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| Ara pro, an extra man on the scene with the power to hold fire until fire department crew reaches and attack |
When Fire Chief David Atwell of the Providence Volunteer Fire Department arrived on scene to a fully involved garage fire, he deployed the Ara Safety Pro to buy time for his crew to arrive. The deployment prevented the fire from spreading to the interior of the house, minimizing fire damage and property loss.
The call for a structure fire came in at 5:38 in the evening. When Chief Atwell arrived five minutes later, the roof on the two-car garage had already collapsed. The garage was adjacent to a log home, and the sides of the house were already beginning to burn.
“As I approached the fire with the [Ara Safety Pro] in hand, the window broke from heat,” said Chief Atwell. “I pulled the pin and deployed the device through the open window.” Shortly after the Ara Pro was deployed, apparatus arrived on scene, and the initial attack team was deployed.
“The [Ara Safety Pro] performed as I expected and gave us the time we needed to get our equipment in place to make an aggressive attack on the fire left outside and in the attic”, said Chief Atwell. “The [Ara Pro] held back the fire on the interior of the residence where it was deployed; it became an extra man on the scene, with the power to hold the fire advance until others could get there and set up.”
This was the first Ara Safety Pro deployment by the Providence Volunteer Fire Department. The department currently has five Ara Pro units: one in each of three Chief vehicles, and one in each of two engines.
