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.

Coxreels recently introduced an industrial duty LED light now available on the PC13 (Power Cord) cord reels. The new LED light features a variety of industrial-grade features, including: an LED end-light feature, internal light diffuser, adjustable steel hooks for hands-free placement, and shatter-resistant polycarbonate lenses. Coxreels’ new LED light is UL Listed with a 50,000 hour rating.
Manufactured with 5000K light color and made in the U.S.A., this reel is a must-have for a variety of applications.

Coxreels® has remained steadfast and focused on manufacturing high quality, industrial grade hose, cord, and cable reels with leading industry innovation since 1923. Offering a full product line serving the industry in every channel and application, Coxreels® takes great pride in designing, building, and supporting each and every product made exclusively in the U.S.A.

For further information on Coxreels® industrial duty LED light, contact Customer Service at (800) 269-7335 or visit www.coxreels.com.

Nomex® Nano Flex technology is the big news in VIKING’s new, triple-layered, yet super lightweight range of NFPA-compliant hoods that protect the head and neck area from heat and potentially dangerous particles.

There’s a clear gap between the protection offered by the FR (flame-resistant) knit hoods used today by many firefighters and the capabilities of modern high-tech fabrics. To narrow that gap VIKING Life- Saving Equipment has announced it is releasing a triple-layered, lightweight range of new firefighting hoods that make the most of revolutionary DuPont™ Nomex® Nano Flex material.

Combining protection and comfort

The new VIKING NFPA-compliant hoods are constructed with a paper-thin layer of DuPont™ Nomex® Nano-Flex between layers of comfortable viscose. On the one hand, DuPont’s innovative material acts as a barrier that filters out particles over 100 times smaller than the human eye can see – while simultaneously providing high breathability for maximum comfort. At the same time, the hoods provide a 25-percent improvement in thermal protection performance (TPP) compared with conventional FR knit materials. This means greater protection of the facial and neck region, where a hood is usually the single line of defense. At the same time the hood is designed to fit comfortably under the helmet.

“Using Nomex® Nano Flex in our firefighter hood composite structure provides improved particle barrier protection, especially around the neckline and upper jaw – areas that easily absorb chemicals,” says Lars Kersting, Global Fire Sales Director. “And the material’s incredibly lightweight keeps the hood comfortable despite the multi-layer design.”

Proven barrier performance

To test the hood’s particle-filtering performance, wear trials were conducted with hoods containing the Nomex® Nano Flex barrier sandwiched between the viscose layers on one half of the hood. After the wear trials, the hoods were turned inside out and inspected, and the numbers of particles penetrating the hood with then without the paper-thin Nomex® Nano Flex protective layer were compared. Results reflected up to 4 times improved particle barrier efficiency.

Nomex® Nano Flex is a specialty nonwoven textile made of submicron continuous fibers, providing a superior protective barrier. Moreover, heat and flame protection is inherent to the Nomex® fiber – meaning this capability can’t be washed away or worn out.

Founded in 1960, VIKING is a privately held market leader in maritime and fire safety with group headquarters in Denmark. The company provides essential firefighting and safety equipment for structural firefighting as well as marine and offshore applications.

More: www.VIKING-fire.com and www.VIKING-life.com