Solid AFFF Alternative

Fact is, that since years in many parts of this world, PFAS and PFOS containing products are banned. Not so in the case of fire fighting foams. How comes ?

This has mostly to do with the required fire fighting performance in class B (flammable liquids). The technique to extinguish a fire is a cover up to cut the oxygen supply of the fire. So the goal of fire fighters is often to put a blanket of foam on top of the burning surfaces.

So far so good and in case of solid materials like wood or cardboard no problem. But when it comes to liquids, like diesel, gasoline or alcohol the problem is starting. The liquids as well as the heat of the fire are disintegrating and dissolving ordinary foam. The blanket opens up and the fire is reigniting and continues burning or a blanket never reaches the point of suppressing the fire.

In this case, most manufacturers use a trick. They use a so called film building agent that forms a layer on top of the burning liquid an protects the foam from drowning in the liquid. At least in theory now the foam should form a blanket and the fire is extinguished in no time. Most manufacturers of fire foam consider this an essential technology and convinced law makers, that without AFFF (aqueous film forming foam) fire fighting would practically impossible. That is why world wide exceptions are made for the use of PFAS in fire fighting. Fact is, that alternatives, solid in performance exist, but are not in the hands of the big, dominating manufacturers.

This exception from banning PFAS and continuing to use AFFF technology comes with a very harmful implication: The film building agent contains harmful fluorides that provide exceptional chemical and physical properties (e.g. in Teflon) but are also exceptional harmful. These so called “for ever chemicals” are contaminating our soil, drinking water, food and bodies. These fluorides are under strong suspicion to cause cancer in fire fighters all over the world and can in the meantime be found in almost every organism. As “for ever chemicals” the do not break down. They never biodegrade, they never leave our bodies.

PREVENT TEC Group has developed ifoam™ M and ifoam™ Marine. Two products with class A and B performance that are 100% free of intentionally added fluorides. Our foam alone is so powerful and stable, that we do not need a film building agent. And because we do not need a film building agent, our foam sticks even to vertical surfaces like no other product. With this adhesion fire fighting is coming to a new level of performance.

To really understand, what iFoam™ is capable of, you need to see a “real world scenario test”. Certification papers are required and necessary, but the real performance is showing in the real world. If there is for example no water under the diesel when that is put on fire (as instructed by certification tests).