According to a report from Edwards Air Force Base, 812th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire & Emergency Services (FES) Flight received its latest to its firefighting fleet: a 2020 Oshkosh Striker UHP P-19 with 4×4 capability.
The department’s latest aircraft rescue fire fighting (ARFF) vehicle was officially welcomed to the fleet on January 14 during a “push in” ceremony on Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The new vehicle, built at a cost of $612,000, replaces the 1986 Oshkosh P-19, which had reached the end of its service life. The new vehicle will provide greater agent capacity and reach to better help extinguish fires in large-frame aircraft. The ARFF is also safer for the firefighters during responses because of its new and improved chassis design.
The push in ceremony is tradition that dates back to more than 100 years ago, when fire equipment was horse drawn and pushed back into the station by firefighters after the responses.
The vehicle’s weight and dimensions are: 35.5 feet long, 11.6 feet high, 10 feet wide, and a gross vehicular weight of 62,000 pounds. It can carry 1,500 gallons of water, 210 gallons of class B foam, and 500 pounds of dry chemical retardant.
The vehicle is equipped with an UHP system of 1,400 pounds per square inch, a flow rate of 300 gallons per minute (gpm) on the bumper turret, and 21 gpm on the handline. The bumper turret can also discharge dry chemicals at 12 to 17 pounds per second along with a handline at five pounds per second. The bumper turret also comes equipped with a forward looking infrared camera.
