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(Video) Hangar Fire Foam Suppression System Test
The 138th Fighter Wing conducts a test of a newly installed fire foam suppression system at Tulsa ANG Base. (youtu.be) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
What sux is when this system goes off accidentally. What a mess!
Firefighting foam works on multiple levels, not just by excluding oxygen. This is why it can be such an effective agent as opposed to other agents and methods.
http://www.sthamer.com/englisch/f20_foam.html
Given the cost of the aircraft, the volatility of fuels and solvents in the area, and the difficulty in getting that much foam generated, that quickly, This is a very effective system.
It certainly beats trying to get firefighting crews in position and producing that volume of foam ON the area as opposed to fighting from the edges. You probably could not generate that much foam in an hour with a big firefighting force, with lots of people. Certainly not fast enough to stop a flammable liquid fire of any size.
The cost to install this system would be way below equipping and staffing a full time suppression force over time. That force would never be able to stop a flammable liquid fire fast enough to save aircraft.
The worst case scenario is a large fuel fire spreading across the floor. The foam can be deployed without fire as a protective cover in case of a large fuel spill. This does not appear to be an AFFF foam which makes sense in this setting. High expansion foams can not be propelled more than a few feet horizontally, making ceiling dropped foam, the best method to gently spread foam without breakdown.
The foam does not damage the aircraft. Fire does. While there appears to be a lot of foam, there is actually a relatively small amount of concentrate and water. The options are not good, Dry powder, oxygen displacing agents are going to far more difficult for such a huge volume, that isn't well sealed.
All modern firefighting foam breaks down over time and is normally environmentally friendly. Given the risk and cost of a fire and loss of aircraft vs. the cost of protection, this is a no brainer.
Maybe DARPA will have some success in the future with low frequency sound waves from swarming robotic devices http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2015/apr/02/dousing-flames-with-low-frequency-sound-waves
http://www.sthamer.com/englisch/f20_foam.html
Given the cost of the aircraft, the volatility of fuels and solvents in the area, and the difficulty in getting that much foam generated, that quickly, This is a very effective system.
It certainly beats trying to get firefighting crews in position and producing that volume of foam ON the area as opposed to fighting from the edges. You probably could not generate that much foam in an hour with a big firefighting force, with lots of people. Certainly not fast enough to stop a flammable liquid fire of any size.
The cost to install this system would be way below equipping and staffing a full time suppression force over time. That force would never be able to stop a flammable liquid fire fast enough to save aircraft.
The worst case scenario is a large fuel fire spreading across the floor. The foam can be deployed without fire as a protective cover in case of a large fuel spill. This does not appear to be an AFFF foam which makes sense in this setting. High expansion foams can not be propelled more than a few feet horizontally, making ceiling dropped foam, the best method to gently spread foam without breakdown.
The foam does not damage the aircraft. Fire does. While there appears to be a lot of foam, there is actually a relatively small amount of concentrate and water. The options are not good, Dry powder, oxygen displacing agents are going to far more difficult for such a huge volume, that isn't well sealed.
All modern firefighting foam breaks down over time and is normally environmentally friendly. Given the risk and cost of a fire and loss of aircraft vs. the cost of protection, this is a no brainer.
Maybe DARPA will have some success in the future with low frequency sound waves from swarming robotic devices http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/2015/apr/02/dousing-flames-with-low-frequency-sound-waves
I remember driving by the base seeing this after it happned. The youtube video isn't from the inside the hangar this happened in. Copy and paste this link, you can see the foam pouring out on one of the helo's:
http://www.newson6.com/story/26372082/tulsas-army-national-guard-base-covered-in-fire-suppression-foam
http://www.newson6.com/story/26372082/tulsas-army-national-guard-base-covered-in-fire-suppression-foam
I remember a story about a similar test done at one of the blimp hangers at Moffett Field back in the 60's. Supposedly, the senior design engineer was walking through the chest-high foam, tripped and was knocked out. Before people could find him, he suffocated.
Sad part is that this wasn't a test. They actually have this system. They were testing it just to see how it worked but to me it is stupid to flood the whole hangar.
So it was more than just a rumor.
yep. More government overkill and waste.