Car fire extinguished in seconds

February 2008

A NEW PIECE of fire-fighting equipment which has come to Arklow is set to assist crews by reducing extinguishing time to seconds.

The state-of-the-art Compressed Air Flow System (CAFS) is to come as part of every new vehicle and now that Arklow has a 2008 Scania fire truck, all local brigade members will be trained to use it effectively.

A demonstration took place in town on Wednesday and saw a flaming car wreck put out in mere seconds.

This is a dramatic decrease in timeframe which would up to now have seen a regular burning vehicle continue to blaze for up to quarter of an hour.

UK officials were on site to assist the Arklow brigade in learning to use the new machine to maximum potential.

The new material which is made up of air, water and a third foam-like ingredient has recently come to Ireland and Co. Wicklow is among the first counties to received the new facility at Arklow, Wicklow and Bray.

The CAF system is also more eco-friendly as it uses significantly less water and reduces smoke and burn off.

A spokesperson from the Fire Services said that the system is a great addition to the station and that members are looking forward to putting it to good use.