WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services (6AR and 6IP) (Including the Fire Services, SES & VMRS) and Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
Just in case anyones interested, We did a burn off today and i happened to snap a few pics.
Thats a pic of the falmes flaring up
random shot
another random shot
this is a picture of what we call "the monitor" its a machine gun type of water cannon we use to fight wild fires, its unbelievably powerfull, and so is my spelling. The spay is on jet in that pic, it can be widened.
slipknot wrote:this is a picture of what we call "the monitor" its a machine gun type of water cannon we use to fight wild fires, its unbelievably powerfull, and so is my spelling. The spay is on jet in that pic, it can be widened.
I just learnt yesterday at the leaders forum for the northern region in Joondalup, the soil dryness index (SDI) to date is the highest it has been in the past 5 years and the current levels it is currently at is what it should be towards the end of november, early december so the fire season is here people if we don't get any rains this week to quieten things down it is defo going to be a long fire season!
And i dare say people are currently seeing a more aggressive fire during burn-offs that what it was this time last year. Would people agree that is a fair comment???
The SDI is about 600, DEC and everyone else stops burning when it gets to 750. As for Burns, yes they are getting rather hot, as we are currently 5-6 weeks ahead in dryness.
As for the monitor, crank it up and see how far you can get it. Also do a full fog and take a picture.
ill try to one day if i get the chance. but on the 3.4 tanker which is the truck used for the monitor, the powerfull packed pump runs off th engine, when in nutural gear when the driver presses down the accelorator thats when its fires like a rocket. and please excuse me spelling.
slipknot wrote:ill try to one day if i get the chance. but on the 3.4 tanker which is the truck used for the monitor, the powerfull packed pump runs off th engine, when in nutural gear when the driver presses down the accelorator thats when its fires like a rocket. and please excuse me spelling.
This is what the hand-throttles (next to pump panel and inside the cab) are for, so the driver doesnt have to touch the accelerator.
Helitak_670 wrote:The SDI is about 600, DEC and everyone else stops burning when it gets to 750. As for Burns, yes they are getting rather hot, as we are currently 5-6 weeks ahead in dryness..
The most telling thing is the satellite images they use to check the progress of grass curing. Would be quite interesting to see what they reveal at the moment!
Fire Danger Ratings slipped into the 11.20am forecast for Perth today, but disappeared shortly after. We might start getting the Fire Weather Forecast a bit earlier..
slipknot wrote:ill try to one day if i get the chance. but on the 3.4 tanker which is the truck used for the monitor, the powerfull packed pump runs off th engine, when in nutural gear when the driver presses down the accelorator thats when its fires like a rocket. and please excuse me spelling.
Don't think so. If I remember correctly PTO requires you to disengage before you can drive, i.e. you can't have PTO on and drive. I believe the idea behind having the Aux is when you're stationary on a flank of the fire you engage your PTO pump and use the engine to do the pumping. However if a red flag warning was to advise of a wind change making your flank as the head you'd want to move out pretty quick still with protection hence you'd switch from PTO to Aux stick your tail between your legs and drive like crazy while still having some pumping capabilities. If you didn't have Aux then you wouldn't be able to spray at the same time as drive. The only thing I've had to worry about PTO for is winches and that's the way it was explained to me so I think it would probably be the same.
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If stupidity got me into this mess, why can't it get me out.
For 2.4s, 3.4,4.4 etc I think by PTO it means live drive ie you you can pump and roll. This enables you to drive through the bush and fight the fire at the same time. However the pressure you get at the branch depends on the engine revs so if you are just crawling along you may not be getting high enough pressure. The aux motor is there in case something happens to the PTO so you are still able to retreat to safety and ptotect the crrew at the same time
johnny99 wrote:For 2.4s, 3.4,4.4 etc I think by PTO it means live drive ie you you can pump and roll. This enables you to drive through the bush and fight the fire at the same time. However the pressure you get at the branch depends on the engine revs so if you are just crawling along you may not be getting high enough pressure. The aux motor is there in case something happens to the PTO so you are still able to retreat to safety and ptotect the crrew at the same time
tthis is true but if hits the fan and you have to put your foot down and get out of there ur pressure will drop at the branch on PTO because all the power is transfered to the drive wheels (i know this cause i got let in a fire when our driver took off when he panicked and left us on the branch with no water he is no longer in the service)and most of the time the AUX pump only supply's water for 1 or 2 lines (not layflat) for protection sprays.
You can crawl about with good pressure on a fireground using the Live Drive PTO with very little problem. If you can't manage it, you aren't operating the appliance correctly.
On the current appliances the auxiliary pump can be started from inside the vehicle cab. Older appliances only have a start switch on the pump itself. The aux pump is designed to operate the off-side hosereel and backup hose that sits behind the tray headboard ONLY. Of course, if you leave the water valve that feeds from the main pump on the off-side hosereel open, it will feed back through the rest of the system.
Tyranus, all of 2.4's etc that have PTO have a "Live Drive" system which allows the appliance to move whilst the PTO is engaged - if this wasn't possible, we'd all have Hatz Diesel Pumps on the back of our appliances still.
Note that career staff had something against the Live Drive, even though it is tried and tested in the field. This is why the career 2.4's have a Hatz Pump Set on the back.
The spay is on jet in that pic, it can be widened.
Best Description i've yet to hear.. 
