So climate change is here and Mother Nature is showing us how much she can throw at our great island continent. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burnt in Victoria with fires raging through hamlets. With vivid memories of the massive fires in the past, it’s clear that the last few years has seen a consistent build up of fuel, right throughout the east coast.
Are the fires over? We hope so, but we certainly can’t count on it with the huge fuel build up and the 100 kilometre per hour winds that we’ve seen in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Queensland is getting pelted with everything from cyclones and flood waters destroying roads. Tens of thousands of livestock lost.
One company, Australian Pump Industries (Aussie Pumps) has seen it all before and has developed products through past experience to mitigate, where possible, these climate catastrophises.
“Even with the huge demand to move water in Queensland, we also had to ship big 6” pumps by air freight to Juba in Sudan to deal with their floods based on the central African flood season”, said Ausie Pumps Chief Engineer, John Hales.
It’s well known that the United Nations has 26 heavy duty 6” trailer mounted Aussie flood pumps already operating in flood control on reaches of the Nile in South Sudan. Those pumps do a mighty job!
Smart Local Government bodies in Queensland invested in these big 6,000 lpm pumps before the floods came. With Winton Shire Council in Central Queensland is prepped with four Aussie 6” pumps to help deal with the floods. That’s 24,000 lpm capacity!
“We built the 80 hp diesel drive pumps onto heavy duty steel trailers with tandem axles. The idea is to be able to mobilise these units, with a prime mover to locate them wherever they are needed. Having them mobile means that local government can carry out flood mitigation and minimise potential damage”, said Hales.
FIRE SURVIVAL … BE READY
Australian Pump produce tens of thousands of their Fire Survival Guides in preparation for the fire season every year.
“Many people who work at Aussie Pumps are living in the ‘Urban Interface’. That’s the band of properties that surround not only the big cities, but regional towns as well. It involves around 1.5 to 2 million households, with capital cities literally surrounded by ‘blockies’ with small acreage for pets or livestock. Many of these people are situated near National Parks and often poorly prepared for fires”, said Hales.
Australian Pump promote to people in the Urban Interface to prepare in advance for the fire season.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT
Aussie Pumps recommend that people in the Urban Interface should invest in a water tank and a fire pump. If you choose to fight the fire, having sufficient water and a high quality pump is required. A good quality high pressure hose kit is just as important.
With sprinklers on the roof and downpipes blocked, the gutters can turn into a ‘moat’ to help defend an ember attack. “It’s the embers that are the danger, with the ability to be wind driven for a number of kilometres”, said Hales.
Getting set up to defend a property is a big decision. The most important thing is to buy the right pump and train members of the family and where appropriate, neighbours too on how to use it.
The pump should be fuelled and oiled and primed with water so it starts immediately.
“Make sure the pump has no leaks in the suction line as that can slow down the pump’s priming process and hinder performance”, said Hales.
It’s the dry fuel, high temperatures and worst of all, unexpected gale force winds that creates true disasters. Aussie’s message is to be prepared with the best pump, adequate water and quality high pressure hoses and nozzles.
VALUE FOR MONEY
Don’t leave it until the last minute to decide to buy a pump to prepare for a fire. The time to do it is now, not when you smell smoke. The very first step is to read the Aussie Fire Survival Guide or the documents from the rural volunteer Brigades.
Aussie’s Fire Chief is on the market at $880 including GST. There is a freight factor that may need to be added to that depending on where you are located in this huge country of ours. The heart of the Fire Chief is it’s big one piece single impeller. That impeller provides phenomenal performance and is perfectly matched to Honda’s GX160 petrol engine.
All Fire Chief pumps come with a unique five year warranty on the pump end. That guarantees them to be free of faulty workmanship or material for that period. The Honda engine is covered by Honda’s three year warranty.
“We standardise on Honda engines because we know they are famous for starting first time, every time, when properly maintained. Be careful not to buy a third world pump that doesn’t have the same capability as the Fire Chief”, said Hales.
Honda’s engineers work with Aussie to help develop the perfect combination of engine matched to the pump performance. Hales gives credit to Honda for the great support they have provided over the years.
SEE YOUR AUSSIE PUMP DEALER
Australian Pump has a great network of top class distributors all across Australia and through the South Pacific. They have loads of Aussie Fire Survival Guides available or you can pick up one off the website aussiepumps.com.au.
“Our job is to educate and help prepare for what is potentially a major fire season this year”, said Hales.
Call your local Aussie Pump Distributor for more information or contact Aussie Pumps 02 88653500.
