There are times when a fire department needs a lot of water to handle a fire, but in the industrial world generally foam is king. That’s one of the reasons Shell Norco (LA) Manufacturing Complex turned to US Fire Apparatus to build it an industrial super pumper with a large foam tank and no water tank.
The Shell Norco (LA) Manufacturing Complex is the home of Shell Oil Products US, a refining facility, and Shell Chemicals, a chemical manufacturer. The refinery processes 10.1 million gallons of medium sweet crude oil daily and produces 7.1 million gallons of regular and premium grade gasoline, 1.9 million gallons of Jet-A aviation fuel, 4 million gallons of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, and 1,000 tons of anode grade coke.
Shell Chemicals annually manufactures 3.3 billion pounds of ethylene, 1.44 billion pounds of propylene, and 0.35 billion pounds of butadiene, which are used in the manufacture of antifreeze, tires, plastic food containers, trash bags, laundry detergent, cosmetics, adhesive, coatings, and film among a multitude of other products.
Jonny Carroll, sales representative at US Fire Apparatus and US Fire Pump, says all those facilities require the protection of large industrial pumpers that can handle huge amounts of water and carry equally large loads of foam. “Shell Norco came to us and wanted a pumper that could toss a large volume of water and carry as big a load of foam as possible in its tank,” he points out. “We built them an industrial super pumper on a Kenworth T880 commercial chassis with a two-door cab that has air ride driver and passenger seats, powered by a 605-horsepower (hp) Cummins diesel engine and an Allison 4500 EVS automatic transmission. The pumper has a 3⁄16-inch marine grade extruded aluminum body construction, painted roll-up compartment doors, and a folding upper body access ladder system.”
Carroll notes the industrial super pumper has a 228-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 36 feet 7 inches, and an overall height of 11 feet 11 inches. He adds that the pumper has a US Fire Pump HVP 6,000-gallon-per-minute (gpm) single-stage rear-mount pump, a 2,000-gallon foam tank, and a Williams Fire and Hazard Control 300-gpm Hot Shot 2 balanced pressure foam system. The rig does not have a water tank. “The pump operator’s panel is on the left side of the pumper in the L4 compartment,” Carroll says, “and the pumper has one 12-inch four-lug Storz rear inlet and four 8-inch rear inlets.”
1 US Fire Apparatus built this industrial super pumper for Shell Norco (LA) Manufacturing Complex on a Kenworth T880 commercial chassis with a two-door cab that has air ride driver and passenger seats. (Photos courtesy of US Fire Apparatus.)
department
Shell Norco (LA) Manufacturing Complex
Service area: Shell Norco Manufacturing Complex is home to Shell Oil Products US (refining) and Shell Chemicals. The refinery converts approximately 250,000 barrels per day of medium sweet crude oil. Shell Chemicals manufactures ethylene, propylene, and butadiene.
Other apparatus: Two 2012 Ferrara Igniter industrial pumpers, 3,000-gpm pumps, 500 gallons of water, 1,000 gallons of foam; Sutphen midmount aerial platform; 2012 Ferrara/HME Ember walk-around rescue; 2019 Ferrara Igniter walk-around hazmat unit; Ford F-650 hose tender reel truck.
2 The Shell Norco super pumper has a 228-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 36 feet 7 inches, and an overall height of 11 feet 11 inches.
3 The super pumper has a US Fire Pump HVP 6,000-gpm single-stage rear-mount pump, a pump panel in the L4 compartment, a 2,000-gallon foam tank, and a Williams Fire and Hazard Control 300-gpm Hot Shot 2 balanced pressure foam system.
4 The rear of the super pumper has one 12-inch four-lug Storz inlet, four 8-inch inlets, and two 6-inch LDH discharges.
specs
US Fire Apparatus Industrial Super Pumper
- Kenworth T880 two-door commercial chassis
- Cummins 605-hp X15 engine
- Allison 4500 EVS automatic transmission
- US Fire Pump HVP 6,000-gpm single-stage rear-mount pump
- 2,000-gallon foam tank
- Williams Fire and Hazard Control Hot Shot 2 300-gpm balanced pressure foam system
- TFT Tsunami monitor and US Fire Pumps 9,000-gpm Sentry 9 nozzle
- Two TFT wireless remote controlled 2,000-gpm monitors
He adds that the industrial super pumper also has two 1¾-inch hosebed discharges with 200 feet of preconnected hose each, two 3-inch rear discharges, a 3-inch right side panel discharge, two 6-inch large-diameter hose (LDH) right side panel discharges, and two 6-inch LDH rear discharges. The rig also has a 3-inch left side foam inlet/flush connection, a 3-inch right side foam inlet/flush connection, and a 2½-inch left side foam concentrate discharge.
On top of the industrial super pumper is an 8-inch rear deck gun discharge that supplies a Task Force Tips (TFT) Tsunami monitor with a 9,000-gpm US Fire Pump Sentry 9 nozzle and two TFT Monsoon 2,000-gpm wireless remote controlled monitors.
Lighting on the pumper includes a Whelen LED warning light package, Whelen LED Pioneer scene lights, and Whelen LED work lights and compartment lighting.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
