Like many departments, when we first heard about Class A foam back in the late 1980s, we were firmly under the misconception that it was, if anything, strictly a wildland firefighting tool. It looked ridiculous and useless for structural firefighting.

Within just a few years, however, that perception started to change, largely through the efforts of an assistant chief and a deputy chief who invited a foam expert from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, to come to Phoenix. U.S. Forest Service videotapes showing foam being used to create wildland firebreaks and to coat threatened buildings helped show us that, unlike “wet water” and other innovations that went nowhere, foam might be the real deal.

Our first direct experience with Class A foam was the retrofit in 1991 of four then-new brush truck skid units. The trucks were equipped with 250-gallon water tanks and Robwen bladder-type foam systems. The systems were limited to producing foam solution for a booster reel and two handlines. Although bladder systems proved to be hard to maintain and cumbersome to use, the four units are still in service.

Despite a lukewarm initial reception within the department to Class A foam, the available research on compressed-air foam out in the rest of the world and the experts who spoke about its effectiveness in wildland brush and structural firefighting were compelling. In 1994, we purchased four brush trucks that included cafs through all handlines and ground spray nozzles.

Some local testing proved cafs' value in wildland situations, including its use as a firebreak to stop the progress of fire through the low sparse vegetation that's common in the Phoenix area. Unfortunately, cafs was still thought of as a wildland firefighting tool.

In 1995, we retrofitted a caf system onto an Emergency One pumper. The system provided caf from two attack lines and the deck gun. Unfortunately, this prototype system was somewhat complicated to operate and saw limited use. Despite the problems, we saw the potential of cafs, and a total of six pumpers were eventually equipped in this way.

Operational successes

In the meantime, we converted a reserve pumper equipped with a 55-foot Telesqurt into a foam unit. Compressed-air, Class A and Class B foam systems provide any type of foam through any outlet on the truck, including the Telesqurt. The unit is housed in the fire station closest to our largest regional fuel tank farm and is designated Foam 34. It's cross-staffed by the station's engine company and can be special-called when needed at any incident.

Phoenix is home to a number of paper-, fabric- and metal-recycling facilities. We've noticed that when the market prices of these materials fall, these facilities ignite simultaneously. The insurance rep usually beats us to the scene.

These fires used to be two- or three-day affairs with smoke blanketing large areas of the city for the entire time. They would be the subject of news reports where the tv person on the scene would gleefully assure everyone that, although the fire department had been on the scene for many hours already, the fire was under control and the smoke would be gone soon.

The big opportunity for cafs came in the summer of 1996, when the price of recycled paper dipped and Foam 34 was special-called to the scene. The battalion chief in charge of the effort ordered Foam 34 backed into an area that fronted a pile of burning paper bales. Large construction equipment was ordered in to scoop up bundles of burning paper, break them open and lay them in front of Foam 34, where firefighters operating the Telesqurt and handlines sopped the flaming paper with caf.

The combination of cafs and heavy equipment meant that firefighters were in service and on their way back to their first-due areas in hours rather than days. This was very popular with the firefighters and the customers living in the area, and the tv folks had to find other stories to report. This was our first major success with cafs, and we have replayed this scenario many times since.

The wildland and trash-pile success we had with cafs gave us the courage to specify caf systems with the seven pumpers and a Telesqurt that we purchased from Saulsbury later in 1996. The units are equipped with a Pneumax system that provides caf or Class A foam from the mattydale attack lines, the trash line on the front bumper and the deck gun. Later versions of the pumper, which have Emergency One chassis and Saulsbury bodies (“E-berrys”), have an additional 2H-inch caf outlet at the rear to supply horizontal standpipes.

By this spring, we will have 29 pumpers equipped with cafs, which is now a part of our standard specification for future purchases. We've expanded our use of cafs at junk-pile and structure fires to include flowing cafs in large-diameter hose from cafs-equipped pumpers through ladder pipes with great success.

Key lessons learned

cafs is like a lot of stuff that has been introduced into the fire service over the years: Firefighters may be reluctant to use it at incidents until they have the confidence that it will work as expected. The passage of time, training and successful uses of cafs in real-world emergencies have made it an integral part of our fire department. Our chief says that a pumper without cafs is obsolete the day it's delivered.

Based on our experience, here are some suggestions for integrating cafs into a fire department.

• Training is the key (big shock). We got to a point where we threatened to stop purchasing the systems unless they were used. We found out that the troops weren't aware of cafs' capabilities, and after training was provided to every member of the department, cafs use rose significantly.
• Don't expect to see bubbles on the ground at every fire, especially when the systems are new. Our first structural firefighting success with cafs was overhaul. We found that almost anything that's covered with bubbles won't rekindle. After companies have had success with cafs in an overhaul mode, they've been more comfortable using it for structure fire attack.
• Jump on mechanical failures. One field failure of a caf system will be legend before the on-duty shift goes home. Jump on problems and get the word out about fixes as fast as you can.
• Never mix Class A and Class B foam in the foam tanks of your apparatus. The mixture turns to jello, and it will ruin your day. The labels that we use to mark the fill towers of our foam tanks are so large they can be read from outer space.
• Although caf systems are an expensive addition to an apparatus purchase, straight foam systems are less so. Equally important, Class A foam itself is inexpensive and is educted at very low percentages. Let firefighters drill with it and use it as much as they like. If you need written permission from the chief to flow foam (to save money), save even more money and don't install the system at all.

Used properly, Class A foam and cafs have the potential of reducing fire loss, increasing firefighter safety and allowing us to provide better service to our customers.

Kevin Roche is an assistant to the fire chief for the Phoenix Fire Department, where he manages a support services section responsible for purchasing, apparatus and equipment, and warehousing. A 1995 graduate of the Fire Protection program at Oklahoma State University, he holds a master's degree in political science and public administration.

Phoenix at a glance

The Phoenix Fire Department protects 1.3 million residents through a network of 45 fire stations spread over 478 square miles of incorporated city. We operate 53 engine companies, 12 ladder companies, 29 ambulances and numerous support vehicles in eight battalions.

The services provided by our members include fire protection, ems (als, bls and transport), hazmat control, technical rescue (water, trench, high-angle), aircraft rescue and firefighting, fire prevention, and public education. Our dispatch center provides service to 17 valley fire departments, which are linked through a strong system of automatic and mutual aid. A bond election that goes before the voters this spring will, if approved, add 10 more fire stations by 2006.