We’re now in Shubinacadie, Nova Scotia, where we met up with the Department of Lands and Forestry and the team from Nova Scotia Wildfire Management. There were 12 participants in this MARK-3® WATSON demonstration, which was very welcoming and productive. Thanks to the everyone on hand, the WATERAX team received lots of useful feedback.
The whole demo was light hearted, in true Maritime fashion. People joked about testing requirements for pumps: “you have to be able to drop them from a pick-up truck and helicopter—and then, to meet Nova Scotia standards, they have to last for 50 years!”
Diverse workforce
The MARK-3® WATSON “proof of concept” fuel-injected unit is just a prototype but, according to our hosts, ease of start would be the most important benefit. What’s more, having a more user-friendly pump caters to an increasingly diverse firefighter workforce. One participant told us, “I like that you cater to a different group of firefighters, speaking as a women firefighter. We all want to work smarter not harder. The fact that it's lighter is really going to help”. In addition, we were told that “8/10 pumps come back to the warehouse to be repaired because they were flooded.”
Love the handle!
Our hosts told us that the increased mobility of the MARK-3® WATSON Edition was a huge plus for them. We received great comments, including “I'm just in love with the handle” and “I like the harness, not just for carrying but just the fact that it won't sink into the ground.”
At the end of the demo, our hosts shared their anticipation and excitement for the final carburetor version and could “imagine the province fighting over who's going to use it!”
We were honoured to be told that the WATSON marks “a historic moment, we should take the time to appreciate it!”
We totally agree.
