Fire Safety Science Digital Archive

A series of experiments on gasoline, kerosene and diesel oil fires were conducted in a 1 m high open-top mild steel tank of size : 4.0 m x 2.5 m in order to study how efficiently the liquid hydrocarbon fires in flammable liquid storage tanks could be extinguished by a direct foam injection technique(DF1T) into the combustion zone of fire. For 10 m²size gasoline, kerosene and diesel oil fires, the direct foam injection technique, using indigenously available protein foam, fluoro-protein foam and aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) as fire extinguishants with induction rates of 2,3,4 and 5 litres/mz/min, brings about 90% control and completely extinguishes the fires within a minute's time. The DFIT has significant fire extinguishing effectiveness at the optimum induction rate of 3 litres/m²/min. An Indian patent for the technique has been already filed vide application no. 1 105/DEL/89.