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Fire Fighting Foam Standards

International Standards

Your Guarantee of Performance!

Foam concentrates are tested by manufacturers to meet Internationally recognised extinguishment, burnback and proportioning standards.

A quality foam supplier will supply foam concentrates that meet one or more of the following standards:

  • UL 162         
  • BS EN 1568: 2008 Parts 1-4
  • ICAO Level B
  • IMO MSC.1/Circ.1312

These are critical application tests in that foam concentrates are tested to the minimum application rate required to extinguish a fire.

Aberdeen Foam: International Standards summary

ABERDEEN FOAM STANDARDS SUMMARY 0924

To download a PDF of this chart, please click here.

UL
UL 162 is an Internationally recognised test method carried out by the UL (Underwriters Laboratory), an independent not-for-profit organisation.
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icao logo
In the UK, the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) requires a foam concentrate for use in Civilian Airports to be tested using potable (fresh) water to ICAO Level A, B or C.
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cen logo
BS EN 1568: 2018 is a European Standard that critically tests a foam for both extinguishment and burnback in sea and potable (fresh) water.
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imo logo
The IMO (International Maritime Organization) has two testing standards - IMO MSC.1/Circ.1312 and MSC Circ.670.
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lastfire logo new darkertext
On behalf of a consortium of 16 oil companies, a project was initiated in the late 1990s to review the risks associated with large diameter (greater than 40m) open top floating roof storage tanks.
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For UK offshore helidecks, the standard adopted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is CAP 437 – Standards for Offshore Helicopter Landing Areas, Chapter 5, paragraph 2.6.
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NFPA 11 is an internationally recognised US Standard for Low-, Medium-, and High-Expansion Fire Fighting Foam.
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BS EN 13565-1 & BS EN 13565-2 are internationally recognised European Standards regarding Fixed Firefighting Foam Systems. BS EN 13565 Part 1: 2019The standard was introduced by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) in 1998.
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At the time of writing (January 2017), there are no internationally recognised European or US standards on biodegradability testing of foams. This means that there is no systematic methodology defining test type, testing time and acceptable limits on biodegradability for fire fighting foam concentrates.
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Most reputable foam concentrate manufacturers offer at least a 10 year life for products correctly stored in original containers with the manufacturer's seal still intact (i.e.
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