Olomana Gets Super-pumped To Fight Fires
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Del.icio.usEeerreerr Wooowwooo ... So goes the high-pitched sound of sirens on Kalanianaole Highway, coming from a spiffy new fire truck that’s making it easier for the crew at Olomana Fire Station 39 to save lives.
Calls come in from Makapuu to Kahuku, and with many of the firefighters living in the area, HFD Capt. Ray Anami said they frequently know the people who need help. The first time they used their 2009 Pierce Quantum Pumper, however, was for a recycling bin fire in April - after just a few weeks on duty.
“Usually with our old truck, it would have taken us 20 minutes to completely extinguish a fire,” said Anami, a veteran of five years at Olomana and 24 in Waikiki.“Using this foam we had the job done in about five minutes.”
They happily traded in their faithful 1987 Seagrave truck, since the new one has a Compressed Air Foam System. It improves fire suppression with a mix of water, air and foam.
“The foam is like a soap solution so it sticks, and as it sticks, it absorbs a lot,” said Anami. “If it was regular water, it would just roll off.”
It also absorbs heat better than water does, added HFD information officer Capt. Terry Seelig.“Its structural surface area is bigger, so it has more ability to absorb heat and smoke. This reduces the amount of smoke; it helps find people inside the fire, and it helps the firefighters.”
The truck also has several hoses already connected so it’s quicker to respond. The entire staff is trained on how to operate all of its parts.
Indicating the control panel, engineer Keith Condon said, “I can get a reading of the total of water and foam it uses for the flame.”
The truck’s tank can hold 750 gallons of water, and its pump can shoot 2,000 gallons per minute when hooked up to a fire hydrant.
The crew also likes the ladders better.“They lower down to the shoulder height of the average person,and that’s safer for us to take it off of the truck,” explained firefighter David Leandro. “The doors open up (like a garage door) instead of out,and this is safer.”
The $627,742 vehicle also is more comfortable on the road, with air conditioning and radio.“The old trucks didn’t have a roof on them so when it was really hot, we might get sunburned,” said firefighter Pat Tosaki,“or if it was raining we’d get rained on and be soaking wet when we get to the job.”
The firefighters also have a second truck to help them respond to the wide variety of calls such as brush fires, medical calls, auto accidents, abandoned vehicle fires, injured hikers, hiker rescues and calls for people needing help in the ocean.
Seven stations got the new pumper via funding from the city,state DLNR’s Forestry and Wildlife division and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through a Community Block Grant.
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