Originally Posted by
Tankertrashnav
When I was Station Fire officer at Seletar (1967-68) we were sometimes asked for spare drums of foam compound by blokes who were going shark fishing. Apparently they trickled it into the water behind the boat and the theory was it would attract every shark for miles around. Nobody ever presented us with a shark, though, so I have no idea how effective it was.
Actually it made very good thick foam which didn't disperse quickly, unlike the chemical foam compound which came along later.
I was on 390 MU from early '66 to mid '68. During that period a bulk fuel transfer at 389 MU went disastrously wrong (not earthed correctly?). We could see the flames/smoke then see one side die down then flare up again. It was said later that the foam process had failed due to out of date materials. The saddest part was that some of the people involved had dived into a nearby monsoon drain only for burning fuel to follow them. All hearsay as being a mere erk at the time, I was never privy to any of the official findings.