flashbacks of Ibiza
April 16, 2006 12:46 PM   Subscribe

FOAM When foam tests go wrong.
posted by vronsky (30 comments total)
 
Wow. That's a lot of foam.
posted by magodesky at 12:48 PM on April 16, 2006


Or when foam tests go right.
posted by xil at 12:51 PM on April 16, 2006


Hey, one time (in a drunken haze) I put dish soap in the dishwasher reservoir. My kitchen looked approximately the same.
posted by ninjew at 12:54 PM on April 16, 2006


I had to assume this wasn't a mistake when I saw the pictures a few days ago. If the intent of the system wasn't to potentially fill the hangar, why would the system have a large enough supply of foam to do so? And even if the system was over-supplied for its purpose, I'm sure that humans could have cut the supply before it escalated as far as it did.
posted by chudmonkey at 12:56 PM on April 16, 2006


"The server is too busy at the moment. Please try again later."

Lots.
posted by paulsc at 12:58 PM on April 16, 2006


xil: and there's a matrioska of misconceptions and misrepresentations

Master Sgt. Dana Rogers, 28th Communications Squadron superintendent of network security, said e-mails such as the one depicting the foam test “misrepresent our capabilities” and can even damage computer networks.

“You think it’s so funny, so you send it to 10 people. Then, they send it to 10 more. This takes up an extremely large amount of e-mail space and can lead to the loss of a resource,” he said.


How DARE you send 10 mails you insensitive testicle ? It's obvious the others will do as well and it will grow exponentially ! It MUST BE ! I am head of network security !

Similarly, if letting the foam system run for more then needed proves it is better, then what about letting it run for a couple hours ? It will be EXTRA good , will it ? The doors were opened because these B1 outside really really needed a good wash, but poor John left for Iraq :/ John we miss you !
posted by elpapacito at 1:00 PM on April 16, 2006


Another aspect of e-mails that miscommunicate facts is the amount of time someone may have to take in order to set the record straight. An e-mail that took two seconds to send caused a large number of man-hours to fix.

There is definitely the potential for a loss in duty hours for people in leadership positions, Sergeant Rogers said.

Mr. Mark Wheeler, 28th CES deputy commander agreed.

“A CES commander’s schedule is very demanding,” said Mr. Wheeler. “Any time spent responding to an incident like this is a drain on a very precious resource: time.”

Mr. Wheeler said Colonel Singh spent more than 20 hours investigating this incident, and there were many more hours of investigation done by other members of the squadron who were attempting to re-trace steps and gather facts that would lead to the truth of the matter surrounding the pictures of the foam test.

Instead of focusing on this circulating e-mail, Mr. Wheeler said Colonel Singh’s time could have been better spent.

“Lt. Col. Singh and the entire squadron have spent too much time on this issue,” he explained.

The lesson from this issue is Airmen should think about what they are sending out before hitting the “send” button.

“Before you create an e-mail based upon some pictures you have or partial information you have come across, you should ask yourself if you are really in a position to explain what is happening and why,” Lieutenant Kessler said. “The Air Force of today is extremely busy, and dealing with an issue like this takes us away from focusing on the mission and taking care of our Airmen.”



Foam isn't the only thing they pile high and deep.
posted by srboisvert at 1:01 PM on April 16, 2006


So does anyone have, like, a non-dead image link we could look at, or are we all just going to have to speculate?
posted by delmoi at 1:09 PM on April 16, 2006


I'm just very impressed by that technology. It genuinely looks like it could end a jet fuel fed fire from blowing the place up. I would feel a lot better wheeling high explosives around with those ducts over my head.
posted by PissOnYourParade at 1:12 PM on April 16, 2006


There's a small v. of one of the photos on Boing Boing.
posted by brundlefly at 1:14 PM on April 16, 2006


Hmmm... one of those hangers with a foam system would be a good place for a giant party :)
posted by -harlequin- at 1:43 PM on April 16, 2006


Let's Get Retardent In Here, via Imageshack:

1 2 3 4 5 5b 6 7 8 8b 9

Large-ish pics warning, and apologies for the pun.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 1:43 PM on April 16, 2006


pics are up. Hanger fills up with foam. Then they open the big bay doors and the foam runs out onto the tarmac. Woooooo.

Kinda funny, but not nearly as good as the trucks-with-cranes-falling-into-a-river set that went around a few years back.
posted by zpousman at 1:50 PM on April 16, 2006


-harlequin-: reminds me of a great nightclub years ago. Only with better music and more dancin'. *Sigh* shame they closed it down. Ironically, it was due to to insufficient fire-safety systems.
posted by ArkhanJG at 1:54 PM on April 16, 2006


Quote from the linked page: "You said 15 SECONDS? Not minutes? Sorry, my bad."

Oooooh - FOAM. I thought you said FAME!
posted by syzygy at 1:58 PM on April 16, 2006


Let's Get Retardent In Here

That is excellent.
posted by mendel at 2:13 PM on April 16, 2006


Hey, one time (in a drunken haze) I put dish soap in the dishwasher reservoir. My kitchen looked approximately the same. - ninjew

Once, I didn't notice that an open bottle of liquid soap had fallen into the rack of the dishwasher. Until my kitchen started to look like that episode of the Brady Bunch. It was sitcom level absurd, it was. I was sweeping mountains of bubbles out the back door.

So, you're not alone...and I don't even have the excuse that I was drunk.
posted by dejah420 at 2:15 PM on April 16, 2006


This is inflammatory. Oh, wait a minute, I guess it isn't, actually.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:17 PM on April 16, 2006


This is inflammatory.

Inflammable? Wait, no, not that either.

/just wish "let's get retardant" wasn't taken already.
posted by rkent at 2:38 PM on April 16, 2006


Well, for my part, I liked looking at the pictures.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 5:30 PM on April 16, 2006


CAFS , Compressed Air Foam System (deluge)
Probably installed by the lowest bidding qualified contractor to fulfill AFR (Air Force Regulation) to protect $1.7 billion each aircraft. Required acceptance test of system goes terribly wrong. Possibly a dual interlock detection system with IR detectors, beam detectors, heat and smoke detectors plus manual pull stations.

Hell of an embarassment to those involved; potentially an environmental issue depending on which type of foam (AFFF) involved.

posted by X4ster at 5:32 PM on April 16, 2006


That's exactly what my boss at Hess said would happen if I hit the big red button on the desk. He explained that I better be damned sure a car's seriously on fire before hitting it, because I'd have to clean it up if it was a false alarm.
posted by Busithoth at 5:59 PM on April 16, 2006


i'm looking through

and it all would be so

crystal clear

if it wasn't for the foam

and the foam keeps

getting thicker

and it just keeps

getting harder

and i'm faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalling into a deep well
posted by wakko at 6:52 PM on April 16, 2006


wakko, step away from the bong.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:55 PM on April 16, 2006


ninjew: Hey, one time (in a drunken haze) I put dish soap in the dishwasher reservoir. My kitchen looked approximately the same.

Tried that once, just because I'd run out of the regular kind, with similar results. I must say that the kitchen floor was never cleaner, and I might do it again for that reason.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:29 PM on April 16, 2006


I can't even remember how many times one of my roomates in college produced that effect by putting dishsoap in either the dishwasher or the washing machine but it was quite a few. The cat liked to sleep on top of the dryer and was totally engulfed once, funniest damn thing.
posted by fshgrl at 10:47 PM on April 16, 2006


Oh, the poor Cellar. It's been FARKed and BoingBoinged to within an inch of its life this past week...
posted by Happy Monkey at 4:31 AM on April 17, 2006


Foam if you want to / Foam around the world...
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:19 AM on April 17, 2006


This made my son feel much better after loading the dishwasher with dish soap. Love this!!!!
posted by annieb at 7:15 AM on April 17, 2006


dejah420 writes "Once, I didn't notice that an open bottle of liquid soap had fallen into the rack of the dishwasher. Until my kitchen started to look like that episode of the Brady Bunch. It was sitcom level absurd, it was. I was sweeping mountains of bubbles out the back door. "

If you experience an excessive suds situation the best fix on hand is regular white vinager, it'll kill the suds action.
posted by Mitheral at 10:00 AM on April 18, 2006


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