USE OF HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT ACRYLIC POLYMERS IN FIRE FIGHTING FOAMS

Aqueous firefighting composition concentrates are provided that contain an effective amount of a high molecular weight water soluble anionic acrylic polymer, an effective amount of at least one high molecular weight polysaccharide gum; and an effective amount of at least one surfactant. In the present context, a high molecular weight water-soluble anionic acrylic polymer is a polymer with an average molecular weight Mw of at least one million (1000 kDa). The combination of the acrylic polymer and the gum provide a concentrate that generates foam with highly desirable firefighting properties, including high foam expansion ratio, long burnback time, and slow drainage time while avoiding problems with previous gum-containing foam concentrates, such as high viscosity and component separation upon storage.