When fighting aircraft fires, it is important to keep the aircraft's exterior intact for as long as possible to maximize the time window for escape and rescue of passengers. Therefore, the foam produced from vaPUREx® LV ICAO C 3% F-5 #7371 must not only quickly and safely cover the kerosene pools on the ground, but also be used to cool the aircraft's fuselage.

The resulting foam-water mixture foams up excellently on foam pipes and launcher nozzles, and the free-flowing foam quickly covers large puddles.

When the foam jet is directed at the fuselage, the cooling foam blankets the outer skin. It flows downwards around it until it drips off and covers any puddle of fire below or in the immediate vicinity of the aircraft fuselage.

Thanks to its excellent foaming properties, foam blanket heights are achieved that allow for reliable coverage of kerosene spills, even on uneven terrain off the runway, and quickly reduce the heat impact on the aircraft fuselage. We offer appropriate user training for airports.

In the past, airfield firefighting vehicles were designed for the use of low-viscosity AFFF. Switching to a foam extinguishing agent manufactured without the addition of PFAS requires an inspection of the existing system.

After the vehicle has been cleaned by a specialist company, the foam extinguishing agent can be added. A practical test allows the proportioning rate and the foam quality to be verified. Sampling should be carried out during the most critical operating conditions, i.e., during the minimum and maximum flow ranges.

Because vaPUREx® ICAO C 3% F-5 #7371 is a water-like, Newtonian foam agent, all commercially available proportioning systems can dose the agent into the extinguishing water. Foam production and foam quality depend on the nozzle used.

If a foam quality test is not possible, we recommend using turrets with foam nozzles. We have already achieved excellent results with many turrets with hollow jet nozzles. A fire-extinguishing foam must have a minimum expansion rate and be easily flowable. vaPUREx® LV ICAO C 3% F-5 #7371 allows universal use with a wide variety of turret and nozzle types, combined with maximum extinguishing performance.

We offer vehicle inspections as a service. We also support conversion projects, concluding them with a "foam training for users."

The ICAO guidelines apply to civil aviation worldwide. In Europe, EASA guidelines for the safe operation of landing sites and airports are currently being introduced in parallel and complementary ways. For foam extinguishing agents, the certification standard according to ICAO Annex 14 applies, with extinguishing performance testing according to Levels A, B, and C. Level C represents the highest performance requirement. A kerosene fire must be extinguished under test conditions using the smallest amount of fuel applied within a specified time frame. Levels B and A allow for increased application rates, but the maximum extinguishing time remains the same.
Additional standards are often considered necessary. However, Mil-Spec or other NATO regulations are not a prerequisite for the use of foam extinguishing agents at civilian airports. What is important is that the foam extinguishing agent has been comprehensively tested and certified according to ICAO.
Our vaPUREx LV ICAO C 3% F-5 #7371 meets the most difficult requirements with the extinguishing performance level C achieved and allows airport operators to extinguish fires very quickly in the event of damage to aircraft.

The first ban was imposed by EC 2006/122 and prohibited the placing on the market of products with a PFOS content of >50ppm from December 12, 2006 for “placing on the market”. Use was then permitted until June 27, 20011 for those extinguishing agents that had already been placed on the market before the date of entry into force (i.e. in the inventory of fire departments).

The WHG (Water Resources Act) requires every person within its scope of application to “avoid any detrimental change in the characteristics of water bodies” (WHG §5, Para. (1), 1.). The discharge of substances into bodies of water is generally subject to authorization and is bound by certain regulations. These are set out in various legal ordinances (including the AwSV (Ordinance on Installations for the Handling of Substances Hazardous to Water)). Since the introduction of the WHG, there has been a fundamental duty of care (which also includes the duty to provide active information) for the handling of substances hazardous to water, which includes all foam extinguishing agents and, in particular, extinguishing water.