Aircraft hangar fire alarm test high expansion foam

Yes, they are required to do this, one time, after the system is installed and before the hangar is used. And yes, it's EXPENSIVE.

Legend says they are still cleaning up today

For anyone who doesn't know that is AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam) 94% water 6% concentrated soap. It main purpose is putting out class B fires (jet fuel and other flammable liquids. Edit: Yes the term "soap" is a touch misleading (years ago that was how it was explained to me) I am not that familiar with the science of how AFFF works just the concept and components of the system. Also yes AFFF is corrosive however it is not going to be used unless there is a lot of fire in saying this a circuit board on the fritz or rust is going to be the least of someone's problems.

About 35 years ago I was working in a hangar at a UK airport when the foam system suddenly deployed accidentally. In a few minutes we had 6 feet of foam on the floor before someone hit the override switch to shut it off. The problem was we had a B747 in there undergoing very heavy maintenance. The foam system included foam canons that shot the foam up into the air right over the aircraft parked in the hangar. The foam got in everywhere, it took ages to clean it out. It happened again at another company I works for, but this time I was off shift and only saw a video. But there was an Airbus A320 in the hangar with all the doors open at the time. Again it took ages to clean it out! Quite spectacular when it goes off.

In case anyone is wondering it takes two flame detectors to set off the foam. The men you see running set off one on the far end of the hangar then set off one on the near side. That is why it takes so long.

I put this video up just to show my co-workers. I never thought it would get this many views.

“Get ready for a fire alarm test” Janitor: 👁👄👁

Worth noting is the contractors deliver the foam in very useful blue poly barrels they don't need afterwards so if you ask nicely and offer to take them all they may give them to you. If you slice off the bottom of one and the top from another (a cutting disk on an angle grinder, a recip saw or circular saw works well) you now have a handy container that seals so well against moisture you may have to pry it apart. Rinse out the foam residue of course but that's biodegradable. I used mine for outdoor parts storage and I've left engine parts outdoors for over fifteen years without moisture intrusion. They're great for livestock feed and much more.

Me: No interest in Aircraft hangars, fire safety or expanding foam. YouTube: You sure bout that?

"My friend died in an airplane accident " "That's so sad, what happened?" "He drowned in a fire"

Dealt with similar systems while I was in the navy. We were going through an inspection cycle and part of the inspection was to properly tag out or secure certain portions of the system so it would not actually release and then go and push the activation buttons to make sure that the system started properly but since we secured the system to recirculate it would not dump. The chief in charge of the inspection wasn’t happy when the inspector said, it isn’t tagged out properly, tag it out properly and after lunch we will resume. After the inspector left for lunch the chief to prove they were right went and pushed the button and from what I heard said “don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m doing” while pushing the button. Well the inspector was correct and it released all over like 3 super hornets all with their cockpits open and 1 of which was fully opened up for an inspection and like 2 sea hawks. So the aviation maintenance has to basically go through and completely recertify all those birds for flight from my understanding. But hey. Don’t tell them they don’t know how to do their job…

I work in a airplane hangar where we get C-17s , C-130s, and C-5s and we have this as well. It takes 5 minutes to fill up the entire hangar from floor to roof, wall to wall.

How much foam do we need? Air Force: yes

In this week's episode of What's In My Recommended, we take a look at how an aircraft hanger extinguishes itself for no reason.

Awesome! We use to have similar systems in the merchant navy, I was on oil carriers these and CO2 systems stop fire in there tracks

The fun part is that without the active ingredient (the foam mixture) you would be standing under a misting rain wondering how it could ever put out a fire.

Me: Never ever ever ever searched for anything Aircraft hanger related. Youtube: This guy looks like he needs a 2 year old video on Aircraft hangers. Update: This is the second time i got this in my recommended even after i watched it. YouTube really has a thing for Aircraft hangers.

Reminds me of when I worked in a place with a server room. That same alarm tone, but if you heard it and you were inside, you had 30 seconds to exit before the doors locked and the Halon displaced all the breathable atmosphere in the room.

Fire: (exists) Aircraft hangars: "release the COOM"

Ah, I recall feasting my senses on this visual spectacle in the past. A delightful revisit, indeed.