Chapter 14: Foam Equipment and Systems

Question 1

_________ are the most common foams in use. They must be proportioned and aerated before use.

Answer 1

Mechanical foams

Question 2

__________: mixing of water with an appropriate amount of foam concentrate in order to form a foam solution

Answer 2

Proportioning

Question 3

__________: introducing air into a foam solution to create bubbles that result in finished foam

Answer 3

Aeration

Question 4

_________: The process used to mix foam concentrate with water in the nozzle or proportioner; concentrate is drawn into the water system by the Venturi method

Answer 4

Eduction

Question 5

_________: (1) Raw chemical compound solution that is mixed with water and air to produce finished foam; may be a protein, synthetic, aqueous film forming, hight expansion or alcohol types. (2) Raw foam liquid as it rests in storage container before the introduction of water and air.

Answer 5

Foam concentrate

Question 6

__________: A device that injects the correct amount of foam concentrate into the water stream to make the foam solution.

Answer 6

Foam proportioner

Question 7

_________: (1) The result of mixing the appropriate amount of foam concentrate with water. (2) The mixture of foam concentrate and water before the introduction of air

Answer 7

Foam solution

Question 8

Class B fuels are divided into two categories:

Answer 8

Hydrocarbons

Polar solvents

Question 9

________: A petroleum based organic compound that contains only hydrogen and carbon

Answer 9

Hydrocarbon fuel

Question 10

________: liquid having a molecule where the positive and negative charges are permanently separated, resulting in their ability to ionize in solution and create electrical conductivity.

Answer 10

Polar solvents

Question 11

_________: Materials that are capable of being mixed in all proportion.

Answer 11

Miscible

Question 12

Foam works in three ways:

Answer 12

Separating

Cooling

Suppressing/Smothering

Question 13

Most firefighting foam concentrate or formulated to mix with ________ % water.

Answer 13

94-99.9

Question 14

Foam is proportioned using one of four basic methods:

Answer 14

Induction

Injection

Batch mixing

Premixing

Question 15

_________: production of foam solution by adding an appropriate amount of foam concentrate to a water tank before application; the resulting solution must be used or discarded following the incident.

Answer 15

Batch mixing

Question 16

_________: mixing premeasured portions of water and foam concentrates in a container. Typically, this method is used with portable extinguishers, skid-mounted twin agent units, and vehicle-mounted tank systems.

Answer 16

Premixing

Question 17

Foam can be stored by using: (4)

Answer 17

Pails (5 gallons)

Barrels (55 gallons)

Totes (275 gallons)

Apparatus Tanks
(fire apparatus:20-200 gallons)
(pumper/tenders: 8,000 gallons)

Question 18

This type of foam concentrate is a hydrocarbon-based surfactant (essentially wetting agents) that reduce the surface tension of water and allow it to soak into combustible materials more easily than plain water.

Answer 18

Class A foam concentrate

Question 19

______: A chemical that lowers the surface tension of a liquid; allowing water to spread more rapidly over the surface of class A fuels end penetrate organic fuels.

Answer 19

Surfactant

Question 20

Direct skin contact should be avoided as class A concentrate as a _________ characteristic.

Answer 20

Corrosive

Question 21

This type of foam concentrate is applied to suppress fires involving flammable and combustible liquids. These from concentrates consist of a synthetic or protein-based foam

Answer 21

Class B foam concentrate

Question 22

__________: form provided by the manufacturer and blender of chemicals that contains information about chemical composition, physical and chemical properties, health and safety hazards, emergency response procedures, and waste disposal procedures of a specific material.

Answer 22

Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

Question 23

__________: result of adding air to a foam solution concentrate. Creates the foam bubbles that result in finished foam or foam blanket.

Answer 23

Foam expansion

Question 24

_________: to cause or undergo a chemical process of decomposition involving the splitting of a bond and the addition of the element of water.

Answer 24

Hydrolyze

Question 25

___________: The ability of a foam blanket to resist direct flame impingement such as would be evident in a partially extinguish petroleum fire.

Answer 25

Burnback resistance

Question 26

A handheld nozzle is any nozzle that can be safely handled by _______ firefighters and flows less than ______ GPM

Answer 26

1-3

350

Question 27

Name the four foam application techniques.

Answer 27

Direct application

Roll-on method

Bank-down method

Rain-down method

Question 28

_________: capable of being broken down into innocuous products by the action of living things such as micro organisms.

Answer 28

Biodegradable

Question 29

_________: Chemical change in which a substance breaks down into two or more simpler substances. Results of oxygen acting on a material that results in a change in the material’s composition; oxidation occurs slowly’s, sometimes resulting in the rusting of materials.

Answer 29

Decomposition

Question 30

__________: super absorbent liquid polymers capable of absorbing hundreds of times their own weight in water. These can be used as fire suppressant’s and fire retardant’s. They function by entrapping water in their structure rather than air.

Answer 30

Gelling agents

Question 31

_________: foam produced by a physical agitation of a mixture of foam concentrate, water and air

Answer 31

Mechanical foam