Jul 24 1979
From The Space Library
NASA announced plans to demonstrate emergency use of commercial tugboats as auxiliary fireboats, by mounting lightweight firefighting modules on their decks. A program jointly supported by NASA, the DOC's Maritime Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard had produced the Firefly, a portable fire pump made by Aviation Power Supply Company, Burbank, Calif., after a prototype originated by NASA for Coast Guard use on small patrol craft, based on pumps developed for space liquid propulsion systems.
The Maritime Administration had as a primary mission the improvement of fire protection equipment in ports; studies had shown the need for a small number of modules in custody of the local port authority's fire service for regular use in emergency firefighting. NASAs module used an aerospace-type gas turbine to drive a two-stage pump providing 7 meters (22 feet) of suction from the nearest source of water (river, ocean, or lake) for up to four hours on ordinary diesel fuel. Automatic controls offered a continuous range of pressures to emit steam, fog, or foam.
The city of St. Louis, Mo., and the St. Louis Port Authority would work out arrangements for a series of tests, maneuvers, and operations, including public demonstrations of the module in training and simulated emergency situations. The Port Authority and a contractor would compile information for evaluating the concept and would make it available to other port cities. (NASA Release 79-95; MSFC Release 79-77)
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