The Rural Fire Service (RFS) Cobar Headquarters Brigade is now equipped with the latest fire fighting equipment that will also offer increased safety for its volunteer firefighters.
The brigade took delivery of a new state of the art Cat 1 heavy tanker, 4×4, crew cab fire fighting vehicle on Friday.
The new vehicle replaces their old Cat 1 truck which will be moved to Louth for use.
The new Cat 1 has the capacity to hold 3,300 litres of water and is designed for use in rural and bushfire environments but can also assist in house and structure fires.
Inspector David Hagarty, the acting district manager of the RFS Far West Team, was present for the vehicle hand-over on Friday.
Inspector Hagarty said 25 years of designing, experience and feedback, along with the latest technology, are now being incorporated into the new vehicles.
He explained some of the new features of the Cat 1.
The new vehicles now have a bull bar-mounted remote high-output water monitor (with a 180-degree sweep, 0-90 degrees vertically) along with grass sprays at the sides of the vehicle.
“Crew don’t need to get out of the cab, they can operate the monitor from inside,” Inspector Hagarty said.
“There’s also protection from an over-run. If they get into a heat situation, they can drop their fire curtains and there’s also a boom spray on the top.”
The water sprays over the wheel arches and crew cabin provide occupants with protection from radiant heat.
Inspector Hagarty said it’s also easier now for crews to keep an eye on the amount of water they have in their tank.
“That’s important because if you haven’t got enough water and you’re on the fire line, or if you’ve got people working as offensive structure firefighters, you know when to get them out.”
The new vehicle is designed to carry a crew of six and has a heavy-duty galvanized steel headboard for rollover protection.
“It’s one of a fleet of 35 vehicles within Cobar,” Inspector Hagarty said.
