The Social Network & Community JUST for Firefighters
What does everyone think about cafs.
My department has used cafs since 2000 and i was wondering what everyone else thought about it and if they have had success with it like we have.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
-
We have never used it. I have seen it used many times and agree it has good use. With class A foam we accomplish much as well
-
Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
-
We have an entire fleet of new pumpers. We looked at CAFS and decided against it.
We went with dual injection foam systems for both Class A and Class B foam.
The onboard tanks have 60 gallons of Class B foam and 25 gallons of Class A.
With the standard 0.5% concentration for Class A, we get all of the advantages of CAFS without any of the problems. No problems with hoseline kinking due to having finished foam in the lines instead of water/foam solution, minimal retraining for the nozzlemen and pump operators, no need to add weight to the rigs with the CAFS pump, no CAFS pump to make pump maintenance more difficult due to taking up more space, etc.
We have lots of wind here (barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean) so pumping foam solution gets more foam on the fire and less blown somewhere else than the CAFS demos we did prior to the pumper fleet purchase.
-
Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
-
We use it and love it....As a rural Department water is a major concern...no, that's not correct water IS the major concern...CAFS has cut our water demand by approximately 70-80%.....Once we re-trained everyone we got pretty good in its use.....but it did take some time and some experimentation....Paul
-
Permalink Reply by Roy Walker on
-
Paul we have no actual experience in cafs but I have considered getting one on the upcoming new pumper. First I will try to get some first hand experience by finding someone in our area that does use it. However could you advise me on application techniques ? 1 Can you apply it at a distance effectivly or does it require a fairly close application? 2 How badly does a wind effect the application? Lastly what is the clean up like before you can go back in service? Thanks for the help.
-
Permalink Reply by christopher ivory on
-
Hey Roy my company is in south western PA, if you are near by we would gladly lt you and your guys have some training using it, Or if you want to contact us you can find our station info at darlingtonvolunteerfire.com we have work nights on monday's starting around 6:30 to around 9:30. As for your first question about distance, you still can get distance but not as far as straight water. As for clean up are older truck when we are done using the foam we just run straight water out the nozzles until no more foam is in the lines which normally takes about 20 seconds. Our newer truck we flush with water than turn the air compreesor on and and blow the lines clean. As for the effect of wind i have seen at a wsf with gust about 60mph last year it have very little effect but at that point we where about 10- 20 ft away. but on our units we can adjust how wet or dry our foam is so that can wil also effect how wind effects it.
As of how to apply i see very little difference to water except it has had for us faster knock downs, we use less water. woth our newer unit we can use the 300 gallons of water and hooked up to our 3,000 gallons we can fight by ourselve with nomore water for 35- 45 minutes with the nozzles open the entire time. there is one difference as to water as when you open the nozzl you get a stronger kick but after that the weight of the line feels like nothing is there. I have tried to answer all your questions the best i can if you have more or need a better explantion i will try to explain them better or i will have another member of my department help me give you the answer.
-
-
Thanks Christopher great answers especially coming from a brother rather than a salesman. Afraid the distance is too great to allow me to travel there but I greatly appreciate the offer. be safe Brother
-
Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
-
Like exotic foods, it has to be "just right" and perfect for the application. When it works right it's great! Otherwise it's very frustrating.
-
Permalink Reply by Trainer on
-
We looked into to it, but decided on the injection system, CAFS has it's limitations.
-
-
Clean-up isn't a big deal....we just switch it over to water and flush the lines out...reach isn't bad either...you can always change the pressure or the concentration from the pump panel if needed...one of the most important things is teach your nozzle people to KEEP THE BALE WIDE OPEN...if right concentration it will stick to everything...banking in works well...
© 2024 Created by Firefighter Nation WebChief.
Powered by
