Air Truck Carries Compressor, Cascade System and Bottles
Weldon Fire Company Dist. 3, Abington, Pa., Fire Dept.
The Abington Township, Pa., Fire Department has recently placed in service a breathing air supply truck built by Emergency One on an 11,000-pound gvw, GMC chassis.
The truck carries a 15-cfm, 5000-psi air compressor installed by Pressure Systems, Inc. The compressor is powered by a 30-hp, 4-cylinder gasoline engine or a 15-hp, 220-volt electric motor, depending on whether the truck is on the fireground or in quarters. The compressor has safety monitors that will shut it down in the event of high air temperature, low oil pressure or other malfunctions.
The purification system produces air that exceeds the Compressed Gas Association’s specifications for grade H breathing air. The system uses one mechanical and four chemical filters, which require no special tools to change. There are an optional electronic dewpoint monitor and an electronic carbon monoxide monitor, which constantly check air purity.
Three 5000-psi, 425 cu-ft, air storage vessels are mounted as a cascade system in a horizontal rack across the middle of the chassis. Two water-filled cooling tanks with fragmentation deflectors are capable of filling four breathing apparatus cylinders at the same time.
A manual pressure control regulator, which can be set to the desired fill pressure, is designed to prevent overcharging cylinders. Two additional high-pressure filling hoses are provided for filling remote cascade systems on apparatus from mutual aid departments.
photo by Dave Kettinger.
photo by Joe Galante.
Photo by Dave Kettinger
A pressure-reducing valve controls the supply of air from the cascade system to a hose reel for air-powered tools.
The breathing air system is mounted in an all-aluminum body with roll-up doors. There is also a storage rack for 24 air cylinders and tool compartments.
A 3000-watt inverter supplies electricity for receptacles, fluorescent lights in the truck body and four 500-watt quartz lights. In addition, 12-volt floodlights, operated off the truck’s dual battery system, provide a secondary light source.
