Lake Assault Boats has one of its fireboats on duty with the Waconia (MN) Fire Department. The custom-built craft, named GURADIAN, was placed into service on Lake Waconia late last summer.

SUPERIOR, WI—Lake Assault Boats, a manufacturer of purpose-built and mission-specific fire and rescue boats, has one of its fireboats on duty with the Waconia (MN) Fire Department. The custom-built craft, named GUARDIAN, was placed into service on Lake Waconia late last summer and has already responded to several on-the-water emergencies.

“Our fireboat has responded to several calls, in a short period of time and has met all of our expectations,” said Brandon Kolesar, assistant fire chief with the Waconia (MN) Fire Department. “We’ve had weather-related emergencies, a multiagency missing person event that included hundreds of man-hours, and calls to assist people in small craft that needed help to get off the water. The Lake Assault boat handles the waves and rough water really well, so we’ve had no issues going out, securing them, and getting them safely back to shore.”

During the purchase process, one of the department’s challenges was to forecast future on-the-water emergency response needs. The community anticipates that the lake activity will continue to grow, especially with the proposed addition of new running paths, hiking trails, park buildings, and camping on Lake Waconia’s Coney Island.

The custom Lake Assault modified V-hull design features a landing craft style configuration with a hydraulically operated bow door and removable side railings to enable faster and more efficient rescue operations. The 21-foot fireboat is equipped with an extended T-top-style cabin with a roll-up security door for the helm station; a 250-hp Mercury Verado 4-stroke engine; a 500-gpm deck mounted fire pump and monitor; four remote controlled spotlights; a stokes carrier; and a Garmin 12-inch touchscreen with Chartplotter, GPS, maps, and sonar.

The boat, intended to be docked at one of the local marinas, is poised for a rapid response. “One of our biggest fears is a collision on the water with multiple injuries,” explained Kolesar. “It’s this possibility that requires the capabilities we have with the new fireboat. It’s the ultimate platform to work from, secure patients, and to allow us to navigate into shallower waters. We’ve received positive feedback from the Carver County Dive Team.”

“I didn’t believe we’d be able to afford a fireboat that could meet our needs and fit our budget,” said Kolesar. “One of our captains came across Lake Assault at a trade show and we discovered we could get something in our price range. We’ve been really pleased–and it’s certainly been an eye grabber in the community.”

For more information, visit www.lakeassault.com.

CLICK ABOVE FOR A WUI EQUIPMENT GALLERY >>

By Alan M. Petrillo

The recent Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) conference run by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada, provided an opportunity for wildland firefighters and incident commanders to handle a variety of equipment and gear used by wildland teams in suppressing fires.

Kevin Younker, owner of Younkers Welding and Trident Pumps in Alberta, Canada, exhibited the Trident Pump in Reno, a 3,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump mounted on a Polaris 6x6 utility task vehicle (UTV) designed to be able to get into wildland areas inaccessible to traditional wildland pumpers. Younker says the Trident Pump can be driven into an area or dropped in by helicopter.

"We have two models, 3,000-gpm and 5,000-gpm," Younker says, "that can be deployed in any body of water that can support a draw of 300,000 gallons an hour. This pump is designed to drive to a stream, lake, or other water source where you can drop its suction hose into the water and pump into a bladder, portable tank, or to supply lines. The Trident Pump can draft water from depths as shallow as six inches."

Younker notes that his company had two Trident Pumps operating at the massive Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta in 2016. "The Trident Pump can run for weeks at a time with a two-person crew, and has a built-in auto shifting transmission that allows for the movement of water great distances at extreme head," he adds. "Multiple pumps can be linked to reach distances of 10 miles for those fires that have no water source close by."

MTECH Inc. displayed its QTAC Model 85HP UTV fire skid, consisting of a WATERAX Versax® 6 83-gpm at 50 pounds per square inch (psi) pump with an 85-gallon water tank. Jason Black, MTECH's president, says the Model 85HP has a two-inch gated tank-to-pump discharge, a one-inch pump-to-reel discharge, a one-inch gated auxiliary discharge, a one-inch manual Hannay hose reel, and 50 feet of ¾-inch booster line. "This pump can deliver up to 105 gpm at 120 psi, giving the knockdown power needed for UTV-based firefighting situations," Black says.

In addition, MTECH makes the 300S, a skid unit with a WATERAX Versax 6 105-gpm pump and 300-gallon water tank as well as the 200S, firefighting skid with a Versax 105-gpm pump and 200-gallon water tank. Black points out that MTECH also manufactures welded copolymer truck bodies. "They are lightweight, dent- and impact-resistant, and corrosion-proof," he says. "Copolymer bodies are more durable than aluminum, are lighter than steel, and are able to withstand the rigorous demands of wildland firefighting."

Hale Products Inc. displayed several pump offerings, including its PowerFlow model wildland pumps with maximum pressures of 220 to 375 psi, giving maximum flows of 110 to 155 gpm. Hale also makes high-flow portable pumps that give flows of 300 to 500 gpm at 100 to 165 psi maximum pressure. In addition, Hale makes the Fyr Pak, a compact backpack pump configuration that is driven by a two-cycle 8-hp engine and weighs 34 pounds, as well as the Fyr Flote, a floating pump that will pump water from as little as four inches in depth.

WATERAX displayed several of its products, including the Versax cart system, a self-prim

CLICK ABOVE FOR A GALLERY OF BILL'S OBSERVATIONS >>

By Bill Adams

Catchy title, eh? This isn’t about the Raisin Squad having morning coffee watching joggers running by the station. I showed the Squad some photos taken at FDIC International of the working ends of pumpers and the general use of and lack of grab handles. Some observations of the not-your-primetime players have merit, reinforcing my prior rantings that climbing onto a rig to get a primary piece of equipment is unsafe. And, when climbing on or off of a rig with a piece of equipment you should always have one hand for me and one hand for thee. Looking at grab rails on a blue print doesn’t always reflect real life. A purchasing specification is almost useless when it only says “there shall be one horizontal hand rail below the hosebed and one vertical handrail on each side.” (Disclaimer: Some of the photos are of apparatus not yet delivered, hence not all grab rails may be installed.) The captions are paraphrased from the white hairs’ comments.

In Section 15.8, The National Fire Protection Association NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, addresses Access Handrails or Handholes. Sentence 15.8.5 is—in my simple mind—important. It says: Handrails and handholds shall be constructed so that three points of contact (two hands and one foot, or one hand and two feet) can be maintained at all times while ascending and descending.” It does not say anything about carrying equipment and maintaining the three points of contact. Can you? Should you? Do you have to? It’s nap time—later.

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A man has been critically injured in a fire at a Tacoma apartment Thursday. The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. in an 11th floor unit at the Orion Apartments on St. Helens Avenue, according to Joe Meinecke with Tacoma Fire. Firefighters arrived to find the apartment unit full of smoke, but credit a sprinkler system from keeping the fire from spreading to adjacent units and helping firefighters douse the flames.
- PUB DATE: 5/25/2017 7:24:35 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000