Brush trucks have many shapes and sizes—maybe more than any other type of fire apparatus. But, they all have one defining characteristic: they are meant to operate beyond the pavement. The problem is that there aren’t any commercial truck chassis available on the market that are purpose-built for off-road use. 4x4 is a start, but it’s not the whole story. And sure, there are surplus military trucks, and more than a few departments have those. But, those ex-military trucks often have limited availability and, more importantly, their condition is usually unknown in advance. So, that makes it difficult to plan a fleet replacement just how and when you need it.

Liberty Township Fire Department, Liberty Center, IN, pumper. Monarch cab and chassis; Cummins ISL 400-hp engine; Hale Qflo 1,250-gpm pump. MORE...

This is the first of two articles about knowing and understanding your fire truck cab gauge numbers.

Just like a pilot must do an instrument scan, so must the driver of fire apparatus. Cab gauges tell us the status of the apparatus at all times while in motion. They also can tell us when something is about to go wrong before an expensive or catastrophic failure occurs..

The Allendale (IL) Rural Fire Protection District (ARFPD) recently took delivery of a new tanker procured with the financial assistance of a FEMA AFG grant.