Alan M. Petrillo
Developments in wildland urban interface (WUI) apparatus have taken a page from businesses that use customer satisfaction surveys and feedback, incorporating changes and modifications into rigs that firefighters and fire departments see as necessary to make their jobs easier and safer on the front lines of wildland fires.
Structure and Wildland Duties
Chad Trinkner, marketing manager of pumpers, fire suppression and aerial products for Pierce Manufacturing Inc., says that Pierce has seen an emphasis on maneuverable wildland units that can double as urban interface vehicles to fight structure fires or protect exposures when necessary. "Pierce makes Type I, II, and III urban interface and wildland vehicles on custom or commercial chassis," Trinkner says, "often customizing a vehicle to a very specific body design as we do for the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM)."
Trinkner notes that the BLM vehicle, called a Model 62, is a spinoff of the United States Forest Service's (USFS) Model 34 Type III wildland apparatus with its own body design that can hold a spare tire, a different pump capacity, and space "so the vehicle is prepped for everything, and the crew will be able to live out of the apparatus."
A Type III wildland apparatus typically carries 500 gallons of water, a pump with a minimum capacity of 150 gallons per minute (gpm), and 1,000 feet of 1½-inch and 500 feet of one-inch hose. "We've built Type III wildland vehicles with water tanks of up to 600 gallons and Type IV rigs with 750 gallons of water," Trinkner notes. Type IV apparatus have less hose and pump capacity requirements than Type IIIs.
Doug Kelley, wildland product manager for KME, says recent developments in pumps and in remote turrets have improved the performance of wildland vehicles. "The big thing that KME focuses on is pump-and-roll capability, where we have developed pumping systems with dual impellers and single manifolds that allow for low- and high-pressure systems," Kelley says. "We can get 100 gpm at 150 pounds per square inch (psi) at engine idle or, with a four-wheel-drive vehicle, can crawl along in low range and expend water and class A foam on a fire."
KME delivers that pump-and-roll capability chiefly through its Ridgerunner apparatus, designed as a WUI vehicle that can handle both structure and wildland fires. Ridgerunner is available on an International 7400 chassis and carries a Hale 1,500-gpm pump that provides 100 gpm at 150 psi for pump-and-roll situations, an 800-gallon Poly tank, a 20-gallon foam cell, and a FoamPro 2001 direct-injection foam system.
Scott Oyen, vice president of sales for Rosenbauer, says that urban interface pumpers meeting all the criteria as Type I units also can make effective wildland apparatus. "Those that meet the Type I, II, and III classifications might be able to get Insurance Services Organization (ISO) rating points for the fire department," he points out. "That's where our Timberwolf fits in, built on an International 4400 four-door 4x4 chassis with a 500-gpm Darley JSP fire pump, 500 gallons of water, extended front bumper with crosslay, remote bumper turret, high-pressure booster reels in the cab steps, and rescue tool storage.
![Pierce Manufacturing built this Type III wildland vehicle for the Alameda County Fire Department on an International Navistar chassis with a 500-gpm Darley pump and a 500-gallon water tank.](/content/dam/fa/print-articles/volume-18/issue-7/1307FA-PetrilloWildlandApp1.jpg) |
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