Ameren Fire School
Tim Frankenberg is Ameren’s Fire Protection Engineer.
The energy and utilities industry appreciates its first responders like Ameren's some two hundred employees who have been trained and are stationed throughout operating centers as part of the fire brigade and emergency response team. While deserving kudos for its Ameren Fire School that features several firefighter practice stations for different types of fires, including a $1.8 million six-story tower completed in 2020, it is a partnership with the City of St. Louis Fire Department that drew PUF's attention.
Ameren recently engaged in a project to design and build a unique, first-of-its-kind fire truck specifically made to fight complex underground electrical fires. Thanks to the unique truck design, crews are able to attach a custom nozzle to a manhole cover, which then distributes carbon dioxide, putting out the fire quickly. It marks a big improvement from the previous tactic of firefighters waiting for the fire to burn out, which did extensive damage to infrastructure and led to bigger and longer outages.
Here, PUF talks to Tim Frankenberg, Ameren's Fire Protection Engineer, about what it took to design and build the truck, but more important, to make believers out of the firefighters. Ameren ultimately donated the truck to the City of St. Louis Fire Department, making this a win for all.
PUF's Steve Mitnick: What is your typical day like at Ameren or Ameren Missouri?