Fire Trucks

[smketer]

As we were talking one night on the line, (fire was out in our area and no smokes where showing) we were talking about who has the best or baddest fire truck.

I have seen some 6x6's in Flordia that look good, and also seen some hummers in NV that look tough too.

So who has the best or who has seen the best truck or dozer out on the fire lines?

Stay Safe,

[cbplante3]

Hey, smketer...
You gotta realize, each piece of equipment is designed for the job it must handle in it's own area.
That being said, the brush trucks NJ builds are THE engine to run down fire in grass and brush fuel types almost anywhere.
After all, I believe NJ invented the modern "brushbreaker".
Of course, I may be prejudiced...

[XCAPT1]

Smketer,

Departments on Long Island use trucks called Stump Jumpers or.GI's.
They are built on a 2 1/2 ton or 5 ton military chasis. They can go anywhere on Long Island (trail or not). The smaller trucks carry between 400 and 800 gallons of water. The 5 tons carry up to 1000 gallons. The truck in the link is a 5 ton with a 1000 gallons of water.

http://members.tripod.com/rhdfiredept/6_2_12b.htm

[ffemt19]

This is one type of brush truck we use over here in Belgium.
We like this type we also have a smaler one on a MERCEDES UNIMOG chassis.


http://www.firehouse.com/hotshots/apparatus/2002/8/lommelbel.html
The truck on the picture is one of two simular brush trucks.

[smketer]

Hello cbp3 yeah I understand that, but also some get good ideas from other when making a new fire truck. I saw a truck over on the Eastside of Washington state that had a terra tourch and a 200 gallons of water on a tractor, looked tough and could almost climb out of anything it went.


Xcapt heck with saws with that monster you can just run them over!


I also saw a good looking hummer on a fire and am getting a picture of it to post on to the fourms here.


Stay Safe,

[XCAPT1]

Smketer

Who needs saws? We just drive to the fire. The trucks are designed to go over trees. We try to use trails as much as we can, but fires don't always burn by trails. We don't use Forest Service crews that often on Long Island. Although we are starting to learn Forest Service ways of firefighting.

[NJFFSA16]

As cbp3 stated....each area designs their truck to fit their needs. The "StumpJumpers" of Long Island...and I admit...they are one tough vehicle, wouldn't move more than a few feet off the road in the Highlands area of northern New Jersey. They certainly couldn't fit the fire roads and aren't about to knock down 150 year old hardwoods. But, I've seen them in action in the pines out on the Island...and they prove very effective.

Hummers won't fit our roads and trails...they're just a smidge too wide. That's why we build our own....and the shops do a great job.

Check 'em out at: NJ Forest Fire A2 (http://hometown.aol.com/editorabc/NJFFSA2Page1.html)

[Celt]

I'm not much for all terrain engines, I do like basic wildland engines where the crews know how to use water properly, and keep themselves out of trouble. I do like the new generation of logging and other industrial equipment that are being developed for fire fighting. The original brain trust behind this piece of equipment, has his Proteus Fire Master, and it is awsome. Consider the size of this machine, and from past use it is lighter on the land and more effective than dozers. It packs 3,000 gallons of water, usually is supported by a tender, but in remote situations can be filled by heavy helicopters. It has an excavator arm that digs line (low impact if directed), can later rehab the same line, has a 2 inch water gun mounted on the boom, 2 - 2 1/2" overboards, 1- 1" overboard, an 18 hp auxilliary pump, night lights, air conditioned cab, their own programmable radio system, 15 gallons of foam concentrate, can operate on 70% slope, and side hill at 40%, and can operate a full shift on 1 tank of fuel. Whew! I have seen it put a medium helicopter out of business; save some money and put the work back on the ground. Safer, night ops with good margine of safety, and they have a console mounted gps with mapping capability.

The link below is not the original developer. This company went out of business, however the original machine is still in use and has been to Colorado and Oregon this year. These folks are out of Kalispell, MT.

http://www.rttechgroup.com/popular/[/URL]

[SilverCity4]

Here's a link to our "newest" heavy brush truck. It's actually finsished now and in service, we just haven't got the pictures taken and posted yet.

Unit 301 (http://home.webzone.net/~killerb/workinprogress.html)

Check out our other 6x6's while you're there. We're about to strip Unit 302 down and rebuild it from the frame up.

[NJFFSA16]

Nice units Bryan...there's nothing like a classic military 6X6 to get the heart...and water pumping!:p What's the terrain/topography in your response area?

[SilverCity4]

Thanks. We like 'em.

As for the terrain, I guess 'rolling hills' would describe it pretty well. About half of our district is pretty heavily wooded, and the other half is open pasture. The Cimmaron River forms most of our northern boundary, so you can imagine how the terrain gets near there.

The reason we have the 6x6's is pretty simple--that's what the Foresty Department here in Oklahoma has available (it'll be awhile before the Hummers make it here in large numbers). We've found them to be very adequate for our needs. Since most roads around here are only on the mile sections, going off road a ways is pretty much a given. I don't think we've got one stuck yet, but that's what the winch on the front of 301 is for!

[Medic_E3411]

This is a local wildland unit.. Dont have a link for ours. Description is at the bottom



http://www.scottsvalleyfire.com/Fire_Apparatus.htm

Engine 2530 is a 1991 KME Type 3 pumper on an International chassis. It has a 1250 gpm pump, 500 gallons of water and Class A foam. It also has pump and roll capability, which combined with it's size, makes it an ideal wildland firefighting unit.

[HELITAK03]

The engine shown below was developed at Jackson Guard (the Eglin AFB Wildland Firefighters) for protection from UXO during wildfires:


Eglin AFB Fire Management! (http://www.eglin.af.mil/em/virtualtours/burning/index.htm)

[smketer]

Now it would be nice to see something like this out on the fireline.

Stay Safe