The Mt. Laurel Fire Department recently received a 4,000-gallon foam tanker worth $435,000 through a Homeland Security Grant.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Christopher Burnett, the Burlington County Office of Emergency Management sought the grant and asked the Mt. Laurel Fire Department if it was willing to store and use the truck when needed.
Burnett said the county is currently working on finalizing its logistical needs and the fire department is training its personnel to operate the equipment.
The foam tanker is mainly used for large petrochemical flammable liquid fires (a type of Class B fire), but it can be used to control stubborn Class A fires involving ordinary combustibles such as wood, cloth and rubber, Burnett said.
He said Class B fires can only be put out using certain chemicals.
The foam tanker would allow easy access to resources for handling a Class B fire or “stubborn fire,” he said.
But the idea behind housing a piece of equipment capable of controlling highly flammable chemical fires is to be prepared for a catastrophe like the Paulsboro train derailment in November.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 13 freight cars transporting vinyl chloride — a flammable and highly toxic gas used in the production of PVC piping — derailed on a bridge crossing Mantua Creek. The derailment released approximately 23,000 gallons of vapor, the EPA’s website says.
Burnett said if an incident like that were to occur, Mt. Laurel would have the resources for anyone in the area trained on the tanker to use.
He said since the Mt. Laurel Fire Department covers areas on I-295, if called out to an overturned gas truck, the fire department has the foam tanker on hand if needed.
But he said the tanker is more of a regional asset.
“The intent is to position these in various regions if something like Paulsboro were to happen again,” Burnett said.
The fire department will eventually see if surrounding fire departments would like to have the same type of training.
Burnett said it’s a “unique truck” to Mt. Laurel.
