When a fire broke out at the Motiva terminal on July 19, firefighters from the Allens Avenue station heading out on another call saw a fire ball near the tanker that had been offloading gasoline during a violent electrical storm.

State and city officials began early this year discussing the need for the port to have a sufficient supply of fire-fighting foam in case of a catostrophic fire or a disaster resulting in the failure of a large storage tank, according to DEM. Then, the Motiva fire galvanized the need for more foam.

Although each fire engine in Providence now carries 30 gallons of fire-fighting foam, according to Pare, a crew from T.F. Green Airport was also called in that night for its expertise on battling fires with the use of foam.

The fire-fighting foam works because it forms a blanket over burning fumes and eliminates the vapors, thereby removing the source of ignition, Pare explained.

The $82,497 paid for the fire-fighting foam came out of the state’s Oil Spill Prevention, Administration and Response Fund administered by DEM. That fund is maintained with a five-cent-per-barrel fee on oil received at marine terminals.