Brush Trucks and Gear

Hello fellow Fire Fighter we are look for a new brush truck for our fire department and I want to know what are some good picks. Also what all gear do yall have on them. As far as pumps hoses etc...........

Thanks

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Chris Deyerle

[This message has been edited by Chris Deyerle (edited January 30, 2000).]

I am with a Volunteer department in the Colorado Mountains. We run small 1 ton trucks as our brush trucks. Due to mountain terrain the truck is anly needed minimally. Our biggest concerns are 4x4 capabilities. On most fires the trucks can only get close and then we walk. For this reason we only carry 100 gallons of water and small pumps: 100-250 psi. We rely on our other tools. A chainsaw, 3 pulaskis, 3 shovels, 3 McCleods, and 3 waterpacks. These serve us well as makeshift fire suppression tools.Our hand tools prove to be more valuable than the truck an any given call.

Good luck on your new equipment.

One-ton four wheel drives
300 gallon poly tank
18hp Waterous pump (about 250pgm)
2 Pulaskis
2 Mcleods
2 Shovels
2 Combi tools
2 Backpack pumps
600ft 1 inch forestry hose
300ft 1 1/2 inch forestry hose
assorted fittings and adapters
gated wyes
assorted nozzles
Float-a-pump
tarp - for establishing water hole in a stream

Thats the basics... there are a few things I am missing... I can send ya a detailed list if ya like

GDay
The NSW Rural Fire Service generally uses Isuzu 8 ton chassis tankers. Water cartage varies from 2000 litres (440 gallons) to 3500 litres (770 gallons). I hope i got the conversions right. Dual cab seating 7 with 4wd capacity and high ground clearance. Equipment varies from brigade to brigade but usually have 2 lines of 25mm (1") reel mounted, minimum of 6 30 metre (100') lengths of 38mm (1 1/2"), 2 lengths of 65mm (2 1/2"), and 2 or 4 lengths 70mm reinforced for draughting. Powered by Hatz pump (depending on area). alos carries usual fire fighting gear such as axes, mcleod tools, chainsaws, leaf blower, portable fridge, enough supplies for 48 hours in field, fire blankets for overun situations, usual fittings and connections, stand pipes, 4 20 litre back packs, foam, portable pump, ladders, shovels, extinguishers, drip torches, traffic cones and assorted fuels and tools. Newer vehicles are equipped with spray bars both for self protection and for grass fires. There are no doubt things i have missed but vehicles are customized to the local area. If you need any more information drop me a line

We use a 1 ton chevy 4x4. I would suggest a diesel engine and a ford or dodge. we have a 200 gallon poly tank onit with 2.5 and 350ft of forestry line, and 1 100ft joint of 1.5. then the rakes, brooms, 8 back packs, and pony suction.

Hi,
My dept. has a 1999 Ford F-550 heavy duty
with a custom flatbed body.The skid unit is a Marco unit with a hale pump it carries 300 gallons with a hi pressure pump and carries 20 gallons of class A foam, also we have 200' of 2.5" hose,5 bags of forestry hose, assorted hand tools, chainsaw,floating pump, collapsable pump cans,and and an electric winch that can be run from the front as well as from the back. I beleive we are going to put 1" hose on the BFU soon. If you would like I could send you a picture of the truck.

Chevy 1 ton 4x4 w/ 250gpm pump, 250 gal. poly tank, 220' forestry hose (2-10', 2-100'), racks, brooms, water packs and etc. The nice feature on our truck is a 18" tailboard that is about 4" lower than the box. There is also a rail all around the back of the truck. We are lucky and can drive up to most brush/grass fires. We stand on the tailboard and use the 2-10' hose for most of our first attack and mop up with the 100'. We can cover a lot of ground fast with 1 driver and 1 fire fighter. We are very satisfied with our truck. But, I do have to agree with fyre241 a ford or dodge is a better choice. We added rear springs and put turns in the front torsion bar to get more ground clearance. A diesel would be a better choice than gas.

We're using a 1 ton pickup and a 1 ton flat bed. Pickup is manual 4 speed, flat bed is automatic. Both are 4X4 and both are set up with about the same equipment. 300 gallons of water, 200 gpm pumps and 1 inch reels with 200 feet of red line. In the Ozarks of Missouri, we use broom rakes and backpack blowers. Each rig carries about 6 to 8 rakes and one blower. Rigs carry one drip torch for burnout operations and a couple of backpack pumps. Large pumpers are run as water supply and they each carry chain saws and additional rakes. Rigs are rather plain compared to others throughout the US, but they work well for us. It's sometimes hard to push down, oak, hickory, Osage Orange, and black locust trees. A large amount of our fire fighting it in the woods were vehicles can't go.



[This message has been edited by Captain Hickman (edited March 10, 2000).]

We use Chevy 4x4's with 300 gal tanks. Our chief designed and built them, and now the county uses them to spec new brush trucks. Some of these saw action at Volusia during Firestorm 98. We recently obtained a new Ford that carries 600 gallons and are awaiting delivery of an International that will carry 1000 gallons.You can look at these on line at http://www.smvfd.org.

We use a ford f-350 4 wheel drive with powerstroke engine- We then equiped with a 300 gal skid mount unit with 18 horse motor. We then put a brush bar and wench on the front. Used it for a large fire the other day in the woods. It will go over trees up to 2 inches in diameter with no problem. The only real changes we did was to put bigger tires then come from the factory. Truck has worked out great for us we have had it for two years now. Also works great as a utility truck for running errands inspecting hydrants ect.

Les Hartford
Captain
London Maybee Raisinville VFD

Our forestry equipment is divided among the pumpers primarily, plus some is just stored at the station.

All told, we typically arrive at a brush fire with 1500' of 1" forestry hose in backpacks (300'/pack); a dozen rakes, a dozen brooms, and a dozen collapsible Indian Tanks (backpack pumps). I don't think I'll ever see them all used at once though

The forestry hose is really only used when the fire is out of reach of standard structural 1.5"/1.75" lines, and needs extensive overhaul.

A typical crew is two Indian Tanks, two Rakes, and two Brooms. The first indian tank knocks down the fire; the second works on hotspots on the fire line; the rakes are a cutting tool, and cuts small brush and drags them into the fireline; the brooms follow and sweep the leaves and debris away to create a dirt path around the fire.

If close to the road (most of the time) a hose and some Class A foam takes a lot of the work out of it.

We don't have to use chainsaws often, so someone would run home or get one off the ladder -- I do remember taking a small dead tree down once with an ax though

We do have a 80gpm/200gallon tank CAFS system on a Hummer chassis -- Hummer will go anywhere, but it's certainly wider than a pickup with a slide-in unit, and maybe wider than a pickup with a custom fire body on the back. It doesn't carry any forestry tools -- when it's going in, we grab tools from the pumpers and walk in with them.

Major fires far off road, we'll usually call mutual aid for another Service or Forestry truck to assist us, and they usually have a portable pump with them to help, too.

We use a 1980 Chevy E-One Mini-Pumper
454 ci
250 gpm
260 gallon tank
200 ft. of 1 inch booster line
1 shovel
1 rake
1 chainsaw

This truck is set up more as a pumper but does a nice job back in the woods.

You can check out more about it on our website.
http://www.ak-valleynet.com/harrisonhillsvfc

We use a 1990 Ford F-350 4x4 with 350gal tank over a 350 gpm pump, various rakes, brooms,shovels, 8 Indian cans, 4 hard sided , 4 soft sided, 150' of booster line, 150' of 1 3/4, 600' of single jacketed forestry hose, 2 saws, 150 gpm floating pump, 550' of 1 1/2 for supply, we used to have 3" but found we had more residule pressure than we knew what to do with. 2lengths of 6' 3" hard suction. And probably a lot more stuff that I can't remember.

It is very interesting that each of the vehicles described are basically Type 6-7 engines. Before you pick a vehicle, you need to determine what exactly it will be used for. Is this truck just a wildland vehicle, or will it be used for automobile and structure fires, structure protection, and EMS? How much water do you need for your fires? Is the truck primarily a mobile fire cache; transportation to the trailhead? Finally, how much money do you have to spend?

As the fire management officer for Pueblo County, we see a large range of vehicles in our wildland response, everything from structure engines with 1000 gpm pumps and 1000 gallon tanks, to Type 6 engines as described by the other replies.

One engine that has a great following in California and Nevada, and soon in Colorado is the Type III - Model 14. These will carry 500 gallons of water, and a high pressure 500 gpm pump. Our cab carries four and is equipped with enough tools, hose, ladders, etc. to be effective at most fire scenes.

Below is a photo from the manufacturer. IF you have any questions, drop me a line...

I know at least in my area we associate the bigger pumps/tanks with vehicles State Forestry can bring to bear (although their fleet in CT is steadily shrinking...we used to have a 350/500 Deuce and half out of the local state park...replaced by a 200/200 pickup truck unit)

One interesting link is http://www.carverfire.org/apparatus/apparatus.htm which is in the middle of Cape Cod/Southeastern Mass wildfire area -- a band of sandy soils and scrubby pines that stretch from Cape Cod, across Long Island, and end up in Pine Barrens of New Jersey were this style of Brushbreaker is common.

They do like to use those suckers as bulldozers in the pitch pines and scrub oak woodlands they have.

Matt

Our wildland fire equipment consists of 2 Dodge trucks, both 4x4, one is a 3/4 ton with a stepside bed, carries a tank with 219 gallons of water and a 300 GMP hale pump and the other is a 1 ton with a western hauler bed, 240 gallon tank on a side in unit with a 300 GPM hale pump. Both have 18 Hp motors on the pumps. Both have 250' of 1" booster line. The 1 ton has a foam injection system with 1 1/2" discharge and 300' of hose. Both Trucks carry 3 shovels and 5 home made rakes, 50' of heavy duty chain ( in case one gets stuck). Each truck carries gogles and each firefighter has his/her own wildland coveralls and boots. Looking into getting some backpack water cans to carry with us.

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Good Luck And Be Safe
Captain
Craig Lambert
Harmony Consolidated
Volunteer Fire Department