Fire Suppression Foam Cleanup

3/17/2021 (Permalink)

It was 9:30pm when we received the call that a small flash fire set a sprinkler off at a nearby factory. When we arrived at 10:30pm, we estimated 2”-6” of foam covering a 10,000sf area. The room was filled with non-moveable machinery and equipment. There was no actual fire damage, and the foam was non-toxic.

Normally, we would use our truck mounted and/or portable extraction equipment. However, we quickly realized that the foam was too thick, and this would not work. Using deformer chemicals did not work. We tried several methods, such as shoveling, vacuuming, and squeegeeing, but finally found that diluting the foam with water and pushing it to submersible pumps worked best. This made for a time-consuming removal. The foam kept oozing out of surfaces and under the fixed equipment. Crews worked on removing the foam all night, and by 8am it was under control. While most areas were clear it was obvious that the foam was still oozing out and would continue for some time. With approval from management, we agreed to get the foam time to finish oozing and come back to clean the remainder.

The next day we returned and spent 3-4 hours getting the remainder of foam up. The client cleaned their own equipment, had their fire suppression system recharged and checked. After a short interruption, they would be back in production with little time lost.

While this unique situation was full of challenges, we were able to help the customer get back to production quickly.