Canadian Forestry Magazine. October, ip20. 



465 



Developments in Fire-Fighting 

 Equipment 



by G. Gerald Blyth, Assistant Secretary 

 Canadian Forestry Association. 



The Dominion Parks Branch, which 

 w?"? responsible for the introduction of 

 the light weight portable gasoline fire- 

 fighting units now so universally and 

 successfully being used both in Canada 

 and the United States for fighting forest 

 fires has followed up this light weight 

 pumping unit by a heavier type of gas- 

 oline operated pump which has just been 

 built by a Canadian firm for use in the 

 valleys, along main roads, in Western 

 National Parks. Much has been written 

 oescribing the construction and use of 

 the portable units, and the purpose of 

 this article is to convey to these interest- 

 ed in forest fire protection a slight idea 

 as to the type of the experimental unit 

 just completed which will ])e ready to 

 handle (he fire situation along the main 

 auto roads in l\ocky Mountains Park 

 next spring. 



Strangely enough, the more difficult 

 problem of dealing with t'iM-ost lires 

 which occur off the main and auxilliarv 

 roads was first dealt with and more or 

 les«- solved ; that is to say. the portable 

 gasoline ]iumping units have preceded 

 the heavier anil less mobile type. Those 



df^partmental offices who were respon- 

 sille for the introduction of the gasoline 

 pumping units were more concerned with 

 providing means of getting water to a 

 lire occurring in the less accessible dis- 

 tr'cts and hence the portable gasoline 

 pumping unit, weighing but ioO lbs. 

 was the product of their lengthy and 

 careful investigations. Having produc- 

 ed an eminently satisfactory unit capable 

 of being easily transported by canoe, 

 pack-horse, railway speeder, etc.. the at- 

 f'ntion of the Parks Uranch Officers was 

 next directed towards dealing with the 

 fire situation along the many miles of re- 

 cently constructed auto roads where a 

 much heavier type of unit could be used 

 which would deliver a greater qnantitv 

 of water through longer lines of hose. 



Atitoniobilc Pitnipi}h^ Ciiit.'; 



A three-(iuarter ton auto truck chassis 

 of an approved make was litteil at a 

 well known Canadian fire engine com- 

 pany's factory with a rotary pump which 

 w.ir, placed in position on a line with the 

 chassis, behind the chassis transmission 

 and suitably geared thereto. The pump 



