After weathering six judges, a long preliminary hearing, a botched plea deal, countless legal motions and no shortage of emotional courtroom drama, the trial of two men held responsible for the deaths of 36 people in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire 2 1/2 years ago finally begins Tuesday. Prosecutors are scheduled to deliver opening statements laying out their case against Derick Almena, 49, and Max Harris, 29, who are charged with 36 counts each of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the Dec.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: East Bay Times

Negotiators for the city and the executive board of Warwick’s firefighters union have reached agreement on a proposed union contract that would bolster the city’s financial position, Mayor Joseph J. Solomon said Tuesday. The proposed contract, which remains subject to ratification votes by the union’s membership and by Warwick’s City Council, would incorporate pension language already written into the city’s ordinances, said Solomon.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Providence Journal

State lawmakers are working to curb and document the use of contaminated firefighting foam with a trio of bills. Fire chiefs who use firefighting foam that contained per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances would be required to report its usage within 48 hours, including details on the location, quantity used, nearby waterways and cleanup efforts.
- PUB DATE: 5/1/2019 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Detroit News

Johnson Siding (SD) Fire Department Max-WASP wildland attack structural pumper. Ford F-550 four-wheel-drive four-door cab and chassis; Power Stroke 6.7L 330-hp engine; 4 Continental MPT 81 335/80 R 20 Super Single tires; Darley PSMC 1.500-gpm pump.

BY ALAN M. PETRILLO

 

It isn’t always necessary to have extra large pumps on vehicles or in portable unit form when water needs to be moved. Pump manufacturers have come out with a variety of pump models and styles that move water well without being a hulking chunk of piping and equipment.

HIGH-PRESSURE PUMPS

Justin Wilbur, product and business development manager for portable pumps at IDEX Fire Suppression Group’s Hale Products, says Hale makes several models of high-pressure, low-volume pumps that are widely used in wildland firefighting. “These pumps generate the power that pushes water long distances and up inclines,” Wilbur observes. “Our HP75 pump powered by a Briggs & Stratton 18-horsepower (hp) gasoline engine delivers a maximum flow of 150 gallons per minute (gpm) and a maximum pressure of 350 pounds per square inch (psi). With a 23-hp Briggs & Stratton engine, the HP75 puts out a maximum flow of 160 gpm and a maximum pressure of 425 psi.”

Jason Darley, North American sales manager for the pump division at W.S. Darley & Company, says all the portable pumps that Darley makes can be configured in either skid or portable versions. “The portable version has a roll cage with carrying handles that have springs and four locking points, so the handles can be depressed inward when not being used for carrying,” Darley points out. Darley makes the HGE 37V, which he says “is often placed on a skid and is powered by a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard 37-hp gasoline engine to develop 500 gpm at higher pressures that can be used for supply or fighting fires.” The HGE 37V develops higher pressures because it uses a gearbox that allows it to develop higher pressures needed for firefighting operations, Darley adds, and is electronically fuel injected.