Water shoots out of the Glynn County
Fire Department’s new engine from its dual-agent bumper and roof
turrents. On high range, the nozzles can pump out 1500 gallons per
minute. At right, Glynn County Firefighter Lenny Duckett works
the engine’s controls at Station No. 5 at the Brunswick Golden Isles
Airport.
(Photo by Bobby Haven / The Brunswick News)
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The 700 horsepower, four-wheel drive
tank looks like the Batmobile on steroids, and would probably be more
comfortable sweeping for mines.
Even the name of the Glynn County
Fire Department’s latest vehicle – Striker – gives the impression it’s a war
machine.
But there’s a reason for this
striking similarity. The vehicle’s manufacturer, Oshkosh, built the Striker
using the same structure as one of its military vehicles.
The new $700,000 truck in use at Fire
Station No. 5 is an improvement for many reasons, not all of which are merely
safety-related. The station is located at the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport,
and the new machine is tailored for special aircraft rescue and firefighting
capabilities.
The Striker holds 1,500 gallons of
water, 210 gallons of foam concentrate and 500 pounds of dry chemical powder.
The water pumps on high-flow at 1,000
gallons per minute, which cools and smothers, said Glynn County firefighter Ken
Thrift.
When the chemicals are added, they
perform those tasks quicker and “aid in putting out fuel and electrical fires a
lot faster,” he said.
All three substances can be shot from
any of eight nozzles. Two nozzles are controlled by joysticks next to the
steering wheel while another two are manually aimed from the side of the truck.
Four are sprinklers located on the bottom in case the truck needs to drive over
a pool of burning oil.
In addition, there is an infrared
camera with a screen by the driver. This allows firefighters to see through
smoke, fog and total darkness.
Currently, firefighters have been
using it to make sure deer aren’t on the airport’s runways at night.
“It’s like a video game,” firefighter
Lenny Duckett said with a big grin. “We were ecstatic over it. We went from a
little Tonka truck to the real McCoy.”
The truck has only been used once in
an emergency since it came into service in March.
A small aircraft was preparing to
land when the hydraulics failed to bring down the landing gear. Two men and
their sons landed on the belly of their plane and slid 300 feet down the runway
as the Striker sprayed the strip behind them to cool it down. No one was
injured.
The firefighters love their new truck
and have wasted no time in getting acquainted with all its features.
“We got eight hours of training, then
(the instructor) gave us a video and said, ‘Get out there and use it,’” said
Duckett “I’ll take vacation days to learn more.”
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