How Red-D-Arc helped firefighters in their battle against Oregon wildfires

Red-D-Arc power generators kept Oregon firefighters fed and their worksites lit.

On an international scale, many businesses rely on Red-D-Arc Welderentals, a major provider of welding and welding-related equipment among other great solutions – including emergency power generators. Red-D-Arc offers a variety of rental generator equipment to help workers with limited resources.

A dramatic example occurred last year, during the massive wildfires that caused havoc in the western United States and Canada. Here is how Red-D-Arc helped the containment efforts.

A statewide wildfire emergency

During July and Aug. 2018, multiple wildfires broke out throughout the state of Oregon, from Crater Lake to the Siskiyou Mountains, resulting from a series of lightning strikes. The vast majority of these wildfires were contained in the end, but hundreds of thousands of acres burned in total, with at least one fatality. The situation became so bad, so quickly, that Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a statewide wildfire emergency. With temperatures constantly above 30 degrees Celsius and no end in sight, evacuations were pending in a number of areas.

Firefighters were battling the blazes as best they could, stretched thin across multiple sites and working 24 hours a day. As the efforts went on, power loss became a danger. The firefighters needed consistent power not only for their work equipment, but also for lighting and for cooking facilities to keep them fed.

Emergency power generators were needed to keep the utilities going without interruption. For the best possible solution, the firefighters turned to the experts at Red-D-Arc.

The Red-D-Arc team in Oregon answered the call with a quick delivery of a number of 150-kVA emergency power generators to the firefighter camps. These MMD PowerPro 150 towable generators offered dependable portable power with Delta Demand Excitation technology to respond immediately under variable loads, as well as Quietech sound reduction. Built to handle most rugged requirements for temporary-worksite power, this equipment was the right choice for this application.

As the high temperatures, low humidity, and extreme winds continued, these firefighters knew they could count on these generators to keep going. Red-D-Arc is proud to have done its part to support these firefighting efforts.

To learn more, contact Red-D-Arc.

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