The White Falcon - 12.03.1976, Blaðsíða 3

’larch 12, 1976
Pane 3
Tanker’ - the ultimate firefighting vehicle
Story and photos by
J02 Terry J. Barnthouse
"Space had to be made for the 68-
foot monster," said Assistant Fire
Chief Haraldur Stefansson as he gazed
at the huge yellow machine. "This
thing is it for a firefighting vehicle;
there's nothing it isn't ready for."
As he walked by the new special-
ized piece of machinery he added,
"We're proud to be one of only ten
Naval stations to have such a fire-
fighter. It's a 5,000 gallon portable
fire hydrant."
As two firemen prepared the fire-
fighter, nicknamed the "Tanker," for a
demonstration, the fire chief explained
more about the machine.
The tremendous capabilities of the
firefighter include foaming runways,
.resupplying other vehicles, and fur-
Inishing nozzle and handline support.
^ A rear-mounted package carries 5,000
gallons of water, 300 gallons of AFFF
(aqueous film-foaming foam) agent and
500 gallons of protein foam.
The agent, when mixed with water,
produces a fire-extinguishing foam. It
is a noncorrosive, nontoxic chemical
which is used to put out liquid fires.
One load of foam from the truck covers
50,000 square feet.
During the demonstration, the slow
moving "Tanker" spread a 25-foot-wide
blanket of four - inch high foam. In an
aircraft emergency the foam blanket
would be spread over a required length
and width by the 24-foot spreader bar.
The size of the foam path is deter-
mined by the aircraft's size and slide
distance. Because each aircraft is dif-
ferent, Keflavik firemen invented a com-
puter dial as an aid in figuring the
slide distance and the time required to
lay the foam.
Firemen have been training and fam-
iliarizing themselves with the new
vehicle for a month. Constant up-keep
of the $30,000 machine will mean good
service. It is a great expense for
safety.
Not only is the firefighter for use
at the Keflavik International Airport,
it is also ready to service building
fires throughout the NATO Base.
A top-mounted rotating turrent has a
discharge capability of 800 gallons per
minute to a distance of 240 feet. It
also can transfer water to other fire
trucks through the use of special adap-
tors .
The "Tanker" comes from Naval Facil-
ity, Norfolk, Va. Such a specialized
machine was declared necessary for Kef-
lavik based on the airport's number of
incoming planes and passengers and
quantity of fuel used.
Crash and Rescue Truck
A new Crash Fire and Rescue Truck has
also been added to the line of 44 Fire
Department heavy duty vehicles. Rigged
up with rescue tools, from wire cutters
to an electric saw, the rescue truck is
ready for its mission.
The four-wneel-drive crash unit has
been placed in service after its oper-
ators redesigned compartments, covered
the rear of the truck and familiarized
themselves with the equipment.
"There is no way of not finding any
piece of equipment," states Crash
Captain Ragnar Ragnarsson. "Each piece
is outlined to show its place in the
compartment." There is a place for
everything and everything has its place.
The Fire and Rescue Truck is also
equipped with two tanks of firefighting
agents. One tank carries 100 gallons of
a foam-making, water-like mixture. The
second holds 150 pounds of dry PKP
(potassium bicarbonate powder). Each
container is connected to a nitrogen
cylinder. To operate the unit, the
nitrogen cylinder is opened, forcing the
agents through the hose. This combina-
tion is effective on fuel fire suffoca-
tion.
"The equipment works beautifully,"
says Fire Chief Stefansson. "A fireman
knows what he needs and appreciates the
best."
Even though the new trucks haven't
been to their first fire or rescue, the
men who know how to operate them say
they are ready.
FIREMEN ROBERT 0LAFSS0N and Vilhjamur
Arngrimsson, right, demonstrate fire-
fighting capabilities of the station's
newest fire vehicles. Fireman Robert
Olafsson, below, watches the steady flow
of foam from the firefighter.
Station Library offers voting info, and best sellers
by Cathy Mullen
Do you know when your home state is
having its Presidential Primary or if
your state is even holding one? Do you
know what state officials are being
elected this year? This information is
now available at your Station Library on
the Voting Information poster located on
the second stack from the front desk.
Do you have any books which have been
checked out by someone who was trans-
ferred long ago? The library staff will
be glad to get them back regardless of
how long ago they were checked out.
The Station Library now has a. new
Best Seller List as printed in the Pub-
lisher's Weekly for February 9, 1976.
Those entries marked by an asterisk (*)
are not available at the library.
FICTION
1. Curtain - Agatha Christie
2. The Choirboys - Joseph Wambaugh
3. Ragtime - E. L. Doctorow
4. 5. 6. 7. The Greek Treasure - Irvins Stone Saving the Queen - W.F. Buckley,Jr. In the Beginning - Chaim Potok The Eaqle Has Landed - Geo. Higgins
8. 9. Nightwork - Irwin Shaw Looking for Mister Goodbar -
10. Judith Rossner Shogun - James Clawell
NON- -FICTION
1. Angels - Billy Graham
2. Bring on the Empty Horses - David
*3. Niven Winning Through Intimidation -
4. Robert Ringer Doris Day: Her Own Story - A. E.
5. Hotchner The Relaxation Response - Herbert
6. Benson Sylvia Porter's Money Book - Sylvia
*7. Porter Mg Life - Golda Meir
*8. Tennessee Williams: Memoirs -
Tennessee Williams
9. Power'. How to Get It, How to Use
It - Michael Korda
10. The Age of Napoleon - Will and
Ariel Durant
The Station Library has two new books
in the McNaughton collection both deal-
ing with the CIA, one fiction and one
non-fiction:
1. Saving the Queen by William F.
Buckley, Jr. is his first novel and is,
as of the February 15 New York Times
Book Review Section, number five on the
Best Seller list for fiction. It is in
its second week on the list of the top
ten. The novel deals with a young CIA
agent who is to find out from whom and
where the Russians are getting informa-
tion about the United States' creation
of a hydrogen bomb in 1951. During his
assignment, he finds many surprises in
the most unlikely places; he even finds
his own life in danger. Mr. Buckley's
high style with wit, humor, and bite
are on almost every page as well as his
intelligence and obvious inside know-
ledge of Washington and London.
2. The CIA File, edited by Robert L.
Borosage and John Marks, is an intensive
and critical analysis of clandestine op-
erations of the CIA. The editors have
compiled some revealing and extremely
pertinent essays concerning CIA covert
operations. Some of these operations
are: domestic espionage; disastrous
involvements in Cuba and Chile; the
"secret war" in Laos; and evasion or
subversion of congressional review. The
editors also include an unprecedented
response from former CIA Director Wil-
liam Colby. This book replaces the heat
of uninformed argument with the light of
fact and informed theory. It is a vital
book about a very vitally important is-
sue.
Handball:
The international handball match Sun-
day between the U.S. Women's Olympic
Handball Team and the Icelandic National
Women's Team ended in an 11-11 tie.
A fast and exciting
international game
The afternoon's action for the more
than 400 spectators at the Base Gym
began with music provided by the school
band of K<£pavogur. They also played at
half time.
The game was rough with plenty of
fast action. The first half belonged to
the aggressive American team who pushed
to an 8-1 lead.
Assistant U.S. Coach Elmer Edes said;
"We couldn't do anything wrong in the
first half, both our offense and defense
were really together."
The leading scorer for the Americans
in the first half, vith three goals, was
April Hunt, a 17-year-old high school
senior from Milford, Conn. Sandra
Leigh, a high school Phys. Ed. teacher
from Pensacola, Fla. and Carol Lindsey
both made two goals in the first half.
The other first half score was made by
Linda Lillis, a senior at Concordia
Teachers College from Chicago. Lillis
also made two goals in the second half
of the game.
In the second half, the Icelanders
found the key to the American's defense
and scored repeatedly to prove it. Many
of the second period goals were provided
by Erla Surrisdottir, who got the single
goal in the first half and five more in
the second. One of the Icelander's
coaches commented that his team had not
been playing up to their potential at
the start of the game but made up for it
in the second half.
The American team managed to hold the
lead in the second half until, with nine
minutes left, Halpa Gudmunsddttir scored
a goal to make it a 10-10 tie. This was
her second goal.
Then on a score by Erla Surrisdottir
the Icelanders took the lead. Lillis
made the final American goal with about
three and a half minutes left in the
game. Neither team was able to break
through the other's defense and it ended
with an 11-11 tie.
The other scorers for the Icelandic
team were; Jdanna Halldosddttir with two
goals and Margaret Brandottir with one.
Reita Clanton, a Phys. Ed. teacher
from Opelika, Ala., scored the third
goal for the U.S. Olympic team in the
second half.
If you missed this game, you still
have two chances to see this fast, ex-
citing sport— games will be played
tonight at 8:30 in Hafnafjordur, and
at 3 tomorrow afternoon in Akranes.
Story by J02 Glenna Houston. Photos by
J03 Pat McGreevy and PH3 Rene' Pearce