USA-Canada Trip 2013

[kieferfire]

Water Tender 317 is another 2012 International 7400 with Rosenbauer bodywork, 500 gpm/ 1800 water.

[kieferfire]

My next destination was the Town of Stevensville, several miles south of Missoula. I made a contact in advance, as the Fire Departments operates some interesting apparatus.

 

Engine 7112 in Stevensville/MT is this 1979 Mack CF 611 with 1500 gpm-pump and 500 gallon-tank. It was rebuilt including a cab-enclosure in 1994. Ex-Missoula FD.

[kieferfire]

Heavy rescues are a rarity in Montana. Rescue 2140 in Stevensville is this 1989 Spartan Gladiator with Saulsbury bodywork. It was bought from Brindlee Mountain in 2005. First owner was the West Tuckerton Fire Co in Egg Harbor TWP / New Jersey.

[kieferfire]

From Stevensville I went further south to the City of Hamilton. I contacted the Fire-Chief in advance, as Hamilton has a large fleet of very interesting apparatus. Unfortunately, at this Sunday the Chief was out of town and nobody else was available to open the fire-station. Oh well.

 

As my final destination in Montana was the City of Bozeman, I had plans to drive east on Montana State Road 38. I asked at a gas-station in Hamilton about the road-condition and was warned to use the road, some 40 miles of gravel-road in a steep mountainous area, dangerous to drive with bad weather. So I took the detour, back to Missoula and then I-5 east. As I was a bit tired, I did an overnight stay in Butte. Butte is an old rustic mining-town, that has seen much better days. The uptown area has lots of old large buildings, hotels and banks, most of them shut down.

 

On the next morning I visited the headquarters of the Butte FD. Engine 1 is this 2008 Pierce Velocity with 1500 gpm-pump, 750 gallons of water and 30 gallons of foam.

[kieferfire]

Rescue 1 from the Butte FD is this 2013 Ford F 550 4x4 with bodywork from E.J.Metals. It has a 100 gpm-pump and carries 300 gallons of water and 10 gallons of foam.

[kieferfire]

_{Due to historical reasons, the City of Butte also has nine small independent fire companies. You must be lucky to find someone at these stations. At the Big Butte VFD I ran into the Fire-Chief. Their only fire apparatus is this 1975 Mack CF 636F with 1250 gpm/ 500 water. Ex-Butte FD.}

[kieferfire]

The last for today is the brandnew Truck 3 from the Bert Mooney Airport in Butte. It is a 2013 Rosenbauer Panther, that is equipped with a 1850 gpm-pump. It carries 1500 gallons of water and 200 gallons of foam.

[npfd801]

I'm always very interested in industrial fire departments. With a contact via the Lewiston FD I was able to visit the Fire Department of Clearwater Paper in Lewiston / Idaho. Clearwater Paper is a large paper mill and hygiene-products manufacturer. The fire protection for their premises was outsourced several years ago to the Medcor Company.

 

The guys at the fire station were very friendly, but I'm sure, they never had a visitor before, that was interested in photographing their equipment. The fleet consists of three engines, a water-tender, a hazmat-truck and a large tower-ladder.

 

Truck 91 is this 1990 Spartan Gladiator with LTI bodywork, 1500 gpm-pump, 150 gwt, and 100' tower. It was bought used in 2009 from Hinsdale/Illinois.

 

Here's some irony - I sold the replacement aerial for this one to Hinsdale, and it was a Spartan/Rosenbauer(General)/Metz.  Kind of neat, considering you're doing lots of Rosenbauer photography...

[kieferfire]

Here's some irony - I sold the replacement aerial for this one to Hinsdale, and it was a Spartan/Rosenbauer(General)/Metz.  Kind of neat, considering you're doing lots of Rosenbauer photography...

Yes, thats in fact NEAT.

[kieferfire]

The former Gallatin Field Airport near Bozeman/MT is now the Bozeman-Yellowstone International Airport. I made a contact in advance to the Chief of Operations and got a nice reply.

 

Rescue 1 is a 1992 Oshkosh T-1500 with 1250 gpm-pump, 1500 gallons of water, 205 gallons of foam, and 500 # dry chemicals. It will be replaced in 2014 with a new Striker.

[kieferfire]

Rescue 2 is this 2006 E\-One Titan Force, that has a 1500 gpm-pump, 1585 gallons of water, and 205 gallons of foam.

[kieferfire]

With six fire-stations, the Central Valley Fire District is one of the largest Fire Departments in the Bozeman area. I visited their headquarters in Belgrade. Engine 5-1 is one of three 2008 Pierce Velocity PUC. It has a 1500 gpm-pump and carries 1000 gallons of water and 50 gallons of foam.

[kieferfire]

Water-Tender 5-1 is this interesting 2008 Kenworth T 370 6x6 with Pierce bodywork, 500 gpm / 2500 water.

[kieferfire]

Rescue 5-1 from the Central Valley FD is a 2008 Kenworth T 370, also with bodywork from Pierce.

[kieferfire]

The Rae and Sourdough Volunteer Fire Departments are two neighboring Fire Districts, that protects the outlying areas of the City of Bozeman. I made a contact in advance, as I was very interested in some photos of their unique equipment.

 

Engine 6 from the Rae VFD is this 2012 International 7600 6x6 with bodywork from Rosenbauer/Heiman. This extremely high sitting truck is equipped with a 1500 gpm-pump and carries 1250 gallons of water, 30 gallons of A- and 50 gallons of B-foam. It also has a CAFS-system and a second engine for pump and roll. It is the first-out engine from the Rae fire station.

[kieferfire]

Water-Tender 6 from the Rae VFD is this brandnew 2013 International 7600 with bodywork from Rosenbauer/Heiman. It has a 1000 gpm-pump and carries 3000 gallons of water.

[kieferfire]

The Sourdough VFD has two equally interesting monsters in service. Engine 7-1 is one of two 2002 International 5600i 6x6 with bodywork from General (Spokane/WA). It has a 1250 gpm-pump and carries 1700 gallons of water, 30 gallons of A- and 50 gallons of B-foam. It is also equipped with a CAFS-system and a separate Deutz-Diesel for pump and roll. They are also the first-out engines from the Sourdough stations.

[kieferfire]

Currently for sale and sitting in a field is former Tender 3-4 from the Gallatin Gateway VFD. It is a good looking 1983 White Xpeditor with Pierce bodywork, 1500 gpm, 1500 gwt

[kieferfire]

Engine 1 from the City of Bozeman FD is one of two 2011 Sutphen with 1500 gpm rear-pump, 750 gallon water-tank and 30 gallon foam-tank.

[kieferfire]

The last for today is Truck 3 from Bozeman. It is a 1987 LTI Olympian, that is equipped with a 1250 gpm-pump, 300 gallons of water and a 106' ladder. It will be replaced next year with a new Sutphen tower.