Know Your Needs
Stuart Rodeffer, a battalion chief with Northwest Fire District near Tucson, Ariz., has been involved with wildland and structure firefighting for more than 15 years. As a member of Northwest's apparatus committee, he has contributed to the specs of Type 6 engines; Type 2 water tenders; Type 3 engines, crew trucks and carriers; as well as structure fire apparatus.
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So what priority does Rodeffer see for new interface vehicles? It all begins with careful research of your department's needs.
"The single end-user question for a lot of departments is if you want this to be more of a truck to be interface/wildland environment, or is it an interface when you need it, subsequently supporting other roles? That will ultimately decide how the truck should be designed over the next few years and within the current budgets," Rodeffer says.
Rodeffer sees the increasing size of wildland vehicles as a serious concern. "I think nationwide we're seeing departments trying to make apparatus into dual roles. Type 3 engines are becoming a little bigger and more top-heavy — less acclimated to going down dozer lines and unimproved services to support wildland suppression activities."
Northwest Fire District's territory includes both desert and timberland, so apparatus must be able to adapt to the extreme conditions. For their most recent purchase, Rodeffer says they opted to take a step back to the basics.
"Our Type 6 is an F-550, four-wheel-drive, diesel Ford truck with a flatbed, a pony motor [secondary motor and pump system] with a 300-gallon tank and straightforward off-the-shelf compartments," he says. "The truck is as simple as we could make it. We went to straight Ford wiring that we could diagnose in the field in the unlikely event of a failure. … The more user-friendly the truck, the longer we could keep it in service.
"Apparatus has become a thinking person's game," Rodeffer says. "We're going to have to do research and require longer service life and a community effort from the maintenance people, purchasing and contract folks and from our end users to make apparatus what they truly need to be today and in the future."
Wildfire offers a roundup of the latest in available wildland trucks.
The Timberwolf urban-interface pumper features a 1,000-gpm fire pump with auto prime and fix-mix foam system. A front-bumper-mounted turret is for use with PTO-driven pump and roll, and the apparatus also has a Task Force Tips stream-positioning monitor, electric rewind booster reel with 150 feet of ¾-inch hose, 750-gallon poly booster tank and stainless-steel plumbing and manifolds. Other features include recessed LED compartment lighting, Whelen scene lights and backup camera mounted on three sides with in-cab video monitor. www.rosenbaueramerica.com/techdrive; 605-543-5591
The Chaparral is a first-attack fire apparatus for wildland and brush. It is designed to be the first truck out of the station on any call, giving other engines the crucial time to set up. The series consists of three trucks varying by chassis and tank size of the tank. The B-3 is built on a Ford F-350 chassis with a 325-gallon tank; the B-4 and B-5 are built on either an F-450 or F-550 chassis with 400- and 500-gallon tanks, respectively. Each features a 23-hp Hale pump.
Designed to meet the initial response needs for rescue and extrication, medical emergencies, wildland and structural fire attack, the Minuteman is built on a F-550 4x4 chassis. It features a Hale MAXSTREAM pump and a 400-gallon polypropylene recessed tank. www.blanchatmfg.com; 620-896-7145
Mounted on a Freightliner M2 chassis, these Type 4 wildland vehicles with 1,000-gallon poly water tanks and 350-gpm Hale pumps were delivered to the Campbell County Fire Department of Gillette, Wyo. The trucks also feature a Hale 2.1 Foam Logix Class A foam system with a 20-gallon foam cell. The units are constructed with an aluminum flatbed and two standing platforms located at the front for pump operations. www.danko.net; 866-568-2200
Custom-built for the St. Lawrence Volunteer Fire Department, this 7400 4X4 International diesel features a 1,400-gallon Plas-Mac water tank, Hale diesel fire pump and two Hannay hose reels with 100 feet of booster hose on each. The truck also includes a full replacement front bumper with tool boxes, full cage over cab for protection, 73 cubic feet of storage and a full LED warning light package. www.sfabrushfiretrucks.com; 800-687-7639
The TrailRanger can be mounted in the rear of most 6x6 vehicles. The unit is effective in handling off-road grass fires and can be deployed to fairs, festivals and special events. The rear-mounted pump provides stationary or pump-and-roll operation, and the intake and discharges can be customized. The 907 model's skid pump offers a 65-gallon aluminum water tank and 5-gallon foam cell. www.finleyfire.com; 800-545-3280
Wildcat fire trucks are available in 200-, 300- and 750-gallon configurations. All trucks meet federal, rural, rescue and wildland standards, including NFPA 1906. www.wildcatfiretrucks.com; 888-722-5070
This Contender Type 3 wildland engine was built for the El Dorado County (Calif.) Fire Protection District. The engine uses two Darley pumps: The PTO pump is a two-stage, 500-gpm Darley JMP 500, and the second pump is a Darley 1.5 AGE powered by a Briggs and Stratton 26 hp water-cooled engine. The unit also includes a Foam Pro 1600 System. www.piercemfg.com; 920-832-3000
The Water Bomber aircraft is designed to deliver enough water and retardant to cover an entire football field in one drop, providing a last line of defense between charred rubble and intact homes. Although it has yet to be approved by the FAA, the aircraft could be contracted by insurance companies, homeowner groups, private individuals and business owners. Hourly operational costs are low when compared to other firefighting aircraft. Designed by Steve Green, an Ohio inventor, the unit is built by American Champion Aircraft on its Scout platform. greenseq@aol.com; 330-605-2487
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