By Alan M. Petrillo
The United States Forest Service says that about one third of the homes in the United States, approximately 44 million residences, are potentially hazarded by wildland fires because they are part of an expanded wildland urban interface (WUI) that impacts nearly every state in the nation. In 2017, reports the National Interagency Fire Center, 66,131 wildland fires burned approximately 9.8 million acres, and in a three-week period in October, wildland fires destroyed more than 8,700 structures and caused 23 fatalities in eight northern California counties alone.
Fire department chiefs, officers, agency officials, wildland fire managers, and firefighters are always on the lookout for the latest developments in wildland firefighting apparatus.
BFX Fire Equipment offers two Type 6 wildland engines, built to specs for fire agencies in California and Arizona. The wildland rig for the Viejas (CA) Fire Department, says Perry Shatley, BFX's wildland sales manager, is built on a Ford F-550 Super Duty 4x4 cab and chassis, carrying a diesel-powered Waterax BBX four-stage pump that will deliver 100 gallons per minute (gpm) at 150 pounds per square inch (psi). The vehicle has a 300-gallon water tank, a 12-gallon foam cell, a Waterous Aquis 1.5 foam system, and a Hale Products electric primer.
"The Viejas Type 6 has an under-chassis tubular skid protection system," Shatley notes, and has a fiber composite body that flexes up to 30 percent, is 40 percent lighter than steel, and 30 percent lighter than aluminum. There's a 16½-ton Warn® TI winch on the front that uses a synthetic cable instead of steel, a compartment at the rear with a pull-out tray for a chain saw, a small air compressor with two air ports, and a Whelen traffic advisor at the back."
BFX also built a Type 6 wildland pumper for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, Shatley says, on a Ford F-550 Super Duty 4x4 cab and chassis with a diesel-powered Waterax BBX four-stage pump that puts out 100 gpm at 150 psi and has a 300-gallon water tank, a 12-gallon foam tank, and a Foam Pro foam system. Both the Viejas and the Arizona Forestry rigs carry a Class 1 multiplexed electrical system, Shatley adds, as well as two 1½-inch discharges (one for water and one for foam), a 2½-inch intake, and a one-inch booster line reel.
Boise Mobile Equipment (BME) manufactured an Extreme Type 6 wildland rig built on a Dodge 5500 4x4 chassis and body that has been purchased by the city of Escalon (CA) Fire Department, according to Glenn Baley, BME's wildland salesman. The Extreme Type 6 has a seven-inch BME full body lift, 47-inch-diameter Super Single wheels and tires, a Darley 120-gpm AGE 1.5 pump, a 300-gallon water tank, and a Whelen traffic advisor at the rear. "The pumper has a 1½-inch rear discharge, a 2½-inch intake, a one-inch booster line on a Hannay reel, and full underbody protection using skid plates and tubular protection," he points out.
A smaller profile wildland rig is available from MTECH Inc.—the QTAC Model 85HP, a skid-mounted pumping and suppression system that was mounted on a Bobcat 4x4 UTV (utility terrain vehicle). Jason Black, president of MTECH, says the skid will fit any standard UTV like Polaris o