For this response, the DNR used two John Deere units with rear-mounted plows to create a firebreak surrounding the fire. These DNR vehicles have water tanks on each side, mounted above the tracks.

Our fire department’s primary wildland unit on the scene was a pickup truck with a 175-gallon skid unit on the back featuring a 15 hp engine and a hose reel on top.  This unit had been filled with TetraKO solution about three months earlier.

We worked side-by-side with the DNR to contain the wildfire within the firebreak.

The DNR was using Class A foam on their John Deere units. And our fire department also used Class A foam on a second brush truck that was on the scene.

My experience with the use of foam on these types of fires is that, after a short time, the foam evaporates and you end up with rekindling problems.  But with TetraKO, when we sprayed a protective coating, it just melded into the vegetation, heavy brush and dead wood. And we were amazed at how it smothered the fire and prevented any rekindling.

Our small skid unit with TetraKO and 175 gallons of mixed solution was able to contain the one third of the fire’s perimeter we were responsible for. The DNR’s two John Deere units, during the same time, had to return to the water fill point three times each to contain the remaining perimeter.

I was truly amazed, and I’m planning to put TetraKO into both of my trucks. Thanks for giving us the chance to try TetraKO.

-Gordon Fick Oakdale Area Fire Association Chief

With most fires, 90% of the water runs off. When using water with UHP, the goal is to create a nice, evenly patterned fog stream and to add distance to the stream to reduce run off and to more effectively utilize the water. The TetraKO product further enhances the effectiveness of our UHP technology. In effect, it made our water more functional.

TetraKO combined with our exclusive UHP HYDRUS™ system initially gave us a more consistently balanced fog pattern than what is typically produced with UHP water alone. Our testing with TetraKO shows that it potentially supports and could extend the benefits of our UHP system’s performance on a fire.

We have tested TetraKO utilizing our HYDRUS™ T6 UHP system, an 80-gallon capacity rapid response UTV with HMA’s exclusive 1540E-ADP Series Tri-plex Piston-plunger pump that, with UHP, gives us the equivalent of much more firefighting power. By adding TetraKO to our UHP system, we expect that 80 gallons of mixture will be the equivalent of 500 gallons of water, or more.

Doug Eno
Sales and Marketing Manager
HMA