Uncontrolled blazes fueled by weather, wind and dry underbrush, wildfires can burn acres of land – and consume everything in their paths – in mere minutes. Thanks to an $118,000 grant from Texas A&M Forest Service, Village of Palisades Volunteer Fire Department will have a new brush truck with a compressed air foam system to help get the upper hand on wildland fires.
According to Fire Chief Dennis Massey, this new four-wheel drive truck will replace an older truck that needed a lot of work. It will go into service soon, but first they wanted to train their 12 firefighters on the use of all the updated equipment.
”The new bumper mounted nozzle is operated from inside the truck. A console monitor controls the nozzle and a joystick controls the torrent of the nozzle spray, which can turn 180-degrees and cover a large area making it ideal for fighting grass and brush fires,” Fire Chief Massey said.
Having the capability to stay inside the truck reduces risks to firefighters and allows the engine to make running attacks on vegetation fires. It will give the firefighters a tactic that can help minimize the rate of fire spread and yet stay at a safe distance.
Village of Palisades VFD added a compressed air foam system to the new truck to increase the wetting effectiveness of water. Enhancing water with Class A Foam will help in extinguishing fires and preventing reignition.
“The water supply is rather limited in our area. We are glad to have the new CAFS unit that will cut our water use down considerably. It will help reduce the amount of water that is used by smothering the flames with retardant foam,” says Massey.
The Village of Palisades VFD’s service area is in a rural community with a variety of terrain and a mix of vegetation. With grassy farmland and canyons, the terrain its self can be an obstacle at times.
“This truck will help to solve another one of our challenges because it has four-wheel drive, which will be a great help when we are trying to get to a fire in the canyon or crossing farmland,” Says Massey.
Volunteer firefighters operate 85 percent of the fire departments in Texas. This year TFS will pass approximately $24.3 million along to VFDs across the state. The grant funding aids in purchasing equipment and obtaining vital firefighter training giving them greater capabilities to protect life and property in their communities.
To learn more about this program visit texasfd.com