By Tim Schmidt Record Managing Editor When Warrenton firefighters responded to a recent vehicle fire inside a garage, they were able to quickly extinguish the flames and keep damage to a minimum. Had …
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New Warrenton fire truck a ‘jack-of-all trades’
Posted
By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorWhen Warrenton firefighters responded to a recent vehicle fire inside a garage, they were able to quickly extinguish the flames and keep damage to a minimum.Had it not been for the new compressed air foam system on the department’s new rear-mount rescue-pumper, the outcome could have been worse.Members of the Warrenton Fire Protection District said the foam system will be a huge benefit in their fire-fighting capability.The new system combines water, air and foam in the hose line and allows for a quicker knockdown of a fire than a truck that uses only water, according to district officials. It is the first of its kind in the county.“Because we cover so much rural area, so much area without any fire hydrants, with the foam system, it increases the effectiveness of the water,” Warrenton Fire Chief Mike Owenby said. “It puts out a fire a lot faster. You are shooting a little bit of water, a little bit of foam and a lot of air. It sounds silly to shoot air at it, but when you mix foam with the water, it makes it work that much faster.”The foam system was installed on the fire district’s new rescue-pumper, which was put into service in recent weeks. Last week’s fire was the first time it was put to use other than training exercises.“It will be anywhere from a 4-to-1 to 6-to-1 advantage over water,” Firefighter Tony Bailey said. “What normally would take us an hour will be 20 minutes to half an hour.”The new Rosenbauer rescue-pumper cost the fire district $609,000, the first vehicle it has added to its fleet since 2010. It also has approximately $80,000 in free upgrades.Warrenton received a number of upgrades since the company that sold it the truck, Sentinel Emergency Solutions, was able to showcase the pumper at trade shows and conventions prior to delivery. That allowed the district to have more of the latest technology at its disposal without increasing the price tag.“Without the demo program we could not afford what is sitting here,” Bailey said.The new truck is the first the district has purchased with the pump located at the rear. All of the other trucks in the district’s fleet have the pump in the middle, just behind the cab. That helped move the pump panel to the rear of the passenger side, where the operator can be protected when working on the interstate.The change allowed the district to gain almost twice the compartment space, officials noted. The truck is set up to have rescue equipment stored on the driver’s side, with the space on the passenger side primarily used for fire-fighting tools.“The last three custom engines have been similar with layouts,” firefighter Jeff Dunn said. “This one is a new design. We changed it up and gained a lot. We became more versatile.”The truck also has a room to store equipment on the front bumper, which will allow crews to be able to deploy hydraulic hoses much quicker when arriving on the scene and be able to block interstate traffic. In addition, the size of the water tank has been increased from 750 to 1,000 gallons.The district should also see a considerable amount of savings in fuel. The truck has Green Star technology, allowing a generator to operate the engine and electrical components of the vehicle once it has sat idling for over two minutes.“A truck idling will use a gallon of fuel over an hour,” Owenby said. “With the generator running, it will use a quart of fuel an hour and not put the wear and tear on an engine.”Committee members for the fire district have spent time since at least the middle of 2013 looking and finalizing design plans for the new truck. Now that it’s in use, firefighters feel the pumper will benefit the district well into the future.“We knew what we wanted and we knew what we didn’t want,” Bailey said. “We’re a jack-of-all trades. We have to have a little bit of everything.”
The Warrenton Fire Protection District has added this rescue-pumper to its fleet in recent weeks. The truck cost $609,000, the first vehicle it has added since 2010. It also has approximately $80,000 in free upgrades.
