JOHNSONBURG – The Johnsonburg Fire Department welcomed the
latest addition to its fire engine fleet with the arrival of a
compressed air foam system pumper.

The pumper was purchased from Glick Fire Equipment Company Inc.
of Appleton, Wis.ðIt can pump 1,500 gallons per minute and has a
1,000 gallon tank.ðThere is also a hydraulic ladder rack on the
unit, which raises and lowers a ladder from the top of the
vehicle.

Four members of the department attended two, eight-hour sessions
while viewing the vehicle at the Wisconsin plant, including Fire
Chief Bill Keneske, Jody Bowley, Dave Myers and Frank Bienkowski.ð
The group spent an eight-hour session inspecting the vehicle and
then learned the controls for the second eight hours.

The members will also train others how to operate it; that will
take about six weeks. The pumper will see action at a structure
burn class the station will hold in October.

Keneske said the pumper can handle all types of fires, noting
the department will be carrying Class A foam for regular fires and
Class B foam for gasoline fires.

Officials said one reason for the new pumper is the two engines
currently in use are 20-years-old and the department wanted
equipment meant for the 21st Century.

“When we decided to go with the CAFS we were looking for
something with 21st Century technology,” Keneske said, adding he
was somewhat nervous on how the system operated, but found it to be
relatively easy.ð

Keneske said he believes the trainees will have no problem
learning the system.

The four trainers will certify the other members upon completion
of the training and only then will the pumper be put into
service.

The vehicle costs approximately $360,000, which is the stripped
down version. Costs could have risen as high as $450,000.ð

“A major chunk of the money came from a Homeland Security-FEMA
grant,” Keneske said. “We also used grant money from the state and
private donations that Weyerhaeuser (Industries) contributed.”

Keneske said the borough also chipped in, using money out of the
Equipment Sinking Fund.

“It is for purchase of equipment,” Keneske said, “or for a major
breakdown.”

This is the first such foam pumping vehicle in Elk County.ð