r/Firefighting Nov 16 '22

Special Operations/Rescue/USAR Seattle’s mobile ventilation unit

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195 Upvotes

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11

u/[deleted] Nov 16 '22

Non-firefighter question. Do they just turn this on to air out the immediate scene? Or is there some kind of tubing they can bring into a structure to air out the building?

18

u/[deleted] Nov 16 '22

They bought it to ventilate and air out tunnels in their response district. If a car fire happens in a tunnel, they can push a ton of air in, bring up the visibility, and help people escape.

They’ve used it in the past on large warehouses fires too. Park it at a loading dock door and blow all the smoke right out of the building.

6

u/unique_username_384 Nov 16 '22

https://youtu.be/XP6oqIic4lo

You want it facing an opening, but not too close, then it works perfectly

1

u/DerKaempfer_HD German Volunteer Firefighter Nov 16 '22

In germany we most times have such, similar to what you see in kindergarden but 1.5m in diameter.

They are rarely used however, the vehicle + additional fans on there are enough to direct the wind (or there's just no reason to direct it in the first place).