Innovative Rigs on The Street: Masonville, N.Y. CAFS Pumper
Masonville is a small, rural community in the middle of New York State, near the Pennsylvania border, with a population of about 1,300 people. But don’t let the community’s size fool you – it has as progressive a fire department as any in the nation.
The Masonville Fire District in Delaware County has a group dedicated and well-trained volunteer firefighters who, just a few weeks ago, took delivery of a brand new 2014 Spartan EVR pumper with compressed air foam. How is that for progressive?
Masonville had its first truck committee meeting seven years ago, working on the specifications and bidding before choosing Spartan EVR to build the apparatus which was funded with taxpayer money.
The district was so excited to receive the new apparatus, it threw a party to celebrate its arrival, complete with a cake with a photo of the apparatus on it.
The new pumper is built on a Spartan Metro Star cab and chassis powered by a Cummins 330 hp engine and an Allison transmission.
For firefighting, it has a 1,250-gpm Hale single-stage pump with a Spartan EVR One-Touch compressed air foam system, a 1,000-gallon Pro-Poly tank with a 30-gallon foam cell.
According to Spartan, its One-Touch CAFS requires only one step in the pump-engage process and simplifies the regulation of wet or dry CAFS. The system is actuated by the flow of water, CAFS and air using smart switches and exclusive plumbing engineering.
Compressed air foam has been touted as a way to reduce the amount of water required to extinguish fires. The same amount of water is needed during the initial attacks, but the fire goes out faster with CAFS and stays out, thus reducing the overall amount of water required for complete extinguishing. It's popularity is growing, especially in rural areas, without hydrants, where water supply can be an issue.
Other equipment includes two Honda 2,000-watt, gasoline-driven portable generators and FRC Spectra 12-volt scene lights, two at the cab and two on the rear of the apparatus. It also has an aluminum body and roll-up compartment doors.
The $365,000 unit was sold by Campbell Supply located in Montgomery, N.Y.
Ed Ballam
Ed Ballam served as associate editor for Firehouse. He is the assistant chief of the Haverhill Corner, N.H. Fire Department, and a National Registered EMT. He is also a Deputy Forest Fire Warden for the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands. Professionally, he's been a journalist for over 35 years working for a variety of publications, including employment as managing editor of a national fire service trade journal for more than a decade.
