Firefighting Foam Market and Segment by Type (Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), Alcohol Resistant Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AR-AFFF), Protein Foam (PF), Synthetic Detergent Foam (Medium and High Expansion), Others), by End-use, and by Regions, | Global Market Forecast 2024-2032

Firefighting Foam Market Report Scope & Overview:

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The Firefighting Foam Market Size was valued at USD 5.2 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 7.21 billion by 2032 and grow at a CAGR of 3.7% over the forecast period 2024-2032.

The increased awareness concerning fire safety regulations and processes drives substantial growth and development across various industry sectors. The growing fire accident rates and strict government laws formulated for the installation of firefighting equipment have become major market drivers due to rising concerns about industrial safety standards. Demand for firefighting foam in the US has been growing owing to the damage caused to human life and environmental surroundings, which is projected to continue by the forecast period. Moreover, the rise of the manufacturing industries, petrochemicals, construction, and industries related to aviation and oil and gas boost demand towards firefighting foams. There are a variety of foams available in the market, which have different requirements depending on the nature of the end-use industry, including Aqueous Film Forming Foam, Protein Foam, Synthetic Detergent Foam, and Alcohol-Resistant Aqueous Film Forming Foam. Advanced firefighting technologies that have been adopted include new methods of fighting fires, such as compressed air foam systems and high-expansion foam systems, which have powered market growth. The class-action lawsuit on AFFF firefighting foam remains alive.

However, it was noted that according to lawsuit legal news, legal actions over active firefighting foam continue to increase from 8,270 filed in June to 9,198 as of July 2024. One of the newer filings is a case where a Kentucky resident filed a lawsuit over severe and life-threatening health complications, including thyroid disease, from alleged AFFF exposure. It adds to a building body of evidence that links exposure from AFFF firefighting foams to a myriad of health issues, especially among firefighters and other first responders who have had manifold contacts, often over many years, with these substances in the line of duty.

The Department of the Air Force will have entirely replaced its stockpiled AFFF firefighting substances with a new fluorine-free formula, F-3, by the beginning of July 2024, totally free of PFAS firefighting chemicals. This is part of the larger Defense Department's initiative, for which $8.55 million was budgeted to acquire over 270,000 gallons of F3. Replacement started overseas and worked its way back to stateside bases. The case count for AFFF showed a pretty healthy jump of active lawsuits from 8,270 in June to 9,198. One of those new lawsuits naming the usual cast of characters was filed. The global fire suppression products is likely to rise steadily over the next few years, assuring protection to people, property, and assets because industries are demanding for techniques that would effectively suppress fires.

MARKET DYNAMICS

KEY DRIVERS:

• Increasing cases of fire breakouts and their disastrous outcomes in terms of lives and property.

The growing cases of fire disasters, resulting in loss of life and property, are likely to take the world's attention towards fire protection. From January to April of 2024, the Ghana National Fire Service put fire outbreaks at 2,764, as against the 2,683 cases in 2023, and attended to 176 road traffic accidents with 747 injuries and 92 deaths, as well as 52 other distress calls that resulted in 19 injuries and 12 deaths. Similarly, On May 26, a fire at Baby Care New Born Hospital in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar resulted in the deaths of seven newborns, while 12 were rescued. The previous day, a fire at TRP Game Zone in Rajkot, Gujarat, killed 33 people, including nine children under 16. That essentially translates to increased spending by companies around the world in facility protection. Stringent regulations further drive the growth of the use of automatic fire suppression systems using fire-resistant foams. One of the most influential organizations developing fire safety standards—the National Fire Protection Association—is increasingly beyond the US borders. Their goal is to make NFPA standards a global benchmark in promoting best practices for fire safety.

RESTRAIN:

• Cost Restraints and Budgetary Constraints

The cost constraints at the end-user level and budgetary limits, particularly amongst industries bound by limited resources and budgetary constraints. High-performance firefighting foams, specially designed formulations, and other environmental-grade alternatives usually come with a higher price tag than conventional foam products in most instances. The high upfront costs of purchasing firefighting foams and continuous expenses related to storage, maintenance, and disposal could stress budgets for firefighting operations and emergency response teams. Moreover, municipal fire departments, airports, and other public facilities sometimes have limited budgets and competing priorities that may discourage investment in better firefighting foam solutions. Cost factors and budget constraints deter some end-users from switching to far superior firefighting foam products or investing in preventative fire protection, hence constraining growth in this firefighting foam market segment.

OPPORTUNITY:

• Rising Demand for High-Performance Specialty Foams

High-performance specialty foams will be in demand for special requirements in the field of fire suppression and firefighting. Specialty foams for fighting high-flammability liquids, hydrocarbon spills, and Class B fires with volatile fuels and chemicals can find a market in industries such as oil and gas, petrochemical, aviation, and marine, which need superior firefighting capabilities. Improvements in fighting foams have also led to the introduction of specialty foams that further enhance fire suppression, knockdown times, and fuel and environmental resistance. Such specialty foams today have huge applications, including the likes of alcohol-resistant foam, AR-AFFF, film-forming foam or FFF, and aqueous film-forming foam, AFFF, in such sophisticated fire scenarios and offer enhanced performance in firefighting. The high demand for specialty foams with excellent performance translates to a key growth driver in the segment: tailored solutions against changing fire protection requirements.

KEY MARKET SEGMENTS

By Foam Type

• Alcohol-resistant Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AR-AFFF)

• Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF)

• Fluoroprotein Foam (FP)

• Protein Foam (P)

• Synthetic Foam (S)

• High-expansion Foam (HEF)

• Medium-expansion Foam (MEF)

• Low-expansion Foam (LEF)

• Film-forming Fluoroprotein Foam (FFFP)

• Alcohol-resistant Film-forming Fluoroprotein Foam (AR-FFFP)

• Others  

By form type, the aqueous film-forming foam dominated the firefighting foam market in 2023. A key property of AFFF is the ability to form a film instantly when coming out of a nozzle. AFFF serves as a very good blanketing agent for fuel-based fires, wherein the agent works in laying down a layer of foam on the burning hydrocarbon fuel, providing it to be like a thermal barrier between combustion and, in effect, extinguishing the fire. Another added advantage of AFFF is that it is water-based, with other elements such as glycol ethers and ethylene/propylene glycol added to lengthen the life of the foam. This stems from a unique feature of AFFF: when AFFF is discharged from a nozzle, it has instant film-forming characteristics. When combating fuel fires, AFFF serves as a blanket to cover the burning hydrocarbon fuel in a layer of foam. This foam acts as a kind of thermal barrier to conduct a block in combustion, which in turn smothers the fire. Another added advantage of AFFF is that it is water-based. Water is the major constituent; added to it are other components like glycol ethers and ethylene/propylene glycol that increase the life of the foam.

By Material Type 

• Class A (Solid Materials)

• Class B (Liquid & Gas Fires)

• Class C (Electrical Fires)

• Class D (Metal Fires)

• Class K (Kitchen Fires) 

By fire type, the Class A segment dominated the firefighting foam market in 2023 with over 45% of total generated revenue. Foams that address fires in common combustible materials like wood, paper, fabrics, and plastics fall under Class A. Accidental fires have become a common occurrence in almost all industries and are sometimes bound to spread due to a variety of fuel sources. Map pressurized water is utilized by firefighters to extinguish Class A fires. Class B fires involve flammable and combustible liquids, including gasoline, alcohol, oil paints, and lacquers. These are a different challenge from Class A fires and cannot be hosed down with water for a couple of reasons: these fuels are normally less dense than water.

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By End-Use  

• Oil & Gas

• Chemicals & Petrochemicals

• Aviation

• Marine & Offshore

• Warehouses & Storage Facilities

• Residential & Commercial Buildings

• Transportation (Road & Rail)

• Military & Defense

• Manufacturing Facilities

• Others

The oil & gas segment dominated the consumption of fire-resistant foam and accounted for more than 25.4% of the global market in 2023. This can be explained by the risky operation of highly flammable liquids and gases in this industry. In case of an accident, a fire in the field of oil & gas can turn into a great blaze, leading to vast property damage and environmental pollution, besides threatening human lives. Oil-well fires are known to have devastating consequences. Such fires sometimes lead to losses of millions of barrels of crude oil per day, which translates to huge economic losses. Vast amounts of smoke and unburnt petroleum, coupled with continuous fuel supply, pose severe ecological problems.

REGIONAL ANALYSIS

Asia Pacific dominated the global fire-resistant foam market, holding more than a 35% contribution to the total generated revenues in 2023. The growth of various industries—such as chemicals, marine, automotive, and aviation—acts as the main driver for this domination. These industries are on a significant rise and thus automatically increase the demand for fire safety solutions like fire-resistant foams. Among the major driving factors in the regional market across Asia Pacific is the growth in chemical production, which, while increasingly promising, entails an associated potential risk of fire accidents resulting from a lack of proper measures applied to ensure industrial safety.

REGIONAL COVERAGE:

North America

• US

• Canada

• Mexico

Europe

• Eastern Europe

  • Poland

  • Romania

  • Hungary

  • Turkey

  • Rest of Eastern Europe

• Western Europe

  • Germany

  • France

  • UK

  • Italy

  • Spain

  • Netherlands

  • Switzerland

  • Austria

  • Rest of Western Europe

Asia Pacific

• China

• India

• Japan

• South Korea

• Vietnam

• Singapore

• Australia

• Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

• Middle East

  • UAE

  • Egypt

  • Saudi Arabia

  • Qatar

  • Rest of Middle East

• Africa

  • Nigeria

  • South Africa

  • Rest of Africa

Latin America

• Brazil

• Argentina

• Colombia

• Rest of Latin America  

 KEY PLAYERS:

Some of the major players in the Firefighting Foam Market are BIO EX S.A.S., ANGUS FIRE, National Foam, Perimeter Solution, DIC Corp., Johnson Controls, Dafo Fomtec AB, Fabrik Chemischer Praparate von Dr. Richard Sthamber GmbH & Co. KG, Kerr Fire, SFFECO GLOBAL, Viking Group Inc., and other players.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• May 2024: Cross Plains Solutions, a firm that develops environmentally sustainable fire-fighting foams, has introduced SoyFoam, a fire extinguishing foam free of PF. SoyFoam is 100% free of intentionally added PFAS and manufactured with no fluorines.

• April 2024: Tyco Fire Products, a company owned by Johnson Controls, agreed to pay US$ 750 Mn to settle claims brought by some U.S. public water systems in litigation asserting contamination of their water supplies by the continual toxic "forever chemicals" within firefighting foam manufactured by the firm.

• March 2024: Angus has developed new fire foam that fights fires just as well, or even better, than older types that contain harmful chemicals (PFAS). This change comes because of stricter regulations and Angus Fire's commitment to sustainable solutions. They've stopped making the older foam as of 2024.

• January 2023: The U.S. Department of Defense released a new challenge for firefighting foam makers. Their F3 Military Specification sets the toughest testing standards in the world for military-grade fire extinguishing agents. This version clarifies the significance of the F3 MIL-SPEC for foam concentrate manufacturers and highlights its rigor compared to other existing standards.