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St. Helena Fire Department Napa Valley CA

NEWS-UPDATES-PRODUCT INFORMATION-INOVATIONS-ACTION PHOTOS

Inside this issue:

Holmatro® Bulkheads 1

St. Helena’s Rescue w/

Bulkhead Fittings

2

Winter Fuel Concerns 3

How long can you

store today's gasoline?

3

FS3 introduces David

Parker

4

FS3 Staff information 4

Kovenex Blanket Sale 5

October 2008Editor: Steve Carpenter,

FS3 GM & Retired BC Vacaville FD

Special points of in-

terest:

St. Helena FD Rescue w/

Holmatro Bulkhead Fit-

tings!

Winter Fuel Concerns!

FS3’s New Staff Member

On Sale: Kovenex Blankets

Under the direction and guidance of Fire Chief Kevin Twohey St. Helena Fire Department re-

cently took delivery of their new SVI built Rescue Unit. What makes this unit so special is that

they are the first fire department in California to install the new Holmatro® Bulkhead fittings.

What is a bulkhead fitting? Because of Core Technology, the fire service now has the ability

to hide an electric over hydraulic power plant in a location that allows improved use of cabi-

net space, yet supports two or three hydraulic hose lines located where you want! Front

bumper, back bumper or

on either side, you make

the choice! A compact

simple package that

requires less mainte-

nance to maintain com-

pared with gasoline type

systems.

New Rescue for St. Helena Fire Department

Volume 1 issue 4

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.

St. Helena’s Front Bumper Mounted

Holmatro® Core Bulkhead Fittings

Flip the switch located to the left of the picture and plug in your Core hose and go to work! Its as easy as that! The Sys-

tem is powered by a Tri-Electric Pump which has the ability to provide the same pressures to three separate hose lines at

the same time. The bulkhead fittings have been mounted in a box located on the front extension bumper and are con-

nected to three Core hoses routed through the frame rails to the electric pump located in the rear of the unit. See pic-

ture of pump location. The location of the pump was selected with concern for storage and annual service and mainte-

nance. Note that the location is up high in the compartment so that it does not impede the storage of additional items

and it is easy enough to remove to a work bench and perform annual service. The pump is powered by a 230volt electric

motor that receives it power from a 24KW PTO driven generator. Once the engineer has set the PTO in motion, the next

step is up to the FF that selects one or all of the bulkhead fittings. The bulkhead fitting allows you to hot swap as the

unit is running and can accommodate hose up to 150ft away from the pump. The end result is that with the new Core

Technology it allows us to illuminate hose reels that are costly, heavy and take up tremendous space. The use of bulk-

head fittings used with the electric system also illuminates the use of gasoline engines and the need to provide services

that go hand in hand with gasoline motors. What you end up with is a system that is efficient and all you need to store is

the Core hose which is 40% less weight then previous twin line hoses.

For more details and information on Bulkhead fittings contact your local Holmatro® Sales person.

Bulkhead w/Cover

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Winter Fuel Concerns!Written by: Robert Brown, Holmatro Western US Regional Manager

Reformulated Gasoline’s

Gasoline in almost all cases now contains either methanol (methyl alcohol) or ethanol (ethyl alcohol). You should be aware of certain adverse effects that can occur.

In open (vented) fuel systems as is the case with small to large engines commonly used in lawn maintenance equipment, saws, boat motors, ventilation fans, and EXTRI-

CATION PUMPS the alcohol will absorb moisture from the atmosphere. This results in separation of the water/alcohol from the gasoline in the fuel tank.

The issues that can arise from the alcohol content include;

Corrosion of metal parts

Deterioration of rubber or plastic parts

Fuel permeation through rubber fuel lines

Starting and operating difficulties

Use of a fuel additive such as Sea Foam (http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm) will greatly reduce or eliminate engine problems related to reformu-

lated gas. This specific product appears to have the best result when compared to other additives on the market, however ANY additive designed to reduce the separa-

tion of water/alcohol from the gas is better than none. It is also extremely important to keep fuel fresh. Operating the engine on at least a weekly basis will help avoid

“stale” fuel from accumulating in the tank. Keeping the tank filled will reduce the amount of fuel surface area that is exposed to atmosphere which will reduce the volume

of moisture absorbed by the fuel.

How Long Can Gasoline Be Stored

This information was copied from the Exxon website. Their full FAQ page can be found at the following link http://www.exxon.com/exxon_gas/web-faqs-exxon.html

There is no one answer to the question of how long gasoline can be kept in storage, because the answer depends upon the conditions under which it is stored. Gasoline

in storage can change in two primary ways. It can lose light ends (volatile components) and/or it can oxidize. In addition, gasoline’s blended with ethanol can absorb

water and separate into a gasoline layer and another water/alcohol layer.

All gasolines are blended to be used in the season and geographic region where they're sold. Summer gasolines have fewer light ends (they evaporate more slowly)

compared to winter gasolines. In the winter, it's harder to start a car engine so we make the gasoline vaporize more easily so the engine can start. The same gasoline in

the summer would provide too many light ends and might cause vapor lock or excessive hydrocarbon emissions (leads to smog). The loss of light ends from gasoline

can occur if the container isn't sealed properly. It can even occur when using the common plastic gas "cans" that are sealed. The main impact of using gasoline with too

few light ends is hard starting and rough running during warm up. Because of the rough running, the engine would also produce more emissions. So, for all these rea-

sons, we generally recommend that the gasoline be used within a few months of purchase.

Regarding oxidation of gasolines, the rate of this chemical reaction is impacted by a number of factors, the storage temperature, and the amount of air space in the con-

tainer and the presence or absence of stabilizer additives. Oxidation causes deposits to form in the gasoline, which might drop out as a fine sediment, plug fuel filters or

form lacquer-like coatings on the fuel wetted areas of the fuel system. Gasoline will tend to last longer during winter months in northern climates vs.. Summer months in

the south. All Exxon and Mobil branded gasolines have stabilizer additives.

Gasoline’s blended with ethanol can absorb water from the air, eventually accumulating enough to cause the mixture to separate into 2 phases, an ethanol/water phase

and another gasoline only phase. The key to avoid this "2 phasing" is to keep the fuel container tightly sealed, thereby keeping any humid air from contact with the fuel.

Summarizing, gasoline should generally be used within a few months of purchase. When the engine will not be used for an extended period of time, the conservative

approach is to drain the fuel tank and then run the engine until it stalls. If you choose to store gasoline, keep it in very nearly full (minimizing air contact) tightly sealed

metal containers (minimizing the loss of light ends and the availability of humid air) in a cool environment (slowing down the rate of oxidation).

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Serving California & Nevada

P.O. Box 10817

Santa Ana, CA 92711-0817

Phone: 800-388-6607

FS3 Northern CA Staff

John Jurado: (707)-689-3119 Calaveras, Co-

lusa, Glenn, Lake, Solano, Tehama, Yolo and San

Joaquin Counties.

Jason Martin: (415)-302-5687 Contra Costa,

Marin, Mendocino, San Francisco and Sonoma

Counties.

Tony Martinez: (909)-289-3234 Amador, Butte,

El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra,

Sutter and Yuba Counties.

Zack Boyce: (707)-447-4954 Alameda, San

Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz

Counties.

Dave Parker : (559) -307-3020 Fresno, Kings, Madera,

Merced, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne Coun-

ties.

Bill Cross: (775)-846-8121 Alpine, Inyo and

Mono Counties.

FS3 Southern CA Staff

Tom Gilbertson: (714)-222-9377 Kern,

Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernar-

dino Counties.

Dane Jackson: (805)-341-3614 Monterey, San

Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura Counties.

Steve Carpenter: (760)-707-6923 San Diego

and Imperial Counties.

FS3 State of Nevada Staff

Bill Cross: (775)-846-8121 Northern Nevada

Jim Perkins : (702)-292-5306 Clark County NV.

FS3 Dealer Service Technicians

Southern California

Raul Galvez: (323)-356-8432

Dane Jackson: (805)-341-3614

Northern California

Ashley Sanders: (707)-480-8478

Jeff Hartman: (530)-301-3933

Central California

Dave Parker: (559)-307-3020

Northern Nevada

Bill Cross: (775)-846-8121

Southern Nevada

Jim Perkins: (702)-292-5306

Whatever your crash/rescueneeds may be, FS3 and

Holmatro® have the solutionsthat will best suit your specific

needs!

www.holmatro-fs3.com

DPU31 Simo Pump

LED Lights

Low noise level

69.3db

LED Lights

Dave’s Bio!I started my Fire Career in 1978and served four years with theClovis Fire Reserve program. In1982, I landed my first full timejob as Firefighter with theNorth Central Fire ProtectionDistrict and spent eight yearswith them. In 1989, I returnedto the Clovis Fire Departmentas a fulltime Firefighter andthen promoted to Engineer in1993, where I found my nichefor the next 15 years. Duringthis time, I served as a memberof the Urban Search and RescueTeam, the Apparatus Committee,and manager of the department’sEquipment Program. I was also theVice President of the Clovis Fire-fighters Association where mymain focus was on Negotiations,the Political Action Committee andCharity events. I enjoy scuba div-ing (I have a close call where I canconfirm the white light and angelssinging), snow skiing, and ridingmy Harley. I look forward to meet-ing and working with all of you.

Dave’s focus will be with Sales, Service and

Training in the following areas: Fresno, Kings,

Madera, Merced, Mariposa, Stanislaus, Tulare,

and Tuolumne counties. (559)-307-3020

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Serving California and Nevada