A number of years ago, I was traveling the Dark Continent conducting foam education classes for fire departments throughout South Africa. Traveling with me were a former Johannesburg fire chief and a high-ranking Nigerian government official.

The government official was there to "pick the brain" of the fire chief concerning how to upgrade the fire service in his country.

"Do you have building codes?" the chief asked.

"No," replied the Nigerian.

"Then you must establish building codes." And so the conversation went.

At the first class, I explained how foam and compressed-air foam systems are more efficient than plain water, will reduce your fire losses and improve firefighter safety. We did some demonstrations, packed up our gear and went on to the next class.

Back in the car the conversation resumed. "Do you have building inspectors?" the chief asked.

"No," replied the Nigerian.

'Then you must implement building inspectors," the chief responded.

Similar conversations ensued between every class. The discussions covered station density, the number of apparatus, the number of firefighters, training, response times and more, as we logged the kilometers and enjoyed the diverse beauty that is found throughout South Africa.

At the end of our trip, we were sitting around a table completing a recap of the discussions that were held that week, including all of the points that the chief had made.

The Nigerian government official then made a very important observation.

"Chief, if I implement building codes tomorrow, I am not going to see any significant improvement in our fire losses, either in my lifetime or yours, due to all of the existing buildings that do not meet code. And, if I add another fire station, another piece of apparatus, another firefighter, if I improve my response times, I won't see a difference in losses, either. But it seems to me, if I implement tomorrow what this man has been saying about foam, I will immediately cut my losses in half throughout the entire country."

I thought, how perceptive! If a country lacking in almost every area of the fire service, by our standards, could realize so great a return by implementing foam or CAFS, how much more could we benefit from this technology back at home, where we already have so much?

So, based on that conversation and insight, the questions I ask: Are there any initiatives that your fire department currently is undertaking that would have a greater impact on your community than implementing foam or CAFS? Is implementing foam or CAFS one of your top priorities? If not, why not?

What do you think? Tell us in the comment box below.

Bill Ballantyne is the president of Pyrolance. He previously was president of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association, and is a member of the NFPA 1901 committee.