FDNY uses old army truck

[nymilfire]

I was stationed at Ft. Drum NY between 92 and 96. FDNY got one of the MACI 2500L fire trucks we used. I heard it was on Staten Island for brush fires. This truck was originally designed as a combo unit for structural,ARFF and brush. Do any brothers know of this unit? What the FDNY shops did to it? If it is still being used? Thanks

[nymilfire]

Can any FDNY brothers tell me who I can contact to track down this truck?

[WTFD10]

Did you look for it on www.fdnytrucks.com ?

[fdmhbozz]

The MACI is in there somewhere.

We have one of our own that is first out in the rural. Great truck.

[MattyJ]

Last I saw of it was at the rock, looked like it was going to be for Brush fires on SI...but that was a few years ago.

[Res343cue]

FDNYTrucks shows it in one of the Staten Island Stations...I think it was with "Brush Unit 4" or something like that..

[sconfire]

Is this the one you are talking about?
http://www.fdnytrucks.com/images/sta...FDNYBFU4-A.jpg

[LaFireEducator]

Ok .. what's the deal on that compartment setup ? They look like those little lockers you find at a gym and based on my experience they sure are not very practical. I remember an old truck that a small volunteer fire department in Vermont bought from the IBM plant .. they had the same type of arranagement and they weren't of much use to the volly department that bought it as they were barely big enough for hand tool storage.

Ok upper right is joe's lunch compartment ... the one next to it is for his shoes ....

Ohhhhhhhhh geez, I forgot .. it's a military unit.
That explains everything.

[DennisTheMenace]

Originally posted by LaFireEducator
Ok .. what's the deal on that compartment setup ? They look like those little lockers you find at a gym and based on my experience they sure are not very practical. I remember an old truck that a small volunteer fire department in Vermont bought from the IBM plant .. they had the same type of arranagement and they weren't of much use to the volly department that bought it as they were barely big enough for hand tool storage.

Ok upper right is joe's lunch compartment ... the one next to it is for his shoes ....

Ohhhhhhhhh geez, I forgot .. it's a military unit.
That explains everything.

Likely those are for foam containers. Since military apparatus spends a lot of time out of doors, it is a good thing to keep the stuff enclosed.

[LaFireEducator]

That makes sense Dennis ... and explains why the old IBM truck I mentioned had the same type of compartmentation.

Wow .. I guess the military does make sense ... now and then.

[fdmhbozz]

The compartments are decently sized, and actually somewhat modular, and can be moved around. You just simply unbolt them, and put them where you want them. The top row on the drivers side is actually just two compartments, each one two sections wide.

On our rig, we moved those to the passenger side in what would be the middle row, below where the ladders were stored originally. The hose bed has been widened on both sides, and the ladders are now stored on the top. I'll try to get a couple of good pictures of it to post in the next day or so.

[Tiredoldman]

Holy crap...how did one of these s**t boxes wind up with the FDNY? I had a separate manual about 4" thick of the mechanical problems experinced with these "fire trucks". The ol' Amertek was the primary truck used by Army firefighters for deployment to forward areas. Yes, we had them in Iraq too. Pierce did a refurb job to make them last longer, but they still were unreliable. Even caused a few injuries and 1 death because of their poor design.

The compartments? They're for foam yeah, but that's also where you carry all your firefighting tools, PPE, personal gear (depending on your mission). Some places welded fold out steps to reach the upper compartments, and the ladder rack was almost impossible to work with. WE had two of these on the Fort I worked at in the US. Thankfully, both were given to Pierce and had a Glider Kit put on them. I usually get a sad feeling when I see an old war wagon sitting in the junk yard. But a junkyard is an appropriate place for this thing!

[nymilfire]

sconfire, yes thats the one.

fdmh what dept. are you with? Do you really like thet truck? We hated it and seems tiredoldman does too.

tiredoldman, where were you stationed? I was at drum for a little over 4 years. was deployed to somolia and haiti. I don't know why FDNY got it but they came up with a lowboy and several guys in a van and picked it up. I would like to know if the shops in FDNY made any changes that made the truck better. Are you still in the Army?

[Tiredoldman]

My journeys took to me to Honduras, (where I had a trusty old 530-C), Bosnia, and Iraq. I retired from the Army world on 16 Oct of this year. I was a DOD civilian at Ft Riley, but left for the municipal side. I wish I was back with the military.

[nymilfire]

tired, cool I am with a small city in upstate ny now. never used a 530-c except for at Chanute. My understnading though was that was one hell of a good pumper. I got into the air national guard in Syracuse. I like it. Do miss the Active Army sometimes. Were you active Army?