The Stillwater (MN) Fire Department had CustomFIRE Apparatus Inc. build it a custom side-mount pumper in 2017, and the department was so pleased with the rig and its performance that it ordered a second unit from the company last year, asking for only one major tweak to the new pumper.
Tom Ballis, Stillwater’s deputy chief, says the department took the design and layout of the 2017 pumper and added 18 inches to the rear of the cab to provide for a transverse compartment. “We essentially kept the rest of the pumper the same because we like the layout of the compartments and the functionality of the vehicle with pull-out and drop-down trays and pull-out tool boards. Our goal in building new apparatus is to keep all of our trucks uniform, so there’s a consistency to where equipment is located and how the vehicle performs, no matter which one you are on.”
Scott Lumby, CustomFIRE’s factory direct sales representative, who sold the pumper to Stillwater, says the new pumper is on a Spartan Metro Star® chassis and cab with seating for five firefighters, four of which are in H.O. Bostrom self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats with Bostrom SecureALL™ SCBA brackets. “The apparatus has a stainless steel sub frame, and the body is stainless steel that’s built with concealed bolted construction,” Lumby says, “with compartments covered by Amdor roll-up doors.” Dimensions on the pumper are a 188-inch wheelbase, 32-foot one-inch overall length, and 9-foot 6-inch overall height.
department
Stillwater (MN) Fire Department
Strength: 12 full-time paid firefighters, 25 paid on-call firefighters; one station.
Service area: The department provides fire protection, rescue, and first response EMS to a 59-square-mile district that includes a historic downtown area, an industrial area, two major highways, and numerous homes that hold a population of 25,000 residents, which swells to 40,000 people during tourist season in the summer.
Other apparatus: 2017 CustomFIRE Spartan chassis pumper, 1,250-gpm pump, 500-gallon water tank, 30-gallon foam tank; 2011 Rosenbauer International chassis pumper, 1,250-gpm pump, 750-gallon water tank, 20-gallon foam tank; 2002 Pierce Dash 105-foot All-Steer aerial ladder quint, 1,750-gpm pump, 500-gallon water tank; 1989 Ford heavy rescue; Ford F-250 medical vehicle; Boston Whaler fire/rescue boat.
1 The side-mount pumper is built on a Spartan Metro Star® chassis and cab with seating for five firefighters. (Photos courtesy of CustomFIRE Apparatus Inc.)
2 An 18-inch-wide transverse compartment behind the crew cab holds Res-Q-Jack® equipment, cribbing, and a long board.
3 The pumper has a Waterous CSC20 1,250-gpm side-mount pump, a 500-gallon water tank, a 30-gallon foam tank, and a FoamPro 2001 single-agent foam system.
Lumby says the pumper is powered by a Cummins L9 diesel engine and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission and has a Waterous CSC20 1,250-gallon-perminute (gpm) side-mount pump, a 500-gallon water tank, a 30-gallon foam tank, a FoamPro 2001 single-agent foam system, a Waterous oil-free pump primer, and an FRC PumpBoss pressure governor.
Ballis points out that the new engine serves as Stillwater’s rescue-pumper, so it has emergency medical services (EMS) cabinets in the cab behind the driver’s and officer’s seats accessible from both inside and outside the cab and Holmatro hydraulic rescue tools mounted in the R3 compartment. “The officer’s side of the pumper is set up for rescue, so we also carry our rappelling equipment and other rescue tools on that side, while the driver’s side of the rig is the fire suppression side,” Ballis says. “The 18-inch-wide transverse compartment behind the crew cab holds our Res-Q-Jack® equipment, cribbing, and a long board and has space for contaminated turnout gear at the bottom.”
4 The rear of the pumper has two 1¾-inch hose preconnects in poly trays, one 2½-inch hose preconnect in a poly tray, and a 1¾-inch hose dead load in a poly tray.
5 The compartments have pull-out and drop-down trays and pull-out tool boards.
6 A one-inch booster line on a hose reel and a six-inch intake are located in the rear compartment.
7 The pumper has hinged aluminum hosebed covers.
specs
CustomFIRE Side-Mount Pumper
- Spartan Metro Star® chassis and cab with seating for five firefighters
- Concealed bolted stainless steel body and sub frame
- AMDOR roll-up compartment doors
- Cummins L9 diesel engine
- Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission
- Waterous CSC20 1,250-gpm side-mount pump
- 500-gallon water tank
- 30-gallon foam tank
- FoamPro 2001 single-agent foam system
- Federal Signal Q2B mechanical siren
- Whelen LED warning lights, light bar, and traffic advisor
Ballis notes that the new rescue-pumper doesn’t have any crosslays or speedlays at the side of the pumper, as one might expect with a side-mount pump. “We have three hose load preconnects in slide-out poly trays in the rear of the pumper,” he says. “There are two 200-foot 1¾-inch hose load preconnects, one 200-foot 2½-inch preconnect, and 100 feet of 1¾-inch dead load. There’s also a hose reel with 200 feet of one-inch booster line in the rear compartment. In the vehicle’s front bumper, we have 200 feet of 1¾-inch hose, and we carry 650 feet of 4-inch large-diameter hose in our low hosebed.” The vehicle has a 6-inch rear suction, a driver’s side 6-inch suction, and officer’s side 6-inch and 2½-inch intakes.
Lumby says that the Stillwater pumper has slide-in ladder, pike pole, and hard suction storage; SCBA cylinder and wheel chock storage in the wheel wells; aluminum hinged hosebed covers; two power rewind electric cord reels; a Harrison Hydra-Gen 6-kilowatt hydraulic generator; a Federal Q2B mechanical siren; and a Federal Signal electronic siren and speakers. Lighting includes all Whelen LED warning lights, a Whelen LED light bar, and a Whelen LED traffic advisor.
“We are very pleased with this new CustomFIRE pumper, as we were with our previous pumper from them,” Ballis says. “We are anticipating replacing our 2011 pumper in the future with a CustomFIRE pumper that’s very similar to this new one so we have continuity across our pumper fleet.”
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 EquipmentEditorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
