Surface tension causes water to bead up on fuel…

  28. Water And Class A Concentrate Add Class A foam to plain water… solution spreads and penetrates the fuel…

  29. Water And Class A Concentrate Chance of rekindle lessens with Class A solution

  30. Give It A Try • Place a small drop of plain water on piece of corrugated cardboard (Note: it maintains beaded shape, caused by surface tension) • Place a small drop of soapy water next to it (soap is a surfactant similar to Class A) • Which would provide better extinguishment and have less runoff?

  31. CAFS Foam Water Why Use Water Additives?

  32. Class A Foam Applications

  33. Fire Reported! • 1890’s brick schoolhouse • 4 miles outside of town • No hydrants • First pumper on scene • 6 minute response • 750 gallons of water • FoamPro 2001

  34. Fire Knocked Down! • Initial attack • 2-1/2” line • 328 gpm • 0.5% Class A foam • Knockdown • 6 seconds • 33 gallons of water • 0.17 gallons of Class A foam concentrate

  35. Tire Fire Class A Foam Effectiveness On Tire Fires • Class A foam: • 60 gpm @ 0.5% • Medium expansion • 20 minute knockdown Tire Fire Plain Water • Water: • 750 gpm supplied by: • Two 2-1/2” • Two 1-3/4” • No effect

  36. Fully Involved Garage! Class A foam attack - 125 gpm at 0.5%

  37. Garage After 35 Second Attack NOTE: Lack of smoke; ability of Class A foam to bond with carbon

  38. Structural – Exterior Attack • 200' x 24' x 35' wood frame structure • Attack with single 1 ½" CAFS line with 1" tip • Approximately 50 gpm, 20 cfm at 0.5%

  39. Structural – Exterior Attack Exposure on left protected with foam CAFS attack begins

  40. CAFS attack continues Structural – Exterior Attack

  41. Exterior Structure Attack with Low Expansion CAFS stream

  42. Benefits Of Class A Foam To The Department • Improves firefightersafety • Increases efficiency of plain water 2 to 4 times • Faster fire knockdown • Reduces heat rapidly • Reduces property damage • Reduces overhaul • Fewer rekindles • Exposure protection • Preserves evidence • Faster cleanup • Reduces on scene • time

  43. Points To Ponder • Immediately reduce your fire losses by 50 to 75% … just by implementing Class A foam or CAFS. • What other initiative would have as significant an impact for your department? • If this is not a top priority for your department, why not?

  44. Class B Foam & Emulsifiers

  45. Class B Foam • Designed to form a film and seal vapors • Applied at 1%, 3%, or 6% per foam manufacturer • Polar solvents require alcohol resistant (AR) foam • Multi-use foam can be used on both • Concentration ratios are 1%x3%, 3%x3%, and 3%x6% (second percentage for polar solvents)

  46. Class B Foam Fuel must be contained to form film

  47. Containment Challenges • Training • Real life • If no containment: • No film forming seal • Then alternatives are: • Class A foam • Emulsifiers

  48. Types Of Class B Concentrate • Film Forming FluoroProtein (FFFP) • Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) • Alcohol Resistant-Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AR-AFFF)

  49. Film Forming FluoroProtein(FFFP) • Capabilities: • Biodegradable • Excellent fuel shedding • Long lasting foam blanket and high burn-back resistance • Limitations: • Requires aspiration • Used at ratios 3% or 6% • Poor at flowing and wetting (messy and smelly)

  50. Aqueous Film Forming Foam(AFFF) • Capabilities: • Does not require specialized delivery equipment • Fluid foam that spreads across the fuel surface • Quick knockdown • Long shelf life in original sealed container (unopened) • Limitations: • Fast drain time • Limited burn-back resistance • May be hazardous • Storage and shelf-life once original container is opened • Use only on hydrocarbons at 1%, 3% or 6% ratios

More Related