Country Fire Service appliances

CFS appliances

Country Fire Service appliances used by the South Australian Country Fire Service (SA CFS) in the state of South Australia are provided and funded by the Government of South Australia, and by donations from the public. As the funding model of government funding is relatively new, the standard for SACFS appliances is still only new, and many appliances still exist that were built by the individual brigades. Because of this, almost all appliances are unique, and hence cannot be described simply. However, the SACFS has managed a standard naming convention of all SACFS appliances, and also a basic standard stowage of equipment that can be found on all appliances. The Country Fire Service operates 784 appliances including tankers, urban pumpers, pumper/tankers, bulk water carriers, rescue and command vehicles.[1]

Appliance nomenclature

"Old style" striping on a CFS Pumper - Carries BA, light rescue and Hazmat stowage.

All SA Country Fire Service appliances have a call sign, which is the name of that appliance. This consists of the brigades name, usually the town it serves) and a keyword to describe the type of appliance. The appliance's call sign will be printed clearly on the side of appliance, and often on the back and roof of the appliance. Appliances are more commonly known as trucks, and units, with units being the name used by the South Australian Emergency Fire Service))

Most SACFS appliances have names based on their water capacity, and drivetrain. A 24 (Two Four) appliance carries 2,000 litres (440 imp gal; 530 US gal) of water, and is a 4 wheel drive chassis. The figures are for nominal water capacity, rather than the exact amount carried. Other, more specialised appliances are named after their purpose, such as Pumper, Rescue, Hazmat, or Tanker (BWC).

All Country Fire Service appliances are white, with fluorescent red and white striping (on older appliances), or red and gold chequering, called Sillitoe Tartan, on new appliances. Appliances made after 2012 have the newest red and bright yellow checkering. Like all emergency vehicles in South Australia, all CFS appliances are fitted with red and blue flashing lights, with the exclusion of the Kyeema BWC17. Some appliances also have white flashing lights or traffic clearer's on the front.

Stowage

SACFS appliances are set up with different stowage depending on what assets they protect, whether they are urban or rural, and whether they serve a special purpose (e.g., rescue stowage). Appliances will have a basic stowage which is then added to by the brigade for a specialised purpose, or to fit the type of appliance.

Basic rural appliance standard stowage

All rural appliances should have the following stowage:

  • Rubber hose line (side line)
  • 25 millimetres (0.98 in) canvas "Lay-flat" hose
  • 38 millimetres (1.5 in) canvas hose
  • 64 millimetres (2.5 in) canvas hose
  • Suction hoses
  • Bush Fire Fighting Foam (BFFF)
  • First aid kit
  • Standpipe and key
  • Fire lighters for lighting back burns
  • Rakehoes
  • Shovels
  • Rope
  • Knapsack spays
  • GRN radios
  • VHF and/or UHF radios
  • Traffic cones
  • Safety vests
  • Halligan tool
  • Torches
  • Maps (street directories or topographical maps)

Basic urban appliance standard stowage

New red and gold chequering on the same appliance as above.

Urban stowage is very similar to rural, with the addition of further "urban" equipment, for house fires, and vehicle fires. An urban appliance will also carry more of the larger hoses (38 millimetres (1.5 in) and 64 millimetres (2.5 in)). Urban standard stowage includes:

Basic rescue standard stowage

Appliances that are built for Road Crash Rescue must have a minimum set of rescue equipment, which includes:

  • Hydraulic Road Crash Rescue Equipment including:
    • Hydraulic cutters
    • Hydraulic spreaders
    • Hydraulic rams (Of various sizes)
  • Hand tools including:
  • Wooden blocks and chocks (for stabilisation)
  • Sharps protection (materials with which to cover sharp edges)
  • Generator and additional lighting
  • Ladder
  • Chainsaw
  • First aid kit
  • Dry powder and/or CO2 and/or foam extinguishers
  • Safety vests
  • Traffic cones
  • Salvage sheets/tarpaulins
  • Stop/Slow bats for traffic control
  • GRN radios
  • VHF and/or UHF hand radios

Basic HAZMAT stowage

Further stowage

In addition to the standard stowage, equipment on appliances may include:

CFS appliances

The CFS has the following types of appliances in service:

Rural appliances

The first number of the type is the category number while the second number indicates two or four wheel drive.

This little QRV is used to access difficult areas.

Semi-rural

A 24P, designed for both rural and urban firefighting.
  • 1,000–2,000 litres (220–440 imp gal; 260–530 US gal) per minute = Light Pumper
  • 3,000–3,000 litres (660–660 imp gal; 790–790 US gal) per minute = Medium Pumper
  • more than 3,000 litres (660 imp gal; 790 US gal) per minute = Heavy (real) Pumper
Morphett Vale Brigade's Dennis Heavy Pumper
Burnside Brigade's Volvo Heavy Pumper

Specialised

Support vehicles

CFS group command car

Aircraft

A standard fixed-wing water bomber

Reference: http://www.cfs.sa.gov.au/site/about_us/aerial_firefighting/cfs_firefighting_aircraft.jsp

References

Gallery

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