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  • Trinidad Firefighter Mike Ferguson stands near the Air/Foam System CAFS recently added to the force. Arthur Arnold/ Special to the Review

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March 11, 2010

Trinidad fire personnel have significant addition

Art Lawler Staff writer The Athens Review

Athens — TRINIDAD:  The Trinidad Voluntary Fire Department has some brand new equipment, thanks to the Texas Forestry Service, which granted the small community a 9-1 $36,000 matching grant.

  It's called an Air/Foam System CAFS.

 Now then, what does that mean to the average non-firefighter?

 "It's a more advanced fire-suppressant system," said Gene Lednicky, a representative for Neel Associates.

 What you have here is a basic Ford F-350 truck with an 11-foot by 8-foot flatbed.

 It's what's on top of the bed of that truck that had volunteer firefighters in Trinidad excited Monday night.

Fire Chief Arthur Arnold gathered his volunteers into the station Tuesday for an hour of instruction and demonstration of the 300-gallon truck.

The firefighter then put the truck to the test, and opened the valves, and created some quick foam in the driveway.

"They've made a lot of improvements since they first used foam back in '87," Arnold said.

Why did Trinidad go for a relatively-small truck with a system that combines air, water and foam?

"We want to save water," Arnold said. He figures with the new truck, he can put out an acre of fire with the 300 gallons."

That doesn't sound like much until you figure the truck is equipped with six discharges that can be attached to hoses, which are attached to 3,000-gallon tanker discharges.

Arnold estimated that the 300 gallons of water, with the use of foam, can put out about the same amount of fire as the 3,000 tanker. Inside that 300-gallon tank is also a 15-gallon supply of foam-soap solution.

But make it so that the tanker and the CAFs system work together, and the supply of water in the tanker lasts much longer. The Trinidad Voluntary Fire Department gets more bang for the buck with  both vehicles.

Several gadgets on the side are turned appropriately to control the amount of water, air and foam that goes onto the fire, thanks to water pressure, air compressors and a pump.

The latest addition brings to nine the number of firefighting vehicles in use by the 25-person Trinidad Fire Department.

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