Peter Ong examines Camp Pendleton, home to USMC 1st Marine Expeditionary Force’s Training Base and Headquarters for the West Coast and Pacific Area of Operations.
Wildland firefighting may be similar in some ways to structural firefighting, but there are more differences than similarities. Likewise, the apparatus used in wildland firefighting differs too, especially in the setup of wildland apparatus and the types and capacities of the pumps the rigs carry.
Apparatus manufacturers are turning out both custom engines and tried-and-true designs for fire agencies around the country, responding to those departments’ particular needs.
Depending on the area of the country and the needs of the fire department, the types of foam systems being installed on wildland pumpers run the gamut from direct-injection systems of various capabilities to simple around-the-pump foam systems.
Johnson Siding (SD) Fire Department Max-WASP wildland attack structural pumper. Ford F-550 four-wheel-drive four-door cab and chassis; Power Stroke 6.7L 330-hp engine; 4 Continental MPT 81 335/80 R 20 Super Single tires; Darley PSMC 1.500-gpm pump.
Purchasing or placing into service a grass fire truck is when two NFPA standards could apply to the same rig. In particular, they are NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, and NFPA 1906, Standard for Wildland Apparatus.
The Los Pinos (CO) Fire Protection District wanted to replace a 1986 pumper outfitted like a Type 3 engine with a dual-purpose engine to be housed in its dedicated wildland station, Station 5.