To the Rescue Carl J. Haddon
Those of us who have actively been in the American fire service for more than a few years have all shaken our heads at one time or another over the practical applicability (or lack thereof) of various National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.
Please allow me to validate the applicability of the new 2022 version of NFPA 18A, Standard on Water Additives for Fire Control and Vapor Mitigation, which covers encapsulator agents in particular.
Many of you know that I have extensively used and been a proponent of encapsulator agent technology since the mid to late 1990s when I first encountered it while working for Penske Motorsports and NASCAR.
For those who may be unfamiliar with “true” encapsulator agents, these products are often confused with Class A and Class B foams, of which an encapsulator agent is neither. “Foams” are just what their names imply. When they come out of the end of a specialized “foam” nozzle, Class B foams produce a blanket of foam bubbles designed to smother a single-dimensional, flowing fuel fire, by NFPA 11, Standard for Low-, Medium-, and High-Expansion Foam.
Often misunderstood, NFPA 11 states that foams are contraindicated for use on multi-dimensional (i.e., vertical surfaces) fires, as the foam blanket is challenged by gravity on any surface other than flat, horizontal ones. Most of our current fire apparatus are equipped with traditional foam systems that hold foam concentrate and, when employed, introduce foam concentrate into the apparatus or foam trailer’s water stream, typically at a solution of 1 to 6%, to achieve the desired foam blanket for the application.
Figure 1: A basic spherical micelle. (Illustrations courtesy of author.)
Figure 2: Thermal conveyance allows the agent to get much closer to the seat of the
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Posted: Sep 19, 2022
KME—San Bernadino County (CA) Fire Department 4×4 pumper. KME SSX LFD cab and chassis; Cummins X12 500-hp engine; Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump; 500-gallon polypropylene water tank; 30-gallon foam cell; FoamPro 2001 single-agent foam system; ASA Voyager dual camera system; Zico single-arm ladder rack; external EMS compartment with internal access. Dealer: Brandon Gomez, REV Fire Group, Jurupa Valley, CA.
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Posted: Sep 19, 2022
After two years of pushback from the City of Wildwood, the fire district plans to break ground on a new fire station No. 2 before winter, KSDK.com reported.
A Chesterfield judge approved plans to build a new fire house in West County. The ruling came after an ongoing dispute with the City of Wildwood, according to the report.
It took two years to get to this moment after pushback from the City of Wildwood led to a trial where Judge Richard Stewart decided in favor of the fire district, the report said.
Concerns were raised on whether the new station would follow the National Fire Protection Association standard on response times averaging four minutes, the report said.
Ground will be broken on the new fire house before winter and it should take about a year to complete, the report said.
https://www.ksdk.com/embeds/video/responsive/63-9ccdbd61-f229-485f-aa20-95793a366893/iframe
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Posted: Sep 19, 2022
An investigation is underway after an SUV crashed into the walls of a fire station in Dublin, according to police, NBC4i.com reported.
Authorities say firefighters were asleep at a station on West Case Road when they heard and felt a car hit the building at around 2:00 a.m.
The firefighters went outside and didn’t see a driver in the car. No one inside was injured and the building sustained minimal damage, the report said.
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Posted: Sep 19, 2022
The Endwell O.L. Davis Fire Company celebrated its 100-year anniversary Sunday, WBNG.com reported.
County residents lined the street to watch a fire truck parade and enjoy a variety of activities. Other fire stations from across the county also took part in the parade, the report said.
This year the fire company is actually 101 years old but due to COVID-19, the 100-year celebration was pushed until this year, according to the report.
A fire official said the fire company has a long history starting back in 1921 when a fire broke out at the Davis Farm. Endicott’s fire station would cover most fires in the area at that time. However, this time there was a considerable delay in getting to the fire. Forty community members then went door to door to raise money to create a new fire station. The owner of the Davis Farm donated a portion of his land for the first fire station to be built, the report said.
The fire official said support for the fire company continues to this day, the report said.
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