The shorter, smaller and narrower quick response fire engine in front of the larger Type-1 fire engine, is capable of accessing all areas of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, without having to use bypass routes to get around the narrow tunnel that leads to the Marine Memorial Golf Course.
MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, UNITED STATES
08.22.2019
Story by Keith Hayes
Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow
A truck retrofitted as a Type 6 firefighting apparatus, with standard fire pumping capabilities as well as ultra-high pressure pumping capabilities, helps firefighters reach the scene of emergencies in rugged terrain more quickly aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, as well as in the surrounding community.
Paul Purdy, fire chief, Marine Corps Fire and Emergency Services aboard MCLB Barstow, said the new smaller Type-6 fire engine was originally a 2005 Ford F550 utility truck owned by the department.
“We had it refitted into a fire engine that is capable of getting through the tunnel between MCLB Barstow and the Marine Memorial Golf Course,” Purdy explained.
The access tunnel between the base and the golf course has always been too small to allow the larger Type-1 fire engines could get through.
“That means if there is an emergency or fire at the golf course we have to drive off the base to take the dirt access roads to bypass the tunnel in order to get to the scene,” said Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Tworek. He’s the man who spearheaded the drive to get the truck retrofitted.
The aggregated response time (ART) to an emergency is within seven minutes from receiving the call. Having to bypass the tunnel added 15 to 20 minutes more time to the response, but the new retrofit now allows fire crews to meet or exceed the under 7-minute standard, Tworek explained.
“The Type-6 apparatus can also be used at the weapons range aboard base which proves difficult for the Type-1 fire engines,” he added. Type-1 firetrucks have ladder and water cannon capabilities suited to fighting large structure fires, but they are more cumbersome in off-road situations.
The new Type 6 does not have all the capabilities of the larger fire engines, Chief Purdy said, but it is capable of delivering 300 gallons of water at high pressure to handle almost any small brush or structure fire.
“We can deliver ten gallons a minute with the ultra-high pressure hose with just as much effectiveness as a larger hose that puts out 100 gallons a minute under normal pressure,” Purdy said.
The refitting of the truck into the Type-6 fire engine cost just a little under $200,000 and was done by Fire Trucks Unlimited, a firm in Henderson, Nevada, which specializes in building Fire Rescue Vehicles, Fire Rescue Utility Vehicles, and Ultra High-Pressure Firefighting Systems. That compares to building a new fast response fire engine from the ground for $450,000 to $500,000.
The water pumping system on top of the truck is a U.S. Navy Twin Pump Skid UHP/HV-Diesel Engine Driven, which is state of the art for fire departments.
Colonel Craig C. Clemans, commanding officer, MCLB Barstow, attended an official unveiling of the new Type-6 apparatus at the headquarters of the Security and Emergency Services Department, August 20.
“This new fire engine is all about increasing the capability of the fire department by reducing our response time to emergencies and fires,” Clemans said.
“Taking existing equipment that is in good shape and repurposing it as we did with this truck at much less expense is a very good thing,” said Danny Strand, director, SES. “I am proud that our department now has off-roading capabilities to provide even better response time.”
“This is quick-attack apparatus that can get to the scene of off-road accidents, fires and medical emergencies where our much larger fire engines couldn’t,” Chief Purdy said.
“It will enable us to serve this whole side of the base where the golf course is located more efficiently and with much lower response time, meeting or exceeding the standard. In an emergency, time means lives,” he concluded.
The new, smaller, quick response fire engine fits neatly through the access tunnel leading from Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, to the Marine Memorial Golf Course, August 9. Without the smaller Type-6 fire engine, emergency crews would have to travel miles and minutes out of their way to bypass the tunnel.
Onlookers get a close up look at the new quick-response fire engine unveiled in front of Security and Emergency Services headquarters building August 20. The new fire engine is constructed on the bed of a Ford F550 already owned by the fire department with the fire apparatus on the back added by Fire Trucks Unlimited in Henderson, Nevada.
(Left) Colonel Craig C. Clemans, commanding officer, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, with Assistant Fire Chief Craig Posey directing, aims a spray of water from the ultra-high pressure hose attached to the new, quick response fire engine at the headquarters of Security and Emergency Services, August 20. Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Tworek, Marine Corps Fire Department, said the ultra-high pressure hose at 10 gallons a minute is as effective on a brush or structure fire as the larger hose spraying 100 gallons a minute.
The quick-response fire engine designed to access the more rugged areas of Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, California, tackles some off-road challenges adjacent to the Marine Memorial Golf Course, August 9. The retrofitted Ford F550 truck, had much larger tires installed, and fire apparatus capable of getting through the access tunnel between MCLBB and the golf course.
