By Alan M. Petrillo

The ability to have a fire suppression system at the scene of a rescue, extrication, or motor vehicle accident is increasing the popularity of wet rescues or, more descriptively, rescue trucks carrying a pump, water tank, or compressed air foam system (CAFS).

Apparatus manufacturers are offering a wide array of wet rescues styles and a variety of fire suppression systems on them.

Mark Brenneman, assistant sales manager for 4 Guys Fire Trucks, says 4 Guys built a wet rescue for the West Bradford (PA) Fire Company on a Spartan Gladiator chassis with a 15-foot walk-around body carrying a Hale CBP 250-gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump and a 300-gallon UPF Poly® water tank. “The West Bradford wet rescue has two crosslays above the pump panel in the R1 compartment, a FRC InControl pressure governor, a Trident air primer, and four Akron Electric valve controllers,” Brenneman says.

• Wet Rescues Being Built on Smaller, Medium Chassis for Faster, More Efficient Response
• Rescue Truck Designs Revolve Around Equipment Storage
• Wet Rescue Archives

Bill Proft, business unit director of rescue products for Pierce Manufacturing Inc., says Pierce built a wet rescue for the Waldorf (MD) Fire Department on an Enforcer chassis with a two-door cab and a walk-in body that has seating for five firefighters. It’s equipped with a Hale 250-gpm PTO-driven pump set between the frame rails, with a 250-gallon water tank and a single discharge in the front bumper. At the other end of the scale, Pierce built a walk-around wet rescue for the Lakeside (NY) Fire Department on a Velocity chassis with an 84-inch-long cab, carrying a PUC 1,500-gpm pump, 500 gallons of water, 20 gallons of foam, and a Husky 3 foam proportioning system.

Proft notes that Pierce built an unusual wet rescue for the New Jersey Transit Fire Department on an Enforcer chassis with a Hale 500-gpm pump, a 300-gallon water tank, a 20-gallon foam tank, and a Husky 3 foam system. “The unusual part of the truck is that it has two sets of rail wheels on it so it can travel on railroad tracks,” Proft says. “The rail wheels at the front of the rescue swing down and raise the front of the truck up so the front tires are off the tracks, and the second set behind the rear axle go straight up and down and also side to side, while the rescue’s inner rear wheels propel the truck down the tracks.”

Brad Turk, regional sales manager for Rescue 1, points out, “When a customer asks about a wet rescue, they usually are on the fence about a rescue-pumper vs. a rescue with a PTO pump and a couple hundred gallons of water. We advise them that real estate on a rescue is very expensive, so they have to use it wisely. Some departments choose a wet rescue with a small pump, 300 gallons of water, and a si

Pierce—University of Connecticut Fire Department, Farmington, PUC pumper. Enforcer cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; Pierce PUC 1,500-gpm pump; UPF Poly 750-gallon water tank; Akron model 3431 Apollo Hi-Riser monitor with TFT detent valve and stacked smooth bore tips; Holmatro Pentheon PCU50 battery-operated cutter and PSP50 battery-operated spreader. Dealer: Mike Hanratty, Firematic Supply, Rocky Hill, CT. (Photo by Carol Ruggiero.)

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A suspected drunk driver crashed into Spring Fire Station 73 Tuesday morning, according to deputies with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office, click2Houston.com reported.

After the crash, deputies said the driver got out of the vehicle and fled on foot but was quickly captured, the report said.

The suspect’s identity has not been released as charges are pending, according to the report.

After more than a century serving the town from the historic Central Fire Station at Town Hall Place, the Brunswick Fire Department is adjusting to its new, thoroughly modern digs, pressherald.com reported.

Brunswick firefighters began moving into their new $13 million, 26,000-square-foot station at 119 Pleasant Street on Dec. 22, 2022.

The department received a nice surprise Monday, the department announced on its Facebook page. “Dave Watson delivered this incredible piece for our new station. The podium was originally donated to the American Legion by Robert and Gretchen Evans. The Legion thought it was better suited for our new training room as we settle into our new station. A very special thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Evans, and to the American Legion.”

The Kimball Township Fire Department will soon be getting new radios thanks to a federal grant, thetimesherald.com reported.

The fire department received a $122,338 Assistance to Firefighter’s Grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency last week, the report said.

They applied for the grant in January 2022. The money will be used to replace all of the radios, including the portable and in-truck models, the report said.

Kimball Township Fire Department currently has 35 working radios and six are out of service, according to the report.