foamite

English

Alternative forms

Foamite

Noun

foamite (uncountable)

A foamy substance formerly used for extinguishing fire, and in making fake snow for movies.
- 1919, General Rules and Regulations Prescribed by the Board of Supervising Inspectors, page 12:
  The following changes relating to foamite fire extinguishers, fire pail, and system were made in the list of equipments approved […]
- 1920, R. B. Foster, J.L. Newman, Petroleum Magazine, page 61:
  Foamite Firefoam is fatal to fire - even blazing oil! Firefoam is a fire smothering, fire extinguishing foam which covers all burning objects like a blanket. It puts out fire quicker than other extinguishing agents, […]
- 1921, Arno Carl Fieldner, Gases Produced in the Use of Carbon Tetrachloride and Foamite Fire Extinguishers in Mines, page 4:
  The tests with foamite extinguishers was conducted in the same manner as the previous test with carbon tetrachloride. Six men equipped with oxygen breathing apparatus and carrying five 2 1/2 - gallon foamite firefoam extinguishers […]
- 2013, Kristi McKim, Cinema as Weather: Stylistic Screens and Atmospheric Change, Routledge, →ISBN, page 142:
  The foamite snow could therefore look soft and fluffy, like a whirling storm, or as wild as a raging blizzard. “Tastes swell, too,” Jimmy Stewart would later tell a publicist.
- 2022 November 8, Orange Hippo!, A Little Book For Christmas: A Collection of Glad Tidings and Festive Cheer, Welbeck Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 150:
  A new kind of snow, made from foamite, sugar, soap flakes and water, was produced for filming.