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
Read more
- 51
- Article rating: No rating
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.
PREVIOUS PHOTO OF THE DAY >>
MORE FIRE APPARATUS ARTICLES >>
Read more
- 49
- Article rating: No rating