Fire Protection Management - Essay Example

The local fire department usually provides fire protection for the rest of the airport. Airport fire trucks are equipped with water and a substance called aqueous film forming foam (AFFF). According to wikipedia "AFFF is a water based synthetic animal protein solution that is lighter than oil, alcohol, and petroleum products. When properly mixed and aerated into foam, it will create a floating film on flammable materials that prevents fumes from igniting or re-igniting after a fire. It has been in use by the military, airports, and fire departments for years and has always been an effective fire fighting agent.

It is a biodegradable solution that leaves virtually no residue, and can safely be cleaned off with water." AFFF is used to combat aircraft fuel fires. The foam covers burning fuel more effectively than water alone and acts like a blanket to extinguish the fire. Foam is used to extinguish fires in combustible liquids, such as oil, petroleum, and tar, and for fighting fires at airports, refineries, and petroleum distribution facilities. According to a website "Understanding how foam works in extinguishing different types of fires, and the principles of making different foams correctly, are essential to successful foam fire fighting operations.

All too often, foam fire streams fail to accomplish their objective due to a lack of understanding and training on the part of the operator. " It is proved that foam is an efficient firefighting tool that is gaining greater acceptance and use throughout the fire fighting community as of today.II. FIGHTING THE FIREMost fire fighting consists of applying water to the burning material, cooling it to the point at which combustion is no longer self-sustaining. Fires involving flammable liquids, certain chemicals, and combustible metals often require special extinguishing agents and techniques.

With some fuels the use of water may actually be dangerous. Foam extinguishers use an aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) agent that expels a layer of foam when it is discharged through a nozzle. It acts as a barrier to exclude oxygen from the fire.Foam extinguishers work well in fire fighting, proven not only on Class A fires which include those ordinary combustibles such as wood, cloth, and paper. But especially on fires involving flammable liquids, oils, and grease burning, generally known as class B fires.

Each class of fire requires its own type of fire extinguisher. There are two kinds of foam extinguishers, so check which one best suits your needs. Aqueous film forming foam is now accepted to use as a fire fighting agent.III. HOW TO USEWhen applied directly to a burning liquid, the aqueous film forming foam has the capability to spread and form a thin, uniform duplex thin impervious film for about 10 to 30m thick that arrests flammable vapors and also keeps oxygen away. This film is tough and persistent and suppresses volatile vapors.

In addition, it has reforming, and has self-sealing action which prevents the foam be disturbed. The water film forms under the foam bubbles which cool the liquid fuel which provides an effective fuel vapor barrier to the cooling and blanketing effect of the foam and thoroughly eliminate the formation of flammable vapors and provide a dramatic fire knockdown, an important factor in crash rescue fire fighting. Foam must be applied more gently so that it does not penetrate the liquid but, rather, spreads readily over it.

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