Fast-Attack Fire Trucks Help Departments Reach Hard-to-Access Emergencies
Compact, ultra-high-pressure units are giving local fire crews more options in tight spaces.
Source: https://www.firstalert4.com ↗
The Des Peres Department of Public Safety in Missouri and the Kirkwood Fire Department have each deployed compact fast-attack high-suppression units to reach fires and medical calls in parking garages, nature trails and other spots inaccessible to full-size apparatus.
“The parking garages that we have in our town where we’re not able to get a traditional fire truck to, we’re able to get these in,” said Assistant Fire Chief Dale Fiala of the Des Peres Department of Public Safety. “So if you would have a car fire or something in those areas, if you would have a pumper getting lines set up and that would probably take you somewhere from 4-5 minutes to get water to it. This we can drive right up to it, pull a hose right off of it and start fire attack.”
Des Peres added its first unit a couple of weeks ago. Fiala said the unit’s smaller footprint and ultra-high-pressure system suit specific exposure points in the west St. Louis County community, including the West County Mall garages, Edward Jones garages and incoming developments with underground parking.
Kirkwood made a similar investment several years ago, acquiring a mini pumper, a brush truck and a UTV to cover West Adams, certain bridges and conservation areas and trails that standard apparatus cannot reach. Fire Chief Jim Silvernail said the UTV has already been used to reach patients on trails. “We have an ability to make a fire attack other than with a large piece of apparatus that can’t access it,” Silvernail said. “And on a medical standpoint, we have used the UTV: we have been able to get to different patients on our trails that we would normally take a long time to either hike in or find other means to get them in.”
Both chiefs drew a clear line between the fast-attack units and primary suppression apparatus. “On a house fire, it requires a lot of effort, a lot of capabilities and this is not the main suppression apparatus out of its fire house,” Silvernail said. “This is made to supplement and also take care of those inaccessible areas.”
Fiala pointed to operating economics as a secondary driver. “That’s a million-dollar piece of equipment: very expensive to run, very expensive to repair,” he said of a conventional fire truck. “This unit here you can run for pennies on the dollar maintenance-wise.”
Des Peres has not disclosed the purchase price of its fast-attack unit. Fiala said the department plans to track utilization before deciding whether to buy additional units.
