Oct. 25 -- Ocala Fire Rescue firefighters are in the middle of completing a week-long in-service training session to learn to operate the agency's newly acquired aircraft rescue firefighting truck.
According to OFR Public Information Officer Ashley Lopez, the apparatus, called ARFF1, is the first vehicle of its kind manufactured by E-One.
E-One is an internationally known Ocala-based manufacturer of emergency vehicles, rescue trucks, aerial fire trucks, rescue pumpers and custom fire apparatus.
"All members of OFR's ARFF team – certified annually by the Federal Aviation Administration – are rotating through training sessions, learning to utilize the apparatus' operation system to deploy firefighting agents," Lopez noted in a press release.
"By the end of the week, firefighters will be qualified to operate the apparatus, including efficient use of the vehicle's pumping capabilities to deploy the 200 gallons of foam, 500 pounds of dry chemical agent and 1,500 gallons of water contained within," Lopez stated.
ARFF1 is equipped with a watering system under the truck to keep the apparatus cool, a watering system to extinguish a ground fire in its path, roof and bumper turrets and nozzles, several hoses, a compressed air line to run power tools and an infrared camera to help identify hot spots and locate people.
It will replace the department's current airport firefighting apparatus, which has been in service since 1997.
"The acquisition of this apparatus allows Ocala Fire Rescue to provide cutting edge services to the Ocala International Airport, "said OFR Chief Shane Alexander. "It is with tools and training like these that OFR continues to foster the relationship both departments already have."
Officials said the vehicle, valued at more than $500,000, was purchased with a grant from the FAA'a Airport Improvement Program, which paid 90 percent of the price tag, a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation that paid for 5 percent, with the remainder coming from the fire department's budget.
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