Chehalis firefighters have a new weapon to fight fires involving combustible liquids — from the airport to Interstate 5 to the railway.
Chief Ken Cardinale said the oldest rig in the department’s fleet has been outfitted with Class B foam, which puts a sealant over fuel to prevent it from releasing its vapors. It’s far more effective on such fires than water, which can actually spread the flames.
“We had a need for much larger capability,” Cardinale said.
Instead of scrapping its 1970s-era Pierce rig, Chehalis outfitted the truck with a 300-gallon foam tank; the foam is mixed with water to bring total capacity to 1,000 gallons. The cost for the foam apparatus was $8,000, allotted from the city’s budget.
“By repurposing an old engine, we saved thousands and thousands of dollars,” Cardinale said.
The engine will provide the largest Class B foam response capacity in Lewis County, and it will be a