Fire suppression foam test ensures safety of new fuels hangar

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Spencer Gallien
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The 23rd Civil Engineering Squadron is beginning the final phases of construction on an A-10C Thunderbolt II, two-bay fuel cell maintenance hangar here.

The new fuel cell maintenance hangar, which will be home to the 23rd Component Maintenance Squadron's Fuels flight, jumped its last major hurdle when a fire suppression foam test was conducted Jan. 21, said Lt. Col. Greg Williams, 23rd CES commander.

"The fire suppression foam test went off without a hitch," added Colonel Williams. "Now all we have to do is wait to get our results back from the Naval Safety Center."

During the test, the high expansion foam that helps smother flames during a fire must cover the entire hangar floor with at least three feet of foam in four minutes, said Brian Doak, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project engineer.

"We did it in one minute and 45 seconds," added Mr. Doak. "It performed well above average and there were no problems noted."

The foam contains a mixture of detergent and water that is designed to be non-hazardous and highly effective in fire suppression.

The fuel cell maintenance hangar, is the final facility built in a Base Realignment and Closure package that saw three new facilities constructed here. The other new BRAC facilities include a weapons release shop and an engine test pad.

Currently, the completion date of the hangar is well ahead of schedule. Once the final walkthroughs are complete, the building will become one of the maintenance facilities that will help support the 23rd CMS mission.

"We are looking at turning the building over to the 23rd CMS sometime in the middle of February," said Colonel Williams. "Originally, we had projected the building to be complete sometime in May."

Once the 23rd CMS inherits the facility, 61 fuels cell maintainers will move in and begin work in the brand new building.

"For the 23rd CMS, this means that we will have a first class facility to continue our operations in," said Chief Master Sgt. Darryl Gagne, 23rd CMS maintenance superintendent.

"This really is a great facility for our fuels cell maintainers to work out of," added Chief Gagne. "It's a beautiful building and will be a great addition to the 23rd CMS."