Chiefs buy air tank filler
The Butler County Fire Chief's Association bought a new piece of equipment that is vital for firefighter safety and fighting fires.
The EagleAir compressor, used for filling the air tanks that firefighters carry on their backs when battling fires, was installed last week in the Butler Fire Department station.
The compressor can be used to fill firefighters' air tanks, fire department trucks as well as air tanks used by the county hazardous materials team, the county prison, Butler Area Sewer Authority, the attorney general's office and AK Steel.
Butler firefighters have been trained to use the $45,000 compressor.
“With the station staffed 24-7 there's always someone here to fill the air bottles,” said Christopher Switala, Butler fire chief.
Greg Haughey, association secretary, said the association has been buying compressors for county firefighters since the late 1960s. Installing them in the city fire station has worked well, he said.
“That's at least the third or fourth we've bought over the years,” Haughey said.
The last one was at least 15 years old, said Adam Rozic, the Butler Township Volunteer Fire District chief who was installed as this year's association president.
“It's absolutely necessary to have it. It's perfect in the city. It's centrally located,” Rozic said. “(City firefighters are) all trained.”
A crucial feature of the compressor is a gauge that measures the carbon dioxide in the room air, which is used to fill the tanks, Haughey said.
“That's a big misconception,” Switala said. “It's not pure oxygen that we're breathing. It's compressed air.”
EagleAir will service the compressor twice a year to remove carbon dioxide, fumes from the compressor's lubricating oil, moisture and other contaminants from the system and take air samples four times a year, Switala said.
The compressor has purifiers that filter carbon dioxide and other contaminants from the air before filling tanks, he said.
The tanks are filled in a compartment shielded by a blast-proof door just in case there is a mishap in the high-pressure system.
In addition to filling tanks that firefighters carry on their backs, the unit fills large air cylinders that are parts of cascade systems on some fire trucks that can fill firefighters' tank at the scene of a fire, Switala said.
The cylinders can be placed in the compressor or they can be left on their trucks and filled by an air hose from the compressor.
Rozic said the township has a smaller compressor and other departments such as Penn Township and the VA Butler Healthcare have one. Butler County Community College, which conducts fire, rescue and haz-mat training, also has a compressor, he said.
