My department has had one for years also. Very useful, esp. in south Texas where we get a lot of local flooding. I've actually done the same jumping from a structural pumper returning from a call, only to catch a grass or wild land fire. So back to the station to switch trucks. Ours is a Kaiser 4x6 w/ a 500 gal water tank, a bumper turret and 2 hand line stations in the bed. Unlike the Long Island truck pictured though, we don't let our guys ride in the back going to or from the job.
"Go, Linda, Go!" VFD 1990-2001 We had a grandma that was our best tanker driver (besides me) The tanker was a homebuilt former Forestry dozier hauler. Overloaded (DOT waiver), underpowered (350), but had good brakes. She got the tanker where it needed to be. Other folks wound up in ditches or fields, 'cause the tanker didn't like turns too much.
This is not California where the entire place is on fire 24/7. This is Long Island, NY. There are not enough brush fires here to warrant wildland gear.
Yea when you crash while responding (like hundreds of firetrucks do every year) you and your family will care a lot about the seatbelts. It is purely stupid not to use one. Period.
Abataly Valadez Huh it’s almost like a volunteer fire company in New York doesn’t have the same budget as large metropolitan fire departments in California
"Hey I know of two fire departments in some of the wealthiest parts of America that have better equipment than that little hick town." Well, I know a millionaire who has a better house and fancier cars than most of us do, but would that surprise anyone?
Oh just STHU. This rig is built to fulfill a need and to fight fire in fuels that we don't have here on the west coast. Fire engine makers weren't making anything that fulfilled the need and As the others have said, it's also a budget thing. Why spend 1/3 to 1/2 million on a rig you only use a few months out of the year when you can do the job yourself for cheap. I'll tell you one thing for sure. As someone who was written up for scratching an engine and breaking a mirror on a fire, I'd rather be driving one of these on some fires as it's made to be scratched up! I'm retired Cal Fire and is someone offers me the choice of this beast or a new Cal Fire designed Model 34 for my home defence, I'd take this one.