Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Tech. Sgt. Brian Virden and Master Sgt. Bryan Riddell,  replace legacy firefighting foam at King Salmon Air Station, Alaska, with Phos-Chek 3 percent, a C6-based Aqueous Film Forming Foam, June 14. The new AFFF protects Airmen, aircraft and infrastructure while reducing the risk of mission-related contamination to drinking water sources. Virden and Riddell are with the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (U.S. Air Force photo)Swap complete: AF protects Airmen, environment with new firefighting foam
                        
                        
                        Tech. Sgt. Brian Virden and Master Sgt. Bryan Riddell,  replace legacy firefighting foam at King Salmon Air Station, Alaska, with Phos-Chek 3 percent, a C6-based Aqueous Film Forming Foam, June 14. The new AFFF protects Airmen, aircraft and infrastructure while reducing the risk of mission-related contamination to drinking water sources. Virden and Riddell are with the 611th Civil Engineer Squadron, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (U.S. Air Force photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Swap complete: AF protects Airmen, environment with new firefighting foamPublished June 22, 2018
                    
                    By Shannon Carabajal
                    
                    
                    AFIMSC Public Affairs
            The transition to an environmentally responsible firefighting foam at King Salmon Air Force Station, Alaska, June 14, 2018, marked the completion of the Air Force’s move to replace legacy foam in fire vehicles and stockpiles across the service. 
Replacing the legacy Aqueous Film Forming Foam is an important milestone for the Air Force as the service takes aggressive measures to reduce the risk of mission-related contamination to drinking water sources. The new foam is perfluorooctane sulfonate free, only contains trace amounts of perfluorooctanoic acid, and meets the military specifications for firefighting, according to Air Force Fire Chief Jeff Wagner. 
“The health and welfare of our Airmen and our on- and off-base communities are top priorities for our Air Force Civil Engineer Center team. Completing the transition to a new AFFF formula reduces the potential risk of drinking water contamination from PFOS and PFOA, as the Air Force effort to identify and respond to past AFFF releases continue,” Wagner said. 
Widely used in the past – both commercially and by the Department of Defense – the legacy AFFF contained PFOS and PFOA, two perfluorinated compounds that persist in the environment and may be a potential health concern. On May 19, 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency established lifetime health advisory levels of 70 parts per trillion for PFOS and PFOA in drinking water.
The Air Force awarded ICL Performance Products a $6.2 million contract for 418,000 gallons of Phos-Chek 3 percent in August 2016. In total, 176 bases transitioned to the new firefighting foam. 
“The new AFFF protects our Airmen, our aircraft and our infrastructure. The foam provides essential burn-back resistance, protection against vapor release and rapid extinguishment,” said Kevin Matlock, fire emergency services program manager with AFCEC’s Readiness Directorate.
To further protect the environment, the Air Force limits the use of AFFF to emergency responses, treats all releases as hazardous spills and takes immediate action to ensure containment and removal. The service began retrofitting fire vehicles with an Eco-logic system which enable fire protection testing without AFFF discharges earlier this year. The initiative – which includes retrofitting approximately 850 fire trucks – should be finished by December 2018, Matlock said.
Additionally, the Air Force will replace AFFF contained in aircraft hangar fire protection systems in conjunction with hangar renovations. Unlike mobile fire trucks, AFFF in hangars are contained in a stationary location — a more controlled environment. The projects are expected to be finished by the end of 2018, according to Jack Arthur, fire protection engineer with AFCEC’s Operations Directorate.
For more information about the Air Force response to PFOS/PFOA, visit **http://www.afcec.af.mil/WhatWeDo/Environment/Perfluorinated-Compounds/**.innovation 



health 



safety 



firefighters 



welfare 



emergency services 



first responders 



fire protection 



fire trucks 



AFFF 



firefighting foam 



aqueous film forming foam 



AFCEC 



Air Force Civil Engineer Center 



environment 



PFOS 



PFOA 



Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil