Firefighting Tractors in Fort McMurray
Industry: Firefighting Tractors
Application: Other
APC Filtration designs, engineers, manufactures, and tests roof-mounted cabin air filters for off-road vehicles. Firefighting tractors operate in a variety of harsh conditions where high quality cabin air filters are required to handle the heat and filter smoke, dust, odors, and bacteria before they enter the vehicle.
Recently, APC roof-mounted cabin air filters have been used in firefighting tractors. Cabin air filters for fire fighting vehicles have strict requirements that need to be adhered to. They must be robust enough to filter out all harmful pollutants and dangerous odors to protect operators while fighting wildfires. They must be easy to remove and be cleanable to ensure long term efficiency and reliability to reduce equipment down time.
To achieve these specific requirements, APC designed a 3 stage filter system with three distinct levels of performance. Each filter stage is separate, making them easy to remove, clean or replace when necessary without affecting the other filters.
The 1st stage is a pre-filter made of steel mesh screening and a course filter media. This pre-filter removes burning embers, debris and course dust before it reaches the 2nd stage filter.
The 2nd stage filter is a certified HEPA filter that removes, at minimum, 99.97% of 0.3 micron particles. Particles of this size are the Most Penetrating Particle Size (MPPS), which is the most difficult size to filter. Smoke particles within this size require the HEPA filter to capture the smoke before moving onto the 3rd stage filter and into the operator’s cabin.
The 3rd stage and final filter is a Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filter. This carbon filter removes odours and absorbs dangerous gases and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). When fighting fires, a number of dangerous gases are in the air that can cause discomfort or sickness for equipment operators. It is difficult to detect or predict where VOCs are present so it’s imperative that any VOCs in the air are filtered out to ensure the safety of the operators.
FORT MCMURRAY
Recently, northern Alberta has been devastated by wildfires raging in the areas around Fort McMurray. APC is proud to have provided roof-mounted cabin air filters for the firefighting tractors used to fight these fires. We know the 3 stage filtration system used on these tractors is keeping the operators safe so they can do their jobs well.
In the difficult and rapidly changing conditions of a forest fire, operators, fire fighters, and companies can rely on APC to provide air filtration solutions to ensure continued safety and efficiency. We have the tools and expertise to provide cabin air filters for use in these extreme conditions.
