By Alan M. Petrillo
The United States was built on the foundation of small businesses, so it’s no surprise that some fire departments prefer to work with one of a number of regional or midsize fire apparatus builders.
Those manufacturers report they are seeing strong interest in their apparatus and have been turning out custom pumpers, tankers, rescues, wildland trucks, and specialty vehicles.
Pumpers
Joe Messmer, president of Summit Fire Apparatus, sees multipurpose vehicles as a continuing trend that will be with the fire service for some time. “Rescue-pumpers seem to be the truck of the day right now and will probably continue that way for a while,” Messmer says. “Doing more with one truck and the lack of staffing for some fire departments are a couple of reasons for the rise in rescue-pumper use. It’s actually a good natural blend for a fire vehicle.”
Bob Sorensen, vice president of SVI Trucks, says SVI has delivered three out of five identical pumpers ordered by the Greeley (CO) Fire Department. “Each one is on a Spartan chassis set up as a paramedic engine for four firefighters,” Sorensen says. “They each have a Cummins 550-horsepower (hp) diesel engine, independent front suspension, Waterous 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) side-mount pump, and an L-shaped 750-gallon water tank that allows for a low hosebed. The pumpers also have FRC SpectraMax scene lighting and a rear compartment to house hydraulic rescue tools.”
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| Summit Fire Apparatus built this custom side-mount pumper with an extended front bumper for the Green Township (OH) Fire Department. (Photo courtesy of Summit Fire Apparatus.) |
Grant Spencer, general manager of Spencer Manufacturing, says his company has been doing a lot of customization on fire trucks. “We’re not building the same trucks every day,” he says, “because departments want their pumpers, quick-attacks, and pumper-tankers customized to their needs.”
Mark Albright, general manager of 4 Guys Fire Trucks, believes the industry as a whole has picked up in fire truck orders. “There’s a lot of activity going on with custom pumpers and rescue-pumpers,” he says, “as well as with rescues, aerials, and tankers. We are seeing more rear-pump-design apparatus, although top-mount pump applications are still out there. They both make sense because of the increased visibility the operator gets.”
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| 2 SVI Trucks built several Type 3 Model wildland trucks with 500-gpm pumps and 500-gallon water tanks for Dallas (TX) Fire-Rescue. (Photo courtesy of SVI Trucks.) |
Mike Weis, owner of Weis Fire & Safety Equipment Co., says he’s been seeing a lot more use of high-end quick-attack-style pumpers. “We build a hybrid brush and rescue truck that’s a quick-attack vehicle departments use for first responder calls, car, and brush fires,” Weis notes. “Some departments buy the quick-attack and set it up to handle a vehicle accident first and medical treatment second. Most are on Ford F-450 and F-550 chassis, along with some Dod