Salt Lake County firefighters staged a demonstration Thursday of a fire-retardant foam they are considering to protect homes in future wild-land fires.
Firefighters placed three wooden boxes in a field and coated two of them with a foam that is intended to prevent structures from being devoured in a wild-land fire."According to the foam manufacturers we could coat a home with the foam and leave for an hour, and supposedly the home wouldn't burn," said Capt. Ronald Morris. He added, however, that the fire might char the outside of the home.
The fire retardant is manufactured by Flamco, an Idaho company.
"It enables to you coat a home and get out of a dangerous situation with your manpower," Morris said.
The county firefighters are testing the foam to ensure its claims are accurate before they use it, he said.
"In the past we've bought things just on hearsay and they haven't worked as well for us - it's a little more efficient for taxpayers," Morris said.
The foam costs about $20 for a five-gallon container. Morris said one container would easily coat an average home.
The three boxes in the middle of the field were all still standing when the brush fire died down, but the one without a foam coating was the only one in flames. The other two were charred, but not on fire.
Morris was pleased with the results of the demonstration.
"Overall I was impressed with the unit," he said. "We need to decide budgetwise if the expense is worth what it can do for us. It's not something we'd use every day."
The foam is biodegradable and can be used on trees and shrubs.