Environmental factors affecting the selection and use of fire-fighting foams — a fire safety perspective

Fire-fighting foam is a suppression agent known and used for preventing, controlling and extinguishing fires involving flammable liquids (Class B fuels). Firefighting foams are used in fixed and portable fire extinguishing systems as well as fire brigade apparatus. In recent times there has been an increasing focus on environmental impacts related to the use of fire-fighting foam, often without due consideration of other key issues such as firefighting performance, firefighter safety and system compatibility. Although environmental performance is important, failure to adequately consider the firefighting and system performance aspects of foams, may result in selection of a foam that is ineffective for the intended application. This can itself lead to greater environmental impacts resulting in longer extinguishment times, use of larger quantities of foam and water and the production of significantly greater quantities of fire water effluent which needs to be disposed. (author)