Cascade Timber Consulting held its annual fire truck inspections on May 8, running through about 25 to 30 trucks in preparation for the fire season.
“We always do this this time of the year because we’re gonna see some hot weather coming now,” CTC President Milt Moran said. “It’s still pretty wet out there, but this will give us a chance to get them all inspected and if they have anything deficient, we’ll have them ready for when the fire season actually starts.”
Moran said that even though fire season is not here yet, he’s going to employ the trucks on their properties starting Monday (May 13).
Staff from Oregon Department of Forestry assisted in the inspections. Using a pressure gauge on a hose, they checked to make sure each truck was pumping at least 30 gallons of water per minute at 115 pounds per square inch. Most trucks, Moran said, were well exceeding that minimum requirement.
While the state has mandated requirements for these trucks, CTC holds its contractors to higher standards in some instances.
“There’s nothing wrong with the state standards; it’s just we want more,” Moran said.
In addition to a truck holding at least 1,000 gallons, CTC requires a bigger hose and more hose, as well as special attachments that allow them to hook up CTC’s big volume pump trailer in such a way as to prevent men from climbing the trucks.
“I’ve been here a long time and watched guys with cork boots go up on top of tanks and pull hoses; super dangerous. I’ve seen guys fall off.”
Those special attachments required by CTC eliminate that risk.
The fire trucks are on site for CTC properties during fire season, but they also assist other fire fighting agencies when needed.
“We bring these fire trucks to bear out on wildfires that could threaten our neighbors and our town,” Moran said.