It's a foam party for Safety in Hangar 1

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Dachelle Melville
Barksdale Air Force Base, La. --  A high expansion foam fire suppression system test was successfully conducted in the Air Force Reserve Command B-52 maintenance hangar on Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana on Wednesday, March 4.

Contractors from three different companies hired to install the new system completed the full operational test to ensure that the fire suppression system would operate as intended.

As foam quickly filled up the hangar to the height of eight to ten feet in less than three minutes; the building custodian, Master Sgt. Clarence Carmack assigned to the 307th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, observed, "This is incredible, the foam spread so much faster than we thought it would." This test of the fire suppression system culminates over a year's worth of work from multiple civilian contractors to install the new system.

According to MSgt Carmack, Hangar One was built in 1935, and is the oldest active aircraft hangar on Barksdale. The installation of the fire suppression system is just one of many upgrades over the past couple of years to the hangar. The ability of the foam to rapidly cover a large area is important when working on large aircraft such as the B-52. This system not only saves lives, but also aircraft and equipment as well.