How to Hook Up a Foam Fire Line

Using firefighting foam is the only way to extinguish certain types of fires. Flammable liquids such as gasoline, aviation fuel and oil must be extinguished with foam if they ignite. It is also useful for a more rapid extinguishment of fires involving ordinary combustibles such as grass, woods and structures. Being able to supply firefighting foam to a fire hose is an essential skill that every fire department apparatus driver/operator must know, according to the National Fire Protection Agency Driver/Operator 1002 professional qualifications course.

Things You'll Need

• Fire engine
• Foam eductor
• Foam concentrate
• Fire hose
• Foam nozzle

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Instructions

• 1

  Connect the fire engine to a fire hydrant for a sustainable water supply. Using just the water tank on the fire engine will not give the required volume of water for a usable foam blanket.

• 2

  Connect the foam eductor to a discharge on the fire engine. The discharge selected must be able to meet the water flow required by your foam nozzle. Set the eductor to the percentage of foam that should be metered into the water stream using the dial on the eductor. The percentage will be determined by the type of fuel burning if using a multipercentage foam. If the foam is a fixed percentage, the eductor must be set to the percentage indicated on the container.

• 3

  Place a supply of foam containers close to the pump discharge to facilitate rapid changes. Depending on your desired fire flow, a container of foam may last only 30 seconds and will need to be replaced quickly. Place the foam pickup tube into the top of the foam container.

• 4

  Extend the fire hose from the end of the eductor and attach the foam nozzle. Make sure there are no bends or kinks in the fire hose if at all possible. Some slight bends are acceptable but kinks are not.

• 5

  Open the fire engine discharge that supplies the eductor. The water pressure that must be supplied to the eductor to produce the correct foam blanket from the nozzle is determined by the department guidelines, according to the type of hose and nozzle that is used. One guideline states that the nozzles flow rate must be the same or greater than the eductor's flow rate. A venturi effect produced by the eductor pulls foam concentrate into the water stream from the container to produce a foam blanket at the nozzle.