Archives > 2007 > September 2007 > Firefighting Field Notes - Hyattstown Orders 4Guys Workhorse

September 2007

Firefighting Field Notes

by Dominic Colletti

Hyattstown Orders 4Guys Workhorse

Recently delivered rescue engine 709, purchased by the Hyattstown (Md.) Volunteer Fire Department, features high-volume compressed air foam capability.

Hyattstown’s fire district, located in northeast Montgomery County, is a predominately rural firefighting environment. Its station is staffed by a combination of career and volunteer firefighters, part of the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Service workforce.

Interesting to note, this 4Guys built engine, ordered by Fire Chief Douglas Edwards, is the first CAFS equipped engine to go in-service in Montgomery County. The county will soon start taking delivery of the first of 37 new CAFS equipped engines that are on order thorough Elite Fire Apparatus, Tilleda, Wis. It’s believed Montgomery County’s order is largest single purchase of CAFS equipped, full-size pumpers by any fire department in the United States.

Well-Equipped

Hyattstown’s rescue engine 709 is well-equipped. It includes a Spartan Gladiator chassis with a 10-inch raised roof. The Caterpillar 525 hp engine has plenty of ponies to move the unit around town. With tandem rear axles, the unit holds a 1,500-gallon water tank, a 40-gallon Class A foam concentrate reservoir, a Hale 1,750-gpm Qmax midship pump and a CAFSPro compressed air foam system.

Chief Edwards explained that Hyattstown added CAFS to its fire suppression arsenal because his district has no pressurized hydrants, making water a precious commodity for fire suppression.

Making matters more difficult, with this year’s drought water that was previously available to draft from ponds and streams is now gone. When considering these items, plus the building boom over the past decade of large million-dollar homes in an area that was predominantly open farm fields, CAFS technology is a natural fit since it can increase the firefighting capability of water up to five times.

While Hyattstown has been using water additives to fight fire for many years, the chief said what hammered home the decision to purchase CAFS was the result of a live-fire training burn using a 2,200 square foot acquired dwelling in Clarksburg, Md. During one evolution, a well-involved bedroom fire was allowed to extend and run the full length of the attic. The fire was extinguished by one hose team using a 1.75-inch attack line with a total water supply of 400-gallons of water.

One of the objectives of CAFS on rescue engine 709 is to use it as a tool to make quick fire stops in Hyattstown’s rural fire environment.

The highly-detailed and well-finished pump house includes the latest features to increase water flow efficiency. A Hale 1,750 gpm single-stage Qmax fire pump is equipped with three Hale master intake valves (MIVs), with two located on the right and left side pump large diameter inlet connections, and the third bolted onto the pump to control the rear large diameter inlet.

These MIVs are connected to a pre-prime valve. The pre-prime valve allows the oil-less vacuum pump primer to not only prime the fire pump, but also prime hard sleeve suction hose connected to any of the MIV connections. This allows for a seamless changeover when pump operators transition from using booster tank water to drafting from a static supply source, preventing loss of fire pump prime. This feature can greatly improve the efficiency of rural attack engines that must transition from an initial booster tank water supply to a dump tank operation.

The fire pump incorporates a TRV-120, which is a thermostatic relief valve that automatically keeps the pump cool should the pump operator mistakenly dead-head the pump and forget to circulate water. A Hale Total Pressure Master relief valve (TPM) provides discharge pressure control. The TPM consists of a panel operator control connected to a dump valve inside the fire pump plus an overboard 2.5-inch valve that dumps to atmosphere. When the relief valve is set, both valves work in tandem when required to keep pump discharge pressure under control for hose team safety.

To maximize tank-to-pump flow rates for increased firefighting capability from tank water, dual tank-to-pump valves are installed. A 3-inch direct booster tank fill valve is controlled by an automatically operating booster tank electric fill valve system. This automatic tank fill system works off the booster tank level gauge to automatically open and close the direct tank fill valve, as needed, to keep the tank full.

Easy Pump Operation

Easy pump operation for apparatus drivers was a key design element when planning the details of rescue engine 709. The unit is equipped with a Hale CAFSPro fully-integrated 210 SCFM compressed air foam system and a FoamLogix 5 gpm electronic foam concentrate proportioner.

When the pump operator shifts from road to pump, the fire pump, air compressor and foam proportioner automatically turn on. The pump-to-tank valves automatically open. Compressed air foam is immediately available. The pump operator can select the pre-piped deck gun, which also has a plain water bypass for water-only operation, two crosslays, or two rear 3-inch outlets to discharge compressed air foam.

EZ-Fill System

One of the 3-inch rear outlets has a pre-connected portable monitor. Class A foam solution is also available through standard fog nozzles on a crosslay and a trash line.

A Hale EZ-Fill foam reservoir refill system avoids the need for firefighters to climb on top of the apparatus to refill the foam tank with 5-gallon containers. These refill systems are gaining popularity because they can prevent slip and fall injuries that can occur when personnel work on top of the apparatus.

The EZ-Fill provides refilling of the on-board foam concentrate reservoir from the side-mount pump panel position by using a self-priming, electrically-operated foam pump.

A 20,000-watt diesel generator provides AC power distributed by cord on a Hannay reel. The unit also holds 24-foot extension, 14-foot roof and 10-foot folding attic ladders. Not to forget, this firefighting machine is also equipped for vehicle rescue. It has a full complement of hydraulic rescue tools – cutters, spreaders, rams, and the rest.

Rescue engine 709 is a workhorse of the right proportions – a thoroughbred – built from the ground up to provide fire and rescue personnel with the best and latest in tools and technology to saves lives and reduce property damage in Hyattstown.

This rescue engine is definitely much, much more than a one-trick pony. It’s a multi-task workhorse.

Editor’s Note: Dominic Colletti is the global foam systems product manager for Hale Products and the author of two books – “The Compressed Air Foam Systems Handbook” and “Class A Foam – Best Practice For Structure Firefighters.” Colletti is a former assistant fire chief in Royersford, Pa. and serves on the technical committee of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1500 Fire Department Occupation Safety and Health Program. He is an instructor specializing in CAFS implementation.