In this fire pump training video, a SAM Pump representative shows off IDEX Fire & Safety’s fire truck pump panel, featuring touchscreen fire truck pump controls. The panel has a pressure sensitive touchscreen which allows firefighters to wear gloves while operating. It also features smart controls that will handle many of the pump operations. Below is a transcription of the video:
This is a pressure-sensitive screen. It does not work the same way as your cell phone. It will work with your gloves. It is not affected by water, so you can have water running off of it and it will still work fine. It works in almost any climate. We have tested this from -40 degrees to 195 degrees and it worked every time.
They just had this truck up in Vermont three weeks ago where it was 20 degrees with a negative windchill. Everything on the truck was frozen except for the screens. They have an LED backlight that puts out enough heat to keep it working all the time.
This will also monitor your pump temperature. On other trucks, when you put your truck in gear, you have to get out and turn your tank, the pump, and recirculation on. When you put our truck in gear, the tank and the pump automatically open and it starts to monitor the temperature. Once we reached that temperature, that is when it will start to circulate water automatically. This will also tell you how much oil life is left in your gearbox, how much water is in your gearbox, the temperatures of both the pump and the gearbox, and many other important metrics.
The system is very simple. It helps simplify those first couple of minutes. It takes care of making connections, charging lines and getting the truck ready for the fire scene. Do you guys work on a high grid, drafting or a mix? Do you have one guy to connect to the hydrant and one guy to connect to the truck, or are they the same person?
They are usually two different people.
The cool part about this is it will automatically vent the air out of the hydrant. Your guys can make the hydro vent, and when they slide this over, it is not going to open that valve until it sees water.
Once it sees water, that valve will open. What that means is you can slide it to vent, make your connection here, and hit the hydrant. By the time you fire that hydrant up, it is already established. You don’t have to worry about drawing all of that back.
A common problem is getting your tank dialed in, only to have to redo it once that hydrant starts to drawback. This system manages all parts of your tank. It makes it much easier to manage your tanker truck.