The United States Bureau of Land Management has the largest firefighting organization of the 4 Department of Interior land management agencies (the US Forest Service is the largest but is part of the Dept of Agriculture). The BLM was established in 1946 to replace the General Land Office. It is responsible for the management of 264 million acres of land, the largest area covered by a land management agency in the US. Unlike the USFS and NPS that manage land selected for its scenic and/or economic value, the BLM primarily manages land in the west that wasn't claimed during the homesteading period of US history.
BLM California Desert District (Southern California) DOI Model 14, 500 gpm pto, 500 gallon tank, crew 5
The BLM in California have a history of using apparatus designed by the California Department of Forestry. The Department of Interior spec Model 14 (4x4) / Model 15 (2wd) was based on the CDF Model 14/15 with modifications made to suit the BLM (primarily more compartment space). This design was started by the BLM but has become a standard type 3 engine design for the DOI agencies in California (BLM, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Fish & Wildlife).
BLM Bakersfield District CDF Model 14 500 gpm pto, 500 gallon tank
This is shows the low compartments used on the original California Department of Forestry Model 14. The captain did not know why the BLM chose to give him an engine with small compartments instead of the usual DOI spec version.
Close up of the skid plate on the engine above <img src='http://www.firepics.net/groupboards/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
07-20-2011, 05:11 PM (This post was last modified: 07-20-2011, 05:12 PM by Aaronw.)
BLM Bakersfield Chimney peak engine. S&S built type 6 engine 85 gpm aux pump, 200 gallon tank, crew 3.
Unlike the USFS which has gone to an all type 3 engine fleet in California most of the DOI agencies in California still maintain a mixed fleet of Type 3 and type 6 engines.