Have you ever wanted to cruise around town in a fire truck? Or roll up to Thanksgiving dinner with 750 gallons of water in the tank, just in case? Or make an entrance that will not be soon forgotten? So did Henry Cesari—and because of his curiosity, you can actually do it.

While perusing eBay, multiple auctions for used fire trucks under $20,000 came up. Cesari’s interest was piqued, and he got to wondering about the legality of driving a fire apparatus and did some research. He put together on his website some helpful tips on the endeavor.

“Restoring and driving one of these big rigs would be so cool,” he writes. “But legally driving a used fire truck on the street can be complicated: you have to meet local guidelines to pass inspection, and you might even need to change the type of driver’s license you have.”

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He adds that many government vehicles are regulated—but not fire trucks. However, operating a fire truck on public streets may require:

-Deactivating or removing lights and sirens,
-Removing any safety equipment that protrudes into oncoming traffic,
-Removing the fire department name/town.

Cesari adds that most full-size fire trucks (anything with a gross vehicle weight above 24,000 pounds; any vehicle with air brakes) require a commercial driver’s license.

“Fire trucks are very much commercial vehicles,” he writes. “And cutting through city intersections in one of these requires special training and skill. It’s not surprising that many large fire trucks require a commercial driver’s license to operate.”

Also, you’ll most likely need a larger garage.

An Anne Arundel County fire boat sank Monday in the Chesapeake Bay near Gibson Island.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department was working with other agencies to recover the boat.

Four personnel were on board the boat at about 4 p.m. when it reported it was without power and taking on water.

All personnel on the boat were rescued and are safe, with an assist from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police. Gale warnings were up on the Chesapeake on Monday.

Fire Boat Incident: All personnel have been rescued and are in good health. Fire Department personnel are actively working with local resources to recover the boat from the water in a safe manner at this time. Thank you to all who assisted in the rescue of our fire personnel. pic.twitter.com/DM5c3pwgvl

— Anne Arundel County Fire Department (@AACoFD) March 28, 2022

By Alan M. Petrillo

Two years ago, the Carthage Fire Department added a second station to its fire protection district, necessitating an additional engine that the department wanted to set up as a rescue-pumper. The department had purchased a pumper from Ferrara Fire Apparatus in 2012, and it decided to go back to Ferrara for a new pumper for its fleet.

Ryan Huntley, Carthage Fire Department’s chief, says the department has 26 paid full-time firefighters that cover the city of Carthage and a rural area totaling 165 square miles, running about 2,100 calls a year. “Station 1 was built in 1980 on the north end of the city, and the new rig is now first out at that station,” Huntley says. “Our second station is on the south end of the city, where we run the 2012 Ferrara pumper. Our coverage area includes a dynamite plant, a crushed limestone mining company, and a lot of commercial and residential structures surrounded by highways, where we see a lot of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs).”

The rescue-pumper that Ferrara built for Carthage is on a Ferrara Cinder chassis and cab with a rescue-style body and high side compartments on both sides, says Jim Stover, regional sales manager for Ferrara. Wheelbase on the rescue-pumper is 188 inches, overall length is 32 feet 7-1/4 inches, and overall height is 9 feet 5-1/4 inches.

Scott Shelton, owner of Fire Master Fire Equipment, who sold the rescue-pumper to Carthage, notes that the rig is powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine, and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission, and carries a 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) Waterous CSU pump, a 1,000-gallon water tank,  a 20-gallon foam tank, and an Akron Brass Company 95-gpm foam eductor system. “It has the Ferrara rescue-style body with high side compartments on both sides of the body,” Shelton points out, “and covered ladder storage from a rear compartment that holds a two-section 24-foot extension ladder, a 14-foot roof ladder, a 10-foot attic ladder, two 10-foot-by-6-inch lengths of hard suction hose, and two pike pole tubes.”

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Posted: Mar 29, 2022

Photo of the Day: March 29, 2022

Smeal—Hamburg (NY) Fire Department 100-foot, rear-mount platform quint. Spartan Gladiator cab and chassis; Cummins X15 600-hp engine; Hale Qmax XS 2,000-gpm pump; 300-gallon polypropylene water tank; Harrison 10-kW generator. Dealer: Jack Chiappone, Colden Enterprises, Buffalo, NY.

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