As the compressed-air foam system (CAFS) instructional program manager for Waterous, I’ve had the opportunity to travel not only across the country, but also around the world teaching classes. This has allowed me to see the different tools and methods used by various fire agencies. What I’ve learned through my travels is that, essentially, we all have the same job to do, but the ways in which we approach it can be quite different.
Occasionally, I run across an agency that’s willing to think outside the box and ignore the old fire service tradition of “100 years of tradition unimpeded by progress.” Such was the case recently when I traveled to Australia to help train the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) on its first CAF-capable apparatus. The truck is equipped with some unique innovations that enable it to effectively deal with the agency’s target hazards. Also of interest is the process by which the concept of the apparatus came to life.
Tasmania & the TFS: A Closer Look
The TFS consists of 260 fire stations, 5,000 volunteer firefighters and 300 career firefighters. The fleet of operational fire apparatus totals 500, 95% of which are four-wheel-drive vehicles.
The predominant fire risks in Tasmania include vegetation and wildland/urban interface (WUI) areas. The new apparatus will be predominantly utilized in the WUI, where it will be pre-deployed to protect properties and assets, and to establish control lines during bush fire events.
One key fact about the TFS: It is the only fire agency in Australia that designs and fabricates apparatus in house. The agency has a fabrication facility in the southern part of the state at Cambridge, just 15 minutes from the Hobart CBD, the capital of Tasmania. The TFS tailors apparatus to the needs of the end user, engaging in consultative forums with end users and national agencies to ensure that they’re keeping abreast of emerging technologies and practices. Leon “Alfy” Smith is the manager of Engineering Services, overseeing the fabrication program, as well as the ongoing maintenance and repair of the fleet state-wide. The annual budget for appliance replacement is around $3 million.
The TFS & CAFS
The use of normally-aspirated Class A foam is engrained in the TFS culture from a wildfire perspective and is slowly gaining acceptance in urban operations. The use of CAF was a concept that the TFS had been talking about for years, and there was some interest from personnel who had prior exposure to CAFS to integrate it into the fleet, but it was never embraced, mostly due to a lack of insight into its capabilities. So in 2009, the TFS began researching CAFS at FDIC; they also surveyed other agencies in Australia that had used CAFS. Two agencies, the ACTESA (Canberra) and the Country Fire Service (CFS) in southern Australia, had CAFS-capable apparatus, were utilizing the technology and were singing its praises. The TFS then continued its research through CAFS manufacturers. All of the data was considered in the context of the risks faced by the TFS. An apparatus was then designed with specific applications and capabilities in mind. Specs were developed and the budget for the apparatus was determined. In December 2012, the TFS was provided apparatus funding by the state government.
Outsourcing the Project
Although the TFS has the capacity to design and fabricate fire apparatus within its workshop, it was determined that the project was too time-consuming to do in-house, so the decision was made to outsource the project. The funds for the project also had to be expended within six months, so the timeframe was short.
The TFS contacted Mills-Tui, a fire apparatus builder in Brisbane, Queensland, which agreed to build the apparatus. The project began in early January 2013. After a very smooth total design and build time of seven months, the apparatus was delivered in August 2013. Note: During this time, Tasmania was experiencing the worst bush fire event since 1967 when 200 homes were lost and more than 90,000 personnel hours and 50,000 vehicle operating hours were utilized to mitigate the incidents. This dramatically emphasized the need for an innovative addition to the apparatus fleet.
Training On the New Apparatus
Training is a critical component to placing an apparatus, particularly one as innovative as this, into service. Joint training was conducted for the TFS by Waterous, and by the Queensland Fire Service and the Canberra Fire Service, both of which have extensive experience in CAFS use. The training was conducted at the Queensland Fire Training Center and included three days of both classroom didactic and hands-on live-fire instruction.
A Final Note
When writing specifications for a new apparatus, we often fall back on what we’ve done in the past. We may incorporate a couple of new features that we saw in a trade journal or at a trade show, but we’re rarely willing to truly think outside the box. This apparatus is one example of how we can design equipment to help us do our job more effectively, efficiently and safely. All it takes is a willingness to determine the risks and find new ways to mitigate them.
Sidebar – TFS Pumper/Tender Specs
Some of the features incorporated into the new TFS apparatus by the manufacturer, Mills-Tui:
- Hino 2630 chassis with a two-door cab, automatic transmission and 52,000 GVW.
- Four-wheel-drive for off-road capability.
- Carries 2,100 gallons of water (8,000 L) and 52 gallons (200 L) of Class A foam.
- An external Class B foam pick-up, which was added for use on flammable-liquid incidents and for aviation crash rescue.
- A Waterous 1,250/200 CAFS, which incorporates a 1,250-gpm, single-stage Waterous pump and a 200-cfm GHH Rand air compressor. (Currently, this is the largest-capacity CAFS-capable pump system in the Asia Pacific region.) The pump is an engine-driven pump capable of pumping at full capacity from a tank via a 5″ tank-to-pump valve.
- The engine is a six-cylinder Deutz. The system was originally designed to be cross-mounted on the chassis in the normal pump position on the apparatus. In this application, it was mounted longitudinally on the center of the chassis, with cabinets on both sides, allowing for better use of the space. Note: The big advantage of this engine-driven system is that it provides true pump-and-roll capability because the pump is not tied to the chassis power train and therefore pump pressure is not tied to road speed. This is critical in WUI situations where the apparatus may need to move at varying speeds and stop frequently while performing firefighting or structure protection operations.
- Swing-out cabinets, which allow for complete access to the pump system.
- Class 1 multiplexing with TFT control integration and an electronic engine governor, which allow for seamless integration of the chassis, pump systems and other accessories.
- A customized touch-panel on the pump panel, which centrally locates the pump and CAFS controls.
- Dual pump controls at both the pump panel and in the cab, which allows for ease of use during both stationary pumping and pump-and-roll operations, as well as full operation of the pump and CAFS from either location.
- FLIR thermal-imaging cameras mounted on the front and rear for optimal visibility and safety; they can be viewed in cab and streamed to a control center.
- Remote-control TFT bumper turrets were installed front and rear for both stationary and pump-and-roll applications.
- Remote-control deck gun mounted on the top and center of the apparatus for use when big water or large volumes of CAFS are needed.
- Elkhart ICS discharge valves are utilized for each CAFS-capable discharge. These valves control both air and foam solution to the hoseline and have three presets available to make producing the correct foam easy and repeatable.
