Foam (AFFF) extinguishers
Aqueous film-forming foam for flammable liquid pools and spill risks — it seals the fuel surface instead of scattering it.
- Practice
- IS 15683 · IS 2190
- Typical use
- Fuel stores, workshops, car parks
- Service
- Annual · refill · hydro-test
It seals the surface, so the fire cannot come back
AFFF is a water-based foam that spreads a film across a flammable liquid and holds the vapour down. On a spill or a pool fire that is the important difference from powder: powder knocks the flame out but the fuel is still hot and still evaporating, while a foam blanket stops the re-ignition. It also works on Class A solids, so it covers a mixed workshop or car park sensibly.
It is water based, so it is not for live electrical equipment and it is not for a cooking-oil fire — those go to CO₂ or clean agent and to wet chemical respectively. Where a store or a workshop holds both liquid and electrical risks, the survey specifies foam alongside CO₂ rather than trying to cover both with one unit.
Placement is on the approach to the spill area, and technique matters more with foam than with powder: applied at the back wall or a surface so the blanket flows across the fuel, not plunged into the middle of it. That is one of the things worth covering when we run through the units with the site staff at handover, and it is part of the annual visit.
Sizes and what each one is for
Capacities we supply. Foam units are heavier than powder for the same rating, which is a real factor in siting them.
Tell us about the project
Send the drawings or the BOQ and we will price it line by line. Most enquiries start with a site visit, because the site decides the system — not the catalogue.