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
Alpha Gala 2023 Prizes
On October 19, WATERAX attended the Alpha Gala in Montreal, QC. There, the company was presented two awards by the esteemed Chambre de commerce et d’Industrie de Saint Laurent – Mont Royal: Business of the Year and Innovators in Sustainable Technology. The WATERAX...
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Articles
Where Are the MN Wildfires? See Maps Where Three Fires Are Growing in Arrowhead Region
Mark Boswell, C.J. Sinner - Star Tribune Three wildfires in northern Minnesota’s Arrowhead region have grown quickly from a few hundred acres to several thousand, with new evacuations and reports of destroyed buildings increasing by the day. Red flag weather warnings,...
Three Wildfires Break out in Northern MN
Jim Harlow Star Tribune (TNS) Three wildfires continue to burn and grow across St. Louis County north of Duluth, where more than 40 buildings have been destroyed. A red flag warning was in effect across 65 counties in Minnesota Tuesday morning as hot, dry and windy...
Forest and Park Service Worker Cuts Leave Wildland Firefighting Crews Short-Staffed
By MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Trump administration funding cuts and a loss of federal workers who help support wildland firefighting continues to make planning for the upcoming wildfire season a challenge, according to forest and fire officials in...
Family of Helicopter Pilot Killed in CA Wildfire Reaches $15M Settlement
The family of a helicopter pilot who died when his helicopter crashed in 2020 while fighting a wildfire in Southern California reached a $15 million settlement with the company that maintained the aircraft, their attorneys said.
WA Lawmakers Slash Wildfire Budget in Half
Isabella Breda - The Seattle Times May 8—CAMP CAMREC, Chelan COUNTY — The last fire to burn this forest was started by drip torches. Fingers of flame ignited the underbrush last fall, clearing fuels that could supercharge a wildfire. In a tour of the burn area last...
Wildfires Burn Thousands of Acres on Tribal Lands in ND
By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Crews have been fighting at least 16 wildfires throughout North Dakota in the last several days, including several large fires still burning Tuesday across wooded areas and grasslands on the Turtle Mountain...
