Advertorial Please contact Trevor Fiford at Fire Raiders on Cell: 082 651 2580 for further discussions and a presentation on how CAFS can enhance the fire fighting capability of your department and save you money.
Fig: 1
• When used independently, large volumes of water are required for knock down (of course depending of the size and state of the fire) and these volumes are a contributing factor to structural collapse (with an application rate of 950l/min, 450kg of weight is added to the structure for each minute of application) • Larger fires require higher volumes to achieve the required rate of delivery (application rate). This results in larger diameter hoses that are heavier and more difficult to handle thus impacting on fire fighter fatigue • Water is a conductor of electricity
Fig: 2
Because of the above limitations, we have learnt to use Class A foam in conjunction with water to increase the effectivity of the suppression efforts, break down the surface tension of the water for material penetration and spread, lasting knockdown, reduction in fire fighter exposure and fatigue, reduced water damage, enhanced cooling efforts, suppressing flammable vapours and reducing smoke content, amongst others. There are countless tests that have been concluded to show the absolute advantage of utilising Class A foam with water for all Class A type fires. These tests have shown that Class A foam enhances the effectivity of water by 300 percent!
There are a number of world class fire fighting vehicles operating in South Africa that are fitted with CAFS
Volume 3 | No 12
Photo: Courtesy City of of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services
Fig: 4
Fig: 3
We are now in a position to take this advantage to a much higher level by introducing compressed air into a water foam solution. Many tests have shown that CAFS enhance water by up to 500 percent as well as offering many added advantages. The major advantages of CAFS can be summarised as follows: • Increases the cooling capacity of a Class A foam bubble by seven times • Dramatic reduction of water usage • Offers knockdown times that are 78 percent better than water and 66 percent better than Class A foam (Fig 1) • Uses 79 percent less water (Fig 2) • Offers 76 percent enhanced cooling compared to water and 17 percent compared to Class A foam application (Fig 3)
FIRE AND RESCUE INTERNATIONAL | 25