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SA Firefighter General / Re: Ammusing pager message.
« on: June 05, 2007, 10:53:48 AM »
Yankaponga is the mid point between Myponga and Yankalilla - Property Name of a farm at that location
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Maybe the Adelaide perception for RCR is because the Fire Services are the only providers in the Greater Adelaide area (which includes the surrounding suburban masses and most of SA's population) - I'm guessing Yankalilla or Murray Bridge would be the closest RCR teams to Adelaide with a primary RCR response?
ACT upgrades fire protection
Thursday, February 10, 2005
THE Australian Capital Territory has added two purpose-built Volvo FM9-380 Compressed Air Foam System (CAFS) water tankers to its fire brigade fleet on recommendations by the McLeod Inquiry into the January 2003 bushfires.
"Canberra has one of the highest populations in Australia living along the rural-urban interface. We needed to examine new approaches to tackling these fires. The use of CAFS offered the solution rather than simply acquiring more old technology" ACT Emergency Services spokesperson Peter Dunn said.
The platform of these Volvo FM9s is a heavy duty mining industry specification which features a straight I-beam front axle and raised B-Ride rear suspension fitted with 13R22.5 tyres to give the vehicle more ground clearance.
"We then looked at what we call critical areas," Mr Gray Moffatt explained. These include such things as the air-system for the brakes, electrical system, and the fuel and intake for the engine."
"Take the engine air intake for example," Mr Gray Moffatt continued. "There have been reported instances where hot ash has been sucked into the intake system and consequently the paper air-cleaner element has caught on fire rendering the vehicle inoperable. Through the research by Volvo's Accident Research Team the development of a brass gauss filter became a standard feature on all Volvo trucks some years back to eliminate this problem."
One of the greatest advantages of CAFS is less water usage with faster extinguishing times along with less operator fatigue, due to lighter hose lines. Instead of one 38mm (1-1/2") hose line one person can now operate a 64mm (2-1/2") hose line with ease.
"We used a locally produced Kevlar wrap to cover all the brake air-lines and components and critical electrical system components," Mr Gray Moffatt added. "The fuel tank is of steel construction instead of the traditional aluminium fuel tank found on a road going version of the same truck."
The new bright green Volvo FM9's will head the rural-urban interface team and will be supported by other vehicles in the ACT Fire Brigade's fleet.
WATER SUPPLY\TOC\2\WATER SUPPLY
\IND\Question:nn:The Hon. J. GAZZOLA The Hon. J. GAZZOLA: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Emergency Services a question regarding alternative technologies that minimise the use of water.
Leave granted.
The Hon. J. GAZZOLA: South Australia, as we know and as has been often said, is a very dry state in a very dry nation, with permanent water conservation measures. Therefore, my question of the minister is: what is the CFS doing to investigate alternative technologies that minimise the use of water?
\IND\Answer:nn:The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Emergency Services): I thank the honourable member for his question. The CFS continues to look for ways to minimise the use of water whilst still maintaining fire-fighting effectiveness. Recently, a compressed airform system (CAFS) appliance was commissioned for the Blackwood brigade, using world-class technology. The use of this technology enables water resources to be used with far greater efficiency. Anecdotal evidence suggests that, when compared to conventional pumping systems, CAFS increases the fire-fighting capacity of water by a ratio of around 8:1. Therefore, an appliance carrying 1 000 litres of water with CAFS has similar fire-fighting capacity as a much larger conventional appliance with 8 000 litres of water. The Blackwood appliance takes advantage of this by carrying only 1 000 litres of water, whereby the CFS would normally carry 2 000 litres on a similar-sized vehicle. This provides the CFS with a highly efficient fire appliance in a relatively small package.
512 Other efficiencies gained with CAFS include: lower firefighter fatigue due to hoses being much easier to handle because of their reduced weight and the ability to extinguish fires quickly. Other advantages of the system include: rapid extinguishment of fire resulting in reduced damage and less time spent on the fire ground allowing volunteers to get back to work or their families sooner and reduced wear and tear on vehicles and equipment, again due to reduced working time. So, following on the success of this appliance, the CFS is considering the purchase of further CAFS pumps.