By Alan M. Petrillo
Ccompressed air foam systems (CAFS) are not the right choice for every fire department, but for those departments using them, they become major elements in their standard operating procedures (SOPs) for extinguishing fires.
![1 W.S. Darley & Co. makes the LDMBC AutoCAFS system with up to a 1,750-gpm pump and 220-cfm air compressor.](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-22/issue-3/1703FA_PetCAFS1.jpg) |
1 W.S. Darley & Co. makes the LDMBC AutoCAFS system with up to a 1,750-gpm pump and 220-cfm air compressor. |
Troy Carothers, AutoCAFS product manger for W.S. Darley & Co., says Darley has been building CAFS since 1993, while its Odin Foam division has been building them for wildland firefighting since the early 1980s. “The LDMBC with up to a 1,750-gpm pump and 220-cubic-feet-per-minute (cfm) air compressor is our flagship CAFS model,” Carothers says. “If a department needs a bigger pump, we make the EMBC, which will handle 2,000 gallons per minute (gpm) in volume and provide 600-pounds-per-square-inch (psi) capacity in pressure.”
![2 W.S. Darley & Co.’s Odin Foam division makes the Mongoose CAFS model in both diesel- (shown) and gasoline-powered versions.](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-22/issue-3/1703FA_PetCAFS2.jpg) |
2 W.S. Darley & Co.’s Odin Foam division makes the Mongoose CAFS model in both diesel- (shown) and gasoline-powered versions. |
A popular CAFS model that Darley makes for quick-attack vehicles is its midship PSMC pump, a split-shaft pump commonly mounted on a Ford chassis and capable of up to 1,500 gpm. “It’s rather compact, features a 120-cfm compressor, up to four CAFS discharges, and comes rated in 1,000-, 1,250-, and 1,500-gpm versions,” Carothers says.
Jerry Halpin, vice president of sales and marketing for CET Fire Pumps, says that CET’s CAFS models were originally designed to augment urban interface, wildland and forestry firefighting, as well as suburban structural firefighting on quick-attack units. “Where CAFS seems to be heading now is in the 40-cfm and 60-cfm units,” Halpin points out. “Our 40-cfm CAFS is a one-line unit, while the 60-cfm will handle two handlines. We also make models that are mounted on Type 1 pumpers and aerials going up to 2,000-gpm.”
![3 The EMBC CAFS model made by W.S. Darley & Co. will handle 2,000 gpm in volume and provide 600 psi in pressure. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co)](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-22/issue-3/1703FA_PetCAFS3.jpg) |
3 The EMBC CAFS model made by W.S. Darley & Co. will handle 2,000 gpm in volume and provide 600 psi in pressure. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of W.S. Darley & Co.) |
The CET 40- and 60-cfm models are CET’s most popular, Halpin says, and are predominantly gasoline-driven, using Honda, Kohler, Vanguard, and Briggs & Stratton engines. For departments choosing a diesel-powered CAFS, CET makes the 40-cfm and 60-cfm versions powered by a Kubota diesel.
Alan Smith, foam and CAFS product manager for IDEX Fire Suppression Group (maker of Hale, Godiva, and Class 1 brands), says he has seen an increase in CAFS sales during this past year, likely because Hale/Class 1 came out with a new controller that makes CAFS much easier for the operator. “CAFS has been traditionally a fairly complex system to operate, but our SmartCAFS takes the complexity out of the system,” Smith says. “You don’t have