National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System: Foam Operations

A near miss is an event that can range from a heart-pounding brush with death to an event where everything was in place and calamity was averted. Within the various levels of recording, reports like this week’s are submitted. This week’s featured report reminds us that near misses don’t always have to raise the hair on the back of our neck. A near miss is also any event that had the potential to cause injury, death, or damage. In this week’s report, submitter recognized that very fact and submitted an incident that on the surface seems very benign due to a lack of high heat, dense smoke, speeding cars on an interstate, or other imminent hazard. However, there is often a fine line that divides a benign incident from becoming life altering. An excerpt from the event narrative and lessons learned is included below. Note: Brackets denote reviewer de-identification. 

“At [time omitted] our department responded to a HAZMAT incident involving ethyl alcohol. Approximately 2000 gallons of product were spilled onto the ground when the tanker truck rolled onto its side, damaging the man-way cover and rupturing the tank. We only had 15 gallons of AR-AFFF foam available, so a call for more foam was placed to other departments in the area.There was a mixture of new, old and several different types and concentrations of AR-AFFF. When switching from an empty bucket to a fresh one, the inductor plugged, causing a loss of foam on the line and interrupting vapor suppression tactics…due to the lack of materials, we continued to use the foam and clear the plugged inductor as was needed for the duration of the call.”

From the Lessons Learned text:

“This had no detrimental effect on the overall outcome of the situation. After the debriefing, we were able to start the process to order and maintain a reserve of AR AFFF and re-educate ourselves on foam compatibility and recognition of possible problems.”

There are two near-miss events to note for this discussion. The first is the lack of compatible foam concentrate used by the various aid pact departments. This in itself could be considered a near miss. The second is the plugged foam line during the vapor suppression application. Are there others? You be the judge as you read through the entire account (CLICK HERE).
  1. What type(s) of foam concentrate does your department use?
  2. What is the problem with mixing foam concentrates that have different chemical compositions (i.e., synthetic versus protein) and proportioning rates?
  3. When was the last time you actually practiced with the foam producing equipment on your apparatus?
  4. Once a foam line becomes clogged, what course(s) of action should be taken to: a) unclog the line, and b) keep the vapor suppression from being interrupted?
  5. Synthetic foam concentrate has a shelf life of approximately 20-25 years, protein foam approximately10 years. What are the three conditions that should be met to maximize this shelf life?
Submit your report to www.firefighternearmiss.com today so everyone goes home tomorrow.

 

Note: The questions posed by the reviewers are designed to generate discussion and thought in the name of promoting firefighter safety. They are not intended to pass judgment on the actions and performance of individuals in the reports.

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