Prospects for establishing requirements for fixed compressed foam firefighting systems by European standards

Abstract

The purpose of the work was substantiation of the requirements for foam concentrates, compressed foam fire-fighting systems and their components which could currently be included in the European standards for foam fire-fighting systems, as well as spheres for further research. For this, appropriate information available in literary sources and regulations was analyzed. It was established that the currently existing portable compressed foam fire-fighting systems were intended primarily for fighting fires at manned facilities. Statistical materials on the abundance of fixed compressed foam fire-fighting systems in the world, despite their proven suitability for fighting fires at many types of facilities, in particular, in the presence of combustible liquids, have not been found. At the same time, a tentative list of facilities that could be protected by compressed foam fire-fighting systems was outlined and approximate restrictions on the use of such systems were indicated. It was established that there were no direct correlation between expansion ratio, stability and fire-extinguishing efficiency of compressed foam. The possibility of amending appropriate European norms with the information on the applicability and conditions of use for the protection of facilities with compressed air foam sprinkler and deluge fire-fighting systems was substantiated. In particular, the types of foam concentrates allowed for this were named, as well as the proposed values of the application rate and duration of application of their foam solutions. Opinions were expressed regarding promising spheres for further research aimed at improving European standards for foam firefighting systems.