What is fire suppression foam made of?

FOAM: A fire fighting foam is simply a stable mass of small air-filled bubbles, which have a lower density than oil, gasoline or water. Foam is made up of three ingredients – water, foam concentrate and air. When mixed in the correct proportions, these three ingredients form a homogeneous foam blanket.

Is AFFF foam toxic?

AFFF is toxic, especially if it contains PFOS and PFOA. These PFAS are present in small amounts in the blood of most people in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs and the EPA. For most people, they don’t pose a threat in small amounts.

Are PFAS still used?

Although the original PFAS chemical used to make Teflon has been taken off the market, Teflon and other brands of nonstick cookware are still produced with new PFAS that may be no safer. PFAS chemicals are widely used to coat paper and cardboard wrappers for fast food and bakery goods.

What liquid do firefighters use?

Firefighters use aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) to help extinguish difficult-to-fight fires, particularly fires that involve petroleum or other flammable liquids ‚ known as Class B fires.

What are hydrocarbons and polar solvents?

Examples of hydrocarbon fuels include: gasoline, • diesel, • jet propellant (JP4), • heptane, • kerosene, and • naptha. Polar solvents are products of distillation or products that have been synthetically produced. Polar solvent fuels are miscible, that is they will mix with water.

What military bases have Pfas?

Facilities with Known or Suspected PFAS Release

• Air Force Plant 42.
• Beale Air Force Base.
• Castle Air Force Base.
• Channel Islands ANGS.
• Edwards Air Force Base.
• Fresno ANG Base.

How many fire trucks do small airports have?

To summarize, smaller airports operating only aircraft in category 1-3 (for commercial use think small private jets such as the Embraer Phenom 300) might only have a single small fire truck such as the Airwolf C2, pictured below:

What is the difference between AARF trucks and regular fire trucks?

The AARF trucks has a few advantages over a conventional fire truck: A typical AARF truck is faster accelerating with a higher top speed than a conventional fire truck and hence could respond faster to a crisis. AARF trucks can carry far more water within its tank.

How many fire trucks do you need for an A380?

Whereas an airport operating category 9 and 10 aircraft (e.g. A380, A340 and B747) would require at least 3 large fire trucks such as the Oshkosh Striker 8×8, seen below. Picture this. You are sitting in the most undesired seat on the airplane, the middle seat, stretched between two strangers and trying hard not to …

Why are aircraft fires so difficult to put out?

Aircraft fires pose unusual challenges for first responders. Extinguishing jet fuel requires thousands of gallons of flame-smothering foam, and the fuel burns so hot (up to 2,500°F) that firefighters typically have only three minutes to respond before passengers would be overcome by heat and smoke inhalation.