SFD held a firefighting foam drill at dusk on a chilly Monday, March 29.

Foam is a firefighting tool we rarely use but readiness requires skill training for preparedness and familiarity, with both application and pump management. SFD training is an ongoing endeavor and is scheduled monthly, regardless of weather conditions, (safety first, of course).

"When applying foam, there are three generally accepted methods: bank-down, roll-on, and rain-down. Banking down is a great method when the fire or area to cover is near a wall or near an object. During this technique, the nozzle firefighter deflects the foam stream against the wall and allows the foam to “bank” onto the fire or spill, creating an extinguishing blanket.

The roll on method is a similar deflection method where the firefighter deflects or “rolls” the foam onto the product via the ground. The nozzle is pointed toward the ground near the fire or spill, and the foam is gently rolled onto the fire.

The rain down method uses the reach of the stream to affect extinguishment. The firefighter simply points the stream up and allows the foam product to “rain” onto the fire or spill".

https://www.fireengineering.com/firefighting/foam-operations-2/#gref

The methods utilized during the drill are incident specific based on possible scenarios, Roll-on, bank-down, (from the actual subject of the fire) and rain-down were discussed after the drill during the de-briefing.

There was a great turnout and every firefighter had the opportunity for foam application or fire hose backup, officers and chief drivers man the pumps, flow rates and personnel. SFD EMS were on hand if needed. The drill was completed successfully and without incident.