Equipment

The equipment will include all the necessary materials to be ready for a fire at any time. A central part of this system is a modified shipping container retrofitted to function as an insulated and secure rural firehouse for storing the fire equipment. The containers are approximately 10’x8’x8’. Because of the small size and thick insulation, these vans are easy and inexpensive to heat throughout the winter using either energy-efficient electric heaters or utility-provided waste heat so that the equipment will always be well above freezing, ready to use.

AVI will contract with the community and utility to take ownership and maintenance responsibility of the firehouse.

Inside the container are two large (approximately 8’x4’), specially designed metal trailers. The trailers are equipped with a hitch and are designed to balance on ATV-style tires or specially designed skis, which attach to the bottoms of the tires. This design permits the trailers to easily be pulled behind a 4-wheeler or snow machine over most village terrain.

The first fire-fighting trailer will be used to bring a 600-gallon compressed air foam supply (CAFS) unit and other equipment to the fire as swiftly as possible. These patented units operate by injecting a stored supply of compressed air into a water-foam concentrate solution. This patented method increases the fire-fighting capability of a given supply of water by as much as 20 times, with a range of 75 feet, vastly increasing the suppression capacity. The foam also clings to vertical surfaces, protecting structures adjacent to the fire. The first trailer will carry an immediate recharge capacity capable of generating an additional 600 gallons of firefighting foam and two portable three-gallon CAFS units so that up to three individuals can begin fighting the fire immediately.

The second trailer will carry a 35-gallon recharge water tank, portable water pump and hose for recharging sustained fire fighting operations, thereby increasing suppression capacity to over 1,200 gallons of fire-fighting foam. Both trailers will also include a variety of State Fire Marshal specified fire fighting axes, tools, and fire fighters’ helmets and gloves so that the individuals who accompany each trailer will be able to get to work as soon as they arrive at the scene of the fire.