Until now the Victoria CFA volunteers have borne the brunt of the effort to control wildfires. It’s certainly true that, the CFA volunteers, have done a magnificent job in fighting fires, on the front lines. Wildfires have caused immense heartbreak and the destruction of 800 structures and 409,000 hectares of scorched land!
It’s tragic that one person has been killed so far and only pure luck that the death toll isn’t significantly higher. One Australian company understands this and is campaigning all the time for firefighters to get the best equipment. An example is the new fire pumps designed specifically for mop up work and fires and personal protection.
Aussie Pumps have introduced new pumps to the Australian market that have been developed specifically to fight Australian fires.“We know what it’s like putting out spots, in red hot conditions,” said Aussie Pumps Chief Engineer John Hales. “Our pumps are designed for the people who are fighting fires on the ground. Those folks put their own lives at risk to save others,” he said.
The new pumps include a high flow, high pressure pump that is powered by a Honda GX200 6.5 HP engine. “We designed it with that engine in mind to get the best possible combination of flow and pressure out of the pump. At the same time, keeping it lightweight and capable of being moved easily in the field by two people,” said Hales.
The Pump comes with a red steel welded frame and weighs in at only at under 40 kilos. Like all Aussie firefighting pumps, it comes with its a unique five-year warranty and is already pleasing farmers around the country. They are impressed by the super high flows and fast priming.
“Farmers who saw it on display and in operation nicknamed it as “THE WHOPPER”, said Hales”.
“The Whopper outperforms other lightweight portable fire pumps built with top quality components. Firefighting authorities all around Australia can take this new product, that Aussie has developed very seriously. You still see some of the older self-priming pumps with only one and half inch diameter suction ports. All of our fire pumps comes with standard two-inch suction ports, allowing 25% more water into the pump and therefore, more power out of the pump “said Hales.
The other new developments in lightweight portable fire pumps coming out of Aussie include a single impeller pump that does the job of a twin impeller. “We couldn’t have done it without the support of the Honda engine company. Honda were particularly cooperative and were very taken by the way we were able to get more performance, that means safer and more capable firefighting,” said Hales.
Aussie Pumps claim that there’s only three things that count in the fire, they are capability, capability, capability. Aussie’s been working hard over the last 12 months to develop these new products. “The volunteers, deserve the latest and best equipment, and that’s what drives our R&D programme,” said Hales.
