Our Fire Pumps
WATERAX is proud to continue its century-long tradition of designing, manufacturing and supporting high-performance and durable portable pumps suited to meet the most difficult water handling requirements.
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About
WATERAX
WATERAX has a long, proud and exciting history of moving water around the world. WATERAX originated as Watson Jack & Company, which was founded in 1898 by Montreal, Quebec native John Colquhoun Watson Jack. Born on August 19, 1870, Jack was a Canadian inventor, businessman and trail-blazer.
In 1904, shortly after founding Watson Jack & Company, John Colquhoun Watson Jack became an agent for Sprague Electric, Sprague Elevator and Otis Elevators. He diversified his business holdings and by 1910 Watson Jack & Company was trading in metals, dyestuffs, chemical boilers and electrical supplies. In 1925, Watson Jack & Company became the manufacturer of a powerful 200 PSI portable fire pump called the WAJAX (an acronym of Watson Jack’s name).
After Watson Jack & Company and its FH Hopkins subsidiary were acquired by BJ Coghlin & Company in 1954, the operations of the two newly acquired businesses were merged to form a single subsidiary. This subsidiary was called Watson Jack Hopkins Ltd. until 1959 when it was renamed Wajax Equipment Ltd.
In 1964, Wajax Equipment Ltd. purchased Pacific Marine’s fire division and its name was changed to Pacific Pumpers Inc. This merger made the Canadian company North America’s leading producer of wildland firefighting equipment, with an offering that included the MARK-3® pump.
Since the 1960s, the MARK-3® series has been the gold standard in performance, reliability and durability. The MARK-3® is the standard wildland portable fire pump trusted by forestry agencies around the world and a truly innovative Canadian success story. Between the 1980s and 2010s the company continued to transform, operating under different banners until it was incorporated into WATERAX in 2014. Based in Montreal, Quebec, today the company exports wildland firefighting equipment to over 50 countries around the world.
Product News
WATERAX News
Mark-3 Testing: Ease of Pull-Start
By Gary Da Silva Product Manager at WATERAX. Expert in market needs and product capability. In a survey on the aspects of the MARK-3® pump that needed improvement, ease of start was the second most requested improvement after weight reduction. Many firefighters...
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Articles
As Wildfires Become More Prevalent, Fire Safety Industry Looks to the Ground
By Wes Bolsen, Business Director of Wildfire Prevention & Protection at Perimeter Solutions In a new report on wildfire activity, the United Nations says that the number of wildfires that take place around the world could double by the year 2100. Faced with this...
Colorado Springs (CO) Fights Multiple Grass Fires, Including One at Airport
‘Like an Inferno:’ US West Burning at Furious Pace
By MARCIO J. SANCHEZ and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (AP) — Wildfires are on a furious pace early this year — from a California hilltop where mansions with multimillion-dollar Pacific Ocean views were torched to remote New Mexico mountains...
Red Bluff (CA) Firefighter, 26, Dies Preparing Prescribed Burn
Wildland firefighter Darin Banks of Red Bluff died Friday when a dead tree fell on him. Banks was assigned to a Type II Initial Attack Hand Crew working to prepare an area for prescribed burning in Tuolumne County, according to Firestorm Wildland Fire Suppression...
Owl With Melted Wing Tips Rescued After Falling from Burning Tree in AZ Wildfire
Helena Wegner - The Charlotte Observer A firefighter was working on a southern Arizona wildfire when he saw burning oak trees in the distance, park officials said. Jason Shafer, a Sierra Vista firefighter, and another crew member headed toward the burning trees on May...
New Mexico Fire Costs Top $65M; Closes in on Taos
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press Many homes near America's largest wildfire survived the latest barrage of howling winds and erratic flames but New Mexico's governor said Tuesday the risk of more destruction is high and that the long-term costs of recovering...
