New fire truck introduced to Air Force

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Charles Dickens
  • 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  In times of budget cuts and downsizing in the United States Air Force the fire and rescue teams are looking into a cost-efficient solution to the current way fires are fought. The solution: Ultra-high pressure and foam.

Columbus Air Force Base recently received the P34 Rapid Intervention Vehicle, a new fire engine that is being integrated into Air Force fire stations as of the early months of 2012.

"They're fitting this P34 into the Air Force's arsenal for fighting fires with the intention that many of the big trucks that they currently have are not necessarily needed for every single fire," said Ray Tritt, pump test technician of Pierce Manufacturing, manufacturer of the first 90 P34 RIVs introduced.

The P34 uses ultra-high pressure water with direct foam injection to not only put out fires but to keep them out.

An aircraft fire is different than a house fire because of the liquid fuel, said Tritt. Liquid fuel doesn't burn, the vapors do, so you have to put foam on it to smother and suppress the vapors so it can't reignite.

The point of the foam injection and ultra-high pressure water is to be able to use significantly less resources to put out a fire than the current larger vehicles.

"A typical truck has between 1,500 and 3,000 gallons of water and when firing at full force has between 2 and 4 minutes maximum that they're going to flow water. This truck has 400 gallons of water on it and when firing at full force is going to last 7 minutes before they're out of water," according to Tritt. "The flow rate is ten times less than it would be on any other truck but the pressure is ten times higher"

Essentially what this means for the Air Force is that smaller vehicles allow for better maneuverability when positioning the truck appropriately as well as providing higher water efficiency when fighting the fire.

"If you were to run out of water you could come back and refill and between 35 and 45 seconds your 400 gallon water tank is full," said Tritt.

The P34 will substantially help with budget cuts throughout the Air Force through the conservation of water resources as well as the cost of maintaining the vehicle.

"Over a five year time span this new vehicle would pay for itself many times over in the cost savings of maintenance and repairs of these bigger vehicles," said Tritt.