Jerry Back, Senior Fire Protection Engineer at Jensen Hughes, offers guidance on how the fire safety industry can support the phase out of PFAS in firefighting foam.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are valued for their exceptional fire-suppressing properties, yet they present significant environmental and health hazards. Historically, one of the most popular firefighting foams was aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which is used to suppress flammable liquid fires. However, the same properties that make PFAS useful in firefighting also make them exceptionally persistent in the environment. Once released, PFAS can accumulate in soil, groundwater, wildlife, and the human body, remaining for years or even decades.
Growing scientific evidence has linked PFAS exposure to a range of environmental and public health concerns, prompting increased scrutiny of AFFF use. Firefighters, military personnel, and communities near training sites and airports have been identified as particularly vulnerable to contamination. As awareness has grown, so too have regulatory actions, lawsuits, and efforts to transition toward safer alternatives.
Today, AFFF sits at the centre of a global reassessment of how we balance emergency response effectiveness with long-term environmental and human health protection. As a result, manufacturers worldwide are making the shift towards alternatives to help phase out PFAS-containing firefighting foam for good.
Jerry Back is a Senior Fire Protection Engineer at fire protection consultancy Jensen Hughes, and has a wealth of experience in assessing the capabilities of fluorine-free foams (i.e., AFFF alternatives). The Innovation Platform spoke with Jerry to learn how the fire protection industry can adapt to PFAS-free alternatives.
Can you explain more about the current scale of the issue of PFAS-containing firefighting foam and why it is such a threat to health?
The environmental regulatory landscape has changed significantly over the past 50 years since PFAS containing AFFF was first invented and deployed.
As a result of the superior firefighting capabilities of AFFF as compared to the other products of the day, AFFF quickly became the industry standard for combatting liquid fuel fires in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Unknowing of the potential PFAS hazards, minimal, if any, precautions were taken when the products were discharged into the environment independent of the use, fire extinguishment, proportioning equipment calibration, and training.
PFAS constituents do not breakdown in the environment and/or in the human body, and, over the years, have seeped through the soil into the ground water and aquifers in higher use areas. Some PFAS have been associated with health effects in both humans and animals, and significant research in this area is ongoing.
What were the main concerns from the fire industry regarding bans on PFAS in firefighting foams?
The initial concern was associated with a reduction in the capabilities of the new products to extinguish fires. The superiority of AFFF made it somewhat forgiving with respect to manual application of the foam when combatting a fire and/or when discharged by less-than-optimal fixed fire suppression systems.
Although the performance gap between the new products and AFFF is narrowing, hands-on firefighter training and due diligence in designing new systems for these new products is required to increase the likelihood for success.
What have been the major challenges and complications surrounding the phase out of PFAS-containing foam?
Knowledge and cost have been the greatest hurdles. Specifically, knowing when and how to make the transition and the associated costs in doing so. An excellent source of information on the transition topic is the NFPA Fire Protection Research Foundation’s Firefighting Foams: Fire Service Roadmap website. The roadmap provides a systematic path that works through knowing the current regulations and when to make the transition, cleaning of equipment and disposal of effluents and legacy concentrates, foam selection and implementation, minimising firefighter exposures, and how to handle foam discharged from a cleanup and documentation perspective.
The cost associated with the disposal of AFFF concentrates and effluents (i.e., rinsate(s) used for cleaning), replacing systems and/or system components, and the purchasing of new products can be substantial.
How are firefighting foam manufacturers working to produce effective and reliable alternatives?
The majority of PFAS-containing AFFF manufacturers, at least the most predominant ones, have ceased the production of AFFF and have developed, tested, and received listings/approvals for new PFAS-free foams (referred to by the industry as fluorine-free foams). Most of these manufacturers either have guidance on transitioning to these new products or direct the consumers/end users to the most pertinent and up-to-date information.
How can the end users help with the transition? What do they need to know?
The end users play an important role and need to become knowledgeable of the issues, including the various aspects addressed in the roadmap documentation.
How can technology and innovation assist in the transition to PFAS-free firefighting foam?
The obvious answer is through the dissemination of pertinent information on the issues. A specific area worth mentioning is the selection of a replacement product. There are several opportunist organisations that are marketing AFFF replacements with minimal to no fire performance test pedigrees and/or approvals.
A second area where technology can assist is the cleaning (and verification of the cleanliness) of legacy AFFF systems and hardware.
Do you think that anything needs to change to accelerate the phase out further?
The ability to effectively use these new products, from a manual firefighting perspective, will be key to future success. This will undoubtedly require some level of hands-on training, which has become a thing of the past. The industry will need to revisit how firefighters are being trained to fight liquid fuel fires using these new firefighting foams.
