Redefining firefighting foam performance with Dafo Fomtec

Dafo Fomtec CEO Jon Olav Ottesen discusses how regulation, performance standards and innovation are reshaping the firefighting foam market on both sides of the Atlantic 

You founded Dafo Fomtec some 25 years ago. What are the most significant changes you’ve seen in the firefighting foam industry during that period, particularly as North America has evolved alongside Europe? 

Two changes; the first was the development of foam concentrate of higher concentrations, e.g. 1% or 1 x 3 which reduced the volume of foam concentrates required by many users such as marine/offshore or emergency response in industrial complexes. 

The second has been the regulatory (restrictions) on use of PFAS leading to the move from longer chain C8 to C6 chemistry and now to the development and use of high-performance fluorine free foam concentrates. 

North America represents a complex regulatory environment, with federal, state and industry standards developing at the same time. How do you navigate that while still delivering consistent solutions? 

We have always produced products that are tested and approved to appropriate US standards such as UL, FM or MIL-SPEC and this has not changed as we have moved towards a PFAS free product offering into North America. 

A bigger challenge for Fomtec in the North American market has been the fact that we are a Swedish manufacturer competing in a market with established companies who manufacture in country.  

Jon Olav Ottesen

We previously worked with toll blenders for our Class A and AFFF product lines, but the volumes were never attractive enough to achieve the economies of scale that supported this approach. 

We have therefore maintained product inventories in warehouses in various locations directly and with strategic partners Viking Group. 

Regulatory pressure has, of course, accelerated the shift toward fluorine-free and more sustainable foams. How has this reshaped your innovation strategy, particularly in North America? 

Even as we were working on the transition from C8 to C6 foams, we recognised that the future was “fluorine free” and in 2011 we kicked off our R&D programme that we called the “Enviro Programme”.  

The last 15 years this programme, which has involved more than 3500 full scale fire tests, has seen Fomtec bring more than 20 products to the market, including the Enviro USP and ARK which have become market leading system foams to FM standards with non-aspirated sprinklers.  

All of these high-performance Enviro foam concentrates offer predictable viscosity and reliable stability as no Fomtec foams are based on partially hydrated polymers. 

Over this period the Enviro Programme has pushed the boundaries of performance with different fuels, elevated temperatures, discharge heights and different discharge devices.  

We have tested to many different fire performance standards and taken part in numerous test programmes that have scaled up laboratory testing to better simulate real world scenarios.  

Throughout the programme we have stayed true to our mantra of “data not opinions.” 

Performance expectations in North America are often uncompromising, especially in high-risk sectors. How do you ensure new technologies meet these demands while aligning with environmental goals? 

When it comes to fire testing standards Fomtec has always tended to follow the UL and FM standards as in comparison to the EN standards the foam qualities used for the fire performance testing have to mimic those achievable with real world discharge devices.  

Beyond the fire performance, requirements standards such as the EN 1568:2018 and MIL-PRF-32725(2) incorporate Ecotox standards that are tested as part of the approval.  

Jon Olav Ottesen

Finally, the fluorine free products that we primarily promote in North America, USP, ARK and MIL are all GreenScreen Silver rated and our latest product the Enviro 3 x 3 NEO is currently being evaluated and we expect that it will also achieve the Silver rating. 

Looking ahead, what do you see as the next phase of the firefighting foam industry and what role do you expect North America to play in shaping regulation, adoption and innovation? 

Similar to Europe we expect to see the North American markets place timelines on the use of PFAS containing foams even in high-risk applications as found in the POG sector and aviation.  

Jon Olav Ottesen

For example, in commercial airports the FAA continues to allow the use of either Mil Spec AFFF or Mil Spec F3 (SFFF) and we believe as the major US airports transition voluntarily there will come a time when the FAA will regulate the end of the usage of the Mil Spec AFFF. 

Do you anticipate closer global alignment on standards in the coming years, or will regional differences, particularly between North America and Europe, continue to define product development? 

I think that it is highly unlikely that the design standards and associated fire performance test standards applicable in North America and Europe will align closer!  

Perhaps the only area of note is that fire performance standards under UL and FM for foam assisted sprinklers are being discussed as part of the latest revision of EN 1568 and EN 13565-2. 

If you look a decade ahead, what will define success for firefighting foam solutions in North America? 

We are seeing reviews of risk analysis in some applications where foam has been the “agent of choice” so part of the success for foam and foam systems will be that transitions and new build projects remain as foam systems. 

We will no doubt see continued development of high performance SFFF’s with improvements in the chemistry and hopefully more companies following Fomtec’s approach of not formulating with partially hydrated polymers. 

For Fomtec success in North America will be achieving our market share goals which will allow us to open our own manufacturing facility, thereby improving our ability to meet the market requirements.  

Jon Olav Ottesen

Until that time we will continue to hold inventory in country. 

This article was originally published in the February issue of Fire & Safety Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.