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Alan M. Petrillo

Fairbanks is Alaska's second largest city and it serves as a rail, air, and water transportation hub in the northern part of the state.

Accordingly, when spec'ing out a new heavy rescue, the Fairbanks (AK) Fire Department wanted a vehicle that would carry an array of rescue equipment for vehicle extrication, water and ice rescue, industrial extrication, and confined space situations.

1 The most unusual feature of the Fairbanks (AK) Fire Department heavy rescue built by SVI Trucks is the Liberator 3200 crane that lifts a 14-foot rigid-hull inflatable boat from its storage spot on the rescue's roof. Also on top are coffin compartments and a Command Light 9,000-watt light tower. (Photos courtesy of SVI Trucks.)

Planning for Now and Beyond

Brian Davis, Fairbanks battalion chief, says the department did a needs assessment and determined what functions the heavy rescue would face in the future. "We determined what we need right now and also what we might need 20 to 25 years in the future," Davis says. "We wanted to anticipate what additional roles the vehicle might have. It might evolve into a rapid intervention team (RIT) vehicle, a ladder tender to reduce the wear on our platforms, or some other role."

Davis points out that water rescue and vehicle rescue are the two most common types of rescues to which the Fairbanks Fire Department responds. "That drove the design of the vehicle," he says. "We like the Spartan chassis, so we did a sole-source requirement for a Spartan chassis and then put out our open bid specs. We sent the bids out widely; got three responses; and, after review, gave the contract to SVI Trucks through True North Emergency Equipment."

Challenging Design

Bob Sorensen, vice president of sales for SVI Trucks, says that building the Fairbanks heavy rescue was the type of challenge that his company likes to face. "It's not every day that we are building a truck with a small crane on it, but we have done it a number of times before," Sorensen says. "Besides that challenge, there was a lot of equipment that had to be placed on the vehicle."

2 The heavy rescue also carries a FrostFighter 250,000-Btu diesel-fired fresh air heater that the department uses to keep vehicle accident victims warm in winter during a rescue.

Davis notes that the Fairbanks Fire Department had issues with pulling a boat trailer with its previous rescue. "It was difficult, and sometimes impossible, to back up in tight spots, so we wanted to carry our 14-foot rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) on the rescue itself."

Sorensen points out that SVI came up with the idea of carrying the RHIB on the roof of the heavy rescue, in between coffin compartments on each side. SVI had built a rescue for a Colorado fire department where an RHIB was stored on the rescue's roof, but that department found it took four firefighters to pull the boat off the roof. "With Fairbanks, we put a Liberator 3200 series crane on the roof and, using a wireless remote, a single person can lift the boat and set it down on the ground or in the water," Sorensen