SA Firefighter

i have but one lament. that is the lack of a 7th seat.
the appliance is performing beautifully. although we have not had a big job yet with it, we are all confident that it is going to meet our wants and needs 100%.

there is a couple of extremely minor niggles, but these are nothing more than the standard new vehicle bugs- leaky air fitting etc...

i dont think that it would be a very practical appliance for a brigade whose priamry call type is grass fires, but for any brigade in an urban area, i give it 2 thumbs up.

for all those out there who say "but it only has one high pressure line", i say when you get to a going job, be it a structure, car, whatever, if you need more than one high pressure line, you should be going to a 38\64 regardless. we have 2 flaked lenghts pre-made, and with a bit of practice, most of us can get the 38 out and into the fray in only a slightly longer time than the HP line.

pump i simple to work, takes a litle practice, but once you get your head round it it can almost be used with your eyes shut...
anyway, like i said, 2 thumbs up.

will let everyone know how she goes when we go to a full blown job..

AInt it the truth!!

allright, perhaps using the army as my example was a bit far-fetched.
Obviously, from what everybody tells me, the atmospheric monitoring is not as complex as people have been led to believe. (not being a hazmat operator, i have not read the book).
If CFS brigades are going to be carrying atmos monitoring gear, and its not as complicated to use as i thought, then sure, its a great idea.

i guess it does boil down to the simple fact that we do have to keep evolving, and improving the way we do things, and learning about new products & technology.

I have heard a lot of late about new Hazmat skills which Hazmat operators will be required to learn.
Things like Mass Decontamination and Atmospheric Monitoring, which are fairly specialised fields.
Does anybody else believe that when a Hazmat job escalates to a level at which atmospheric monitoring or Mass Decon (terror attack maybe?) is required, the roles should fall to Professionals, ie the army in the case of Decon?
I am happy to be trained in all fields, but there is a lot of volunteers out there who just dont have the time to be doing courses of this calibre, and keeping their training up, along with their personal lives as well.
I would be interested to hear from other Hazmat Brigades if they are having problems with this training, or how they are handling it, or if indeed it is just the rumor-mill running again.

just had another private alarm. At least it keeps up the numbers up.
Just got a kitten, first time she has been around when the pager goes- she must have jumped a clear foot off the ground!

do you know if they get a lot of use out of them, or do they usually get booted when HR appliance arrives?
I imagine they would also use them a lot for other things, forced entry etc??

I have not experienced it as a problem yet, but i can definately see the potential for problems with the twist lever. I dont know why they went away from the Lucas gear, which had the thumb wheel right round the handle, so it oculd be reached no matter the angle you were on. plus the holmatro twist handle seems to be made from a heavy plastic, as opposed to aluminium or steel. dont know how firefighter-proof that will be? any ideas?

Alex, clearly you have a problem with us carrying this gear. I personally believe that regardless of wether it gets used once a week or once every 2 years, it is a good thing to have.I wonder, Would your opinion be the same if a person were pinned in their seat and bleeding out, on the main road, when there is a freight train  going past, slowing blackwoods responce by several minutes?409 is frequently out on jobs, and from there the next appliance is some while away? With this gear, we can provide rapid rescue from most situations, knowing that there will always be a heavy rescue appliance coming to back us up, even if it is ten minutes away.
As a service, it is our job to protect the community, and I reckon that anything we can use to help in this role is a good thing.

It is my understanding that we were going to lose rescue altogether, as there was other brigades that needed the heavy gear more than us. after much debate at all levels, the compromise was reached that we would be issued the R.I.G. or nothing at all.
the gear is capable of most things we do at the moment anyway, as has been proven. As far as responding to rescue jobs, there will always be a Heavy rescue appliance\crew on the way as well. That could be blackwood, and or 409 or any other Heavy rescue brigade as needed.

GT- you asked about where it has been stowed, The drivers side full height locker is designed for rescue gear.
the PPV fan is in the drivers side middle locker ( above the wheel).

i think we are going to be training tonight with the new tool, so I will get to see what it can do
The haevy rescue equipment is going back to region to be used as they see fit. we have been told it will be re-issued to a brigade that needs heavy rescue equipment.
I have to say i am impressed by the honda pump that is used with this gear. the weight of it is excellent. again, i will have to wait until we have used it to see what it is like in action.

No, i dont think we will miss the monitor. Really, on the odd occasion we need it, as Oz said, we can use a hose-created ground monitor.

the BA sets are mounted on swing-out arms. therre is 2 sets per arm. they are perhaps a little bit low, but i dont think this is an issue for most people. I am 6 foot 2 and i can get one on with no problems.

yeah, 4 inlets plus 5in storz on the rear, plus the direct fill on the passenger side.
this one does not have a monitor, sadly.
we are looking to go online this week or early next. should ber great to get it into the fray, see what its like at jobs.
Locker space seems really good, well illuminated by fluroescent ights. as far as power, i have not driven it yet, but all those who have say that it goes like a rocket.

test?

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