The 23 fire engines set for their Boston debut this year will be equipped with foam that can be powerfully effective in helping quash certain blazes and are intended to decrease the risk of cancer for city firefighters, officials said Tuesday.
Fire Commissioner Joseph E. Finn said that foam will be used only on dumpster and vehicle blazes, which are most hazardous to firefighters’ health. “There will be no reason a firefighter will need to be up close to a dumpster fire,’’ Finn said at a City Council hearing Tuesday. “The foam will do the job. It will reduce the exposure.” Foam is highly effective in suppressing fires that involve flammable liquids such as gasoline and oil, said Ken Willette, a director at the Quincy-based National Fire Protection Association, which develops standards for fire foam.