MOULTRIE — Things got a bit smoky over at Fire Station 3 as the firefighters tested their new positive pressure fan for the City of Moultrie to see.

The Moultrie Fire Department received the fan, a Blowhard Commando model, on Jan. 17, but waited until Jan. 21 to test it out using the fire safety house at Station 3. According to Lt. Bo Sprunger, the fan is made for clean air relief.

For the demonstration, the fire safety house’s smoke machine was used to fill it with smoke (made from steam) and used the fan to show how it blows.

 “It’s a quick way for removing smoke, fires, anything,” Sprunger said. “It just puts safer air in the structures. You can even use it to ventilate if you’ve got gas odors in the home.”

The fire department has used positive pressure fans in the past, but like most of its equipment, the fan needed an upgrade. Sprunger said the crew found solace in it being battery-powered

“The other ones were electric also, but you had to have a drop cord and all that,” he said. “With this (the new fan), you can use it in more places like in a fire where the structure doesn’t have electricity (or) when you’re off the road a little ways, you don’t have to fool with a generator.”

 And it blows harder than its predecessors. According to the Sea Western Fire Fighting Equipment site, the Blowhard Commando can run at a max of 16,300 cubic feet per minute for 45 minutes.

That’s enough time to handle most fires, Sprunger said.

It also can be held by one person as opposed to the multitudes needed to carry and work prior fans.

This is the latest in upgraded equipment the fire department has received and will continue to see more over the course of 2020 including new boots and a new firetruck to name a few.