Hazmat Responses Answered with Large and Small Rigs and Trailers

By Alan M. Petrillo

Hazardous materials response depends on the region of the country, the fire departments located within that area, and the agency purchasing the rig.

So, departments and regional fire agencies around the country are being outfitted with everything from large hazmat/rescue vehicles to semi-size trailers and small trucks and trailers carrying the basic minimum hazmat gear.

Joel Konecky, vice president of sales for SVI Trucks, says the vast majority of the hazmat trucks SVI has been building are large units, often with slide-outs to expand the interior space. He says SVI built a hazmat truck for the Winnipeg (MB) Fire and Paramedic Service on an International tandem rear axle chassis and two-door cab with a 30-foot aluminum body and three slide-outs.

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“Wheelbase on the truck is 310 inches, overall length is 41 feet 6 inches, and overall height is 12 feet 10 inches,” Konecky says. “It has a Command Light CL series light tower, a Bosch Starlight camera on a Will-Burt telescoping mast, an Orion vehicle-mounted weather station, OnScene Solutions heavy-duty cargo slides, a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) storage module, and a Norcold refrigerator/freezer.”

For the Pueblo West (CO) Fire Department, SVI built a hazmat truck on a Spartan Metro Star single rear axle chassis and cab with a 20-inch raised roof, powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine and Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission. “Pueblo West’s truck has a 20-foot walk-in body with exterior storage compartments, a crew area and command center inside along with bench seating, an Onan Protec 20-kilowatt (kW) power takeoff (PTO) generator, a Command Light CL series light tower, and a Carefree Mirage lateral arm acrylic patio awning,” Konecky notes.

Joe Messmer, president of Summit Fire Apparatus, says Summit has built some smaller hazmat rigs on Ford F-550 chassis as well as medium size walk-in body vehicles with command areas and storage spaces. “The largest hazmat vehicle we’ve built was for the Northern Kentucky Hazardous Materials Response Team,” Messmer points out. “It’s a 37-foot 7-inch-long trailer with 14 rescue-style compartments along the sides, rooftop storage compartments, side awnings, a ramp for wheeled equipment, a lighted observation platform, a Will-Burt light tower, a 25-kW generator, a science and research room with a fume extraction hood, work counters and wall cabinets, a refrigerator, and two 200-foot electric cord reels,” he says.

Bill Proft, business unit manager of rescue products for Pierce Manufacturing Inc., says Pierce built a hazmat truck for the Sacramento (CA) Fire Department on a Velocity™ chassis with a TAK-4 independent front suspension and an air-ride rear suspension, powered by a 500-hp Cummins X15 diesel engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission. Proft says the Sacramento truck has a 272-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 39 feet 2 inches, and an overall height of 11 feet 6 inches; carries a 20-kW generator; and features a walk-in interior space that holds a lab and fume hood.

For the San Diego (CA) Fire Department, Pierce built a hazmat truck on an Arrow XT™ chassis with a three-door cab and a walk-in body accessed from the rear. “The interior has a lab with a fume hood,” Proft says, “and the rig is powered by a Detroit Diesel DD13 470-hp diesel engine.”

Pierce also built a hazmat truck for the Broward County (FL) Sheriff’s Office on an Enforcer™ tandem rear axle chassis, with an interior operations center, a slide-out, and a Smart Power hydraulic 8-kW generator.

Tony Trewin, project manager for Rosenbauer America, says Rosenbauer has been building a variety of hazmat trucks. “For us, it’s all over the board in terms of type and size,” Trewin says. “In certain areas, they want a unit fully devoted to hazmat; in other areas, they want a hybrid unit that includes hazmat, command, and heavy rescue.” Trewin notes that Rosenbauer built a hazmat truck for the South Bend (IN) Fire Department on a single rear axle Commander chassis with a two-door cab holding a command center. The rig has dual air-conditioning units, a Rosenbauer Green Star auxiliary power unit, and a Will-Burt light tower.

For Merck Pharmaceuticals in Pennsylvania, Rosenbauer built a hazmat unit on a single rear axle Commander chassis with an interior command center, six exterior compartments, and a Tommy gate on the back of the truck for an electric lift to pick up barrels and deposit them in a rear compartment.

“We also build smaller hazmat trucks as well,” Trewin says. “We built three hazmat units for the Sioux Falls (SD) Fire Department on Ford F-550 chassis with a command center built into the body with access from the front and three exterior compartments on each side. A large rear compartment is set up for a ladder complement, a backboard, struts, and hazmat suits.”

Mike Mildner, rescue specialist for E-ONE, says E-ONE recently built a large hazmat truck on a custom chassis for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa (AZ) Indian Community Fire Department. “They wanted it for multiple disciplines of hazmat, command, air, decon, and rehab,” Mildner says. “They have five casinos on tribal land and if one of them loses power, the truck serves as a backup system to pump air onto the casino floor from the truck’s air support system.”

While the majority of the hazmat trucks E-ONE builds are on custom chassis, Mildner says E-ONE recently built a mid-size hazmat unit on a Freightliner M2 commercial two-door chassis. “It’s a walk-around hazmat that has an interior space at the front with room for five firefighters,” he says. “The truck is on a single rear axle with a 22-foot body with a generator on top of the rig.”

Michael Cox, vice president of sales for Emergency Vehicles Inc. (EVI), says EVI recently built a hazmat unit for the Orange County (NY) Haz-Mat Team on a Spartan Metro Star chassis two-door cab and 27-foot body with a climate-controlled interior command and storage area, 12 exterior rescue compartments, five rooftop compartments, a 25-kW Onan PTO generator, a Hannay electric reel, a Hannay tool air reel, a 27-foot mast with a FLIR camera system, a weather station and monitors, and two electric awnings.

For the Santa Clara (CA) Fire Department, EVI built a hazmat truck on a Spartan three-door command cab chassis with a 25-foot walk-through body and one slide-out. The rig has 10 exterior rescue compartments, a slide-out stairway, three rooftop compartments, a 12-kW PowerTech diesel generator, a Hannay electric reel, a Bauer breathing air compressor system powered by a 40-kW Onan PTO generator, a two-bottle containment unit, and four 6,000-psi ASME storage cylinders.

Robert Pike, corporate services manager for Fort Garry Fire Trucks, says Fort Garry built a command/hazmat truck for the Winnipeg (MB) Fire Paramedic Service on a Spartan chassis and cab and work space behind it with desks and chairs for three persons and a pass-through into a 16-foot box that has seating, storage for monitoring and testing equipment, and hazmat suits. The exterior compartments on the rig are for storage of additional hazmat equipment.

Justin Howell, southeast region sales manager for Sutphen Corp., says Sutphen built a large dual-purpose unit for the Miami-Dade (FL) Fire Rescue Department. “It’s a combination hazardous materials and heavy rescue unit,” he says, “on a custom chassis with a 270-inch wheelbase that has a body with a slide-out and a command area.”

Sutphen also is building a heavy rescue with hazmat components on a custom chassis and cab with a 20-inch raised roof and a body that extends to the height of the cab for the Washington Township (OH) Fire Department. “The body has a lot of very deep and wide compartments,” Howell says, “especially to carry the stay dry barrels on slide-out trays.”

Ferrara Fire Apparatus recently delivered a hazmat/heavy rescue to the Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department, built on an Inferno chassis and cab with a 22-foot walk-around body, powered by a 500-hp Cummins X 12 diesel engine and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission. The rig has a Harrison 8-kW generator, a six-bottle 6,000-psi cascade system, and a Bauer fill station.

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ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.