JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - The Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Fire Department has a new tool in its fire fighting arsenal.
Fire Chief Russell Miller and his crew took possession of a 2014 Pierce Saber pumper March 25.
"Everything on this is new, that's its biggest advantage," said Firefighter Chris Strybing. "It will allow some of the older equipment to go into reserve status."
Pumpers are designed to carry water in an onboard water tank or obtain water from an outside source such as a fire hydrant, swimming pool or lake. The joint base's new pumper can hold 500 gallons of water and dispense it at a rate of 1,500 gallons per minute, said Strybing.
The pumper, which is adorned with an American flag on its front grill and JBM-HH logos on its doors, is one of 13 that the Army bought through its fiscal year 2012 purchasing program through the efforts of its Tank Automotive Command and the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, said Miller. The $407,000 vehicle brings new technology, greater reliability and more capability to the residents, organizations and civilians on the joint base, Arlington National Cemetery and to the department's mutual aid partners in Arlington County, he added.
"The new pumper will go into service once radios have been installed, equipment has been mounted and drivers have been fully trained," explained Miller. "The new pumper will replace the current first out pumper."
The Army last purchased a pumper for the joint base back in 1989. Miller said the cab on that pumper was enclosed and a rescue body added in 1996. It was towed to the Defense Revitalization and Marketing Office on Fort Meade, Md., in the summer of 2012.
"The last vehicle purchased by the Army was the Pentagon crash truck in 2001, which replaced the crash truck purchased by the Army in 2000 which was destroyed on 9/11," he continued.
Miller said that a specific driver training program has been under development even before the new pumper arrived.
"The training will include driving the new pumper, operating the pump using both water and environmentally friendly training foam, reviewing a safety DVD provided by the manufacturer and going through an emergency vehicle operator course with the new pumper," he explained.
Arrangements have also been made with the local dealer to provide training on the pumper's foam system and hydraulically driven generator.
"The local dealer is also tailoring a new vehicle training program to provide more detailed training than normally would have been provided by the manufacturer through the Army Apparatus Purchase Program," added Miller.
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