Private contract fire equipment

[Image7801]

 

Thanks for sharing all the great photos!  I thought I'd share this rig in it's original life with the Bancroft Fire District in Morrison, Coloroado (now West Metro Fire Rescue) 1980 Ford F-750 500 / 500 Rick Davis Photo
Bancroft Pumper 15 1980 Ford F-750 500 gal 500 gpm Rick Davis.JPG

I knew that rig was ex-Bancroft! That yellow was very distinctive. Thanks for sharing Rick's photo, Eric. Early Bancroft photos are pretty rare (BTW, a little off-topic, but do you by chance have a photo of Bancroft's 1978 Ford L/Seagrave?)

BTW - I have this rig as a 1979 Ford F7000 (I think the "thousand" designates a 4x4 configuration)/3-D.

[Guest]

I knew that rig was ex-Bancroft! That yellow was very distinctive. Thanks for sharing Rick's photo, Eric. Early Bancroft photos are pretty rare (BTW, a little off-topic, but do you by chance have a photo of Bancroft's 1978 Ford L/Seagrave?)

BTW - I have this rig as a 1979 Ford F7000 (I think the "thousand" designates a 4x4 configuration)/3-D.

 

I was thinking it was a F7000 also, I may have written Rick's info down incorrectly.  I have P8 from Morrison down as a 78 Ford F-8000 Seagrave, I'm guessing that's the one you're looking for.  I'll add the Bancroft pics on a colorado thread tonight.

[Image7801]

 

I was thinking it was a F7000 also, I may have written Rick's info down incorrectly.  I have P8 from Morrison down as a 78 Ford F-8000 Seagrave, I'm guessing that's the one you're looking for.  I'll add the Bancroft pics on a colorado thread tonight.

Great, I knew you'd come through! Yeah, the 78 was on a Louisville chassis. I have photos but they're old, faded and I have no idea who took them. Thanks in advance for posting the others.

John

[Aaronw]

I knew that rig was ex-Bancroft! That yellow was very distinctive. Thanks for sharing Rick's photo, Eric. Early Bancroft photos are pretty rare (BTW, a little off-topic, but do you by chance have a photo of Bancroft's 1978 Ford L/Seagrave?)

BTW - I have this rig as a 1979 Ford F7000 (I think the "thousand" designates a 4x4 configuration)/3-D.

 

Ford used the -00 series for gas, -000 for diesel.

[Aaronw]

Wow, that is quite a sight.  I never would have expected to see a poly tank in a dump bed being called a tender.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Tender may be generous, the KW in the photo was hauling grey water from the shower and kitchen units as I recall.

[Image7801]

 

Ford used the -00 series for gas, -000 for diesel.

That's right, I remember hearing that before. Thanks for the correction.

[Aaronw]

Kenworth Watertender operated by Water Wagons Ltd of Nevada. 

 

 

[Aaronw]

Oshkosh 6x6 water tender operated by Johnson Equipment of California

 

 

[Aaronw]

GMC tender operated by O'Connell Construction of California

[Aaronw]

Contract medical trailer operated by Front Line Medical of California. These trailers provide in camp care for the inevitable minor injuries associated with large wildland fires. They are generally staffed by EMTs and Paramedics.

 

 

 

 

[Aaronw]

Freightliner water tender operated by All Terrain Inc of California

 

 

[Aaronw]

Contract Type 6 engine built on a Ford F550. Operated by Criddle Contracting of Nevada.

 

The tents in the background are the dining area for the fire camp.

 

 

 

 

[Aaronw]

An old IH R series water tender operated by Casini Enterprises of California

[Aaronw]

For long duration fires office space is often provided with trailers. Brookstone of California specializes in this kind of work, providing trailers set up with copiers, fax machines, file cabinets etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Aaronw]

Amazingly I am not turning up any food units, so I know what I need to pay special attention to in the up coming fire season.

 

This (the red & white trailer on the left) is a Calfire kitchen operated by one of their inmate crews. It is very similar but smaller than most units operated by contract food units. Calfires kitches are smaller, generally being used to support a camp of up to 500 people. Most of the large contract kitchens are designed to regularly feed 1000-2000 firefighters. Very large camps may have multiple camp kitchens.

 

The blue canopy to the extreme left is part of the kitchen set up where people get their drinks, fruit, salad, silverware etc.

[Frank B]

Thanks for some very nice photos! I never seen beheamoths quite like these trucks!

Scott mattson would like this thread I will have to drop him a note!

[kieferfire]

Interesting topic.

 

Engine 641 from Wildfire Defense Systems, Bozeman / MT is a 2009 GMC C 5500 4x4 / local, 250/400/25.

 

Shot at the Horsethief Canyon Fire near Jackson Hole / WY in September 2012

[Aaronw]

Food Unit serving breakfast

 

This one of the larger contract food units. Typically they are open for meals from 0500-2200 with gaps throughout the day. The big rush times being 0500-0900 as day shift crews are heading out to the line, and night crews are getting back into camp, and again from 1700-2200 as night crews are briefing and heading out and day shift is coming in off the line. Sack lunch is the mid shift meal whether in camp or on the line. 

 

 

 

 

[Aaronw]

Port-A-Pit food unit. Port-A-Pit is a Florida based company that has one of the National Fire Contracts for providing camp kitchens. They have several units staged in the west and are a common sight in fire camps.

 

A camp kitchen is much more than just the kitchen trailer, they bring refrigerated storage trailers, and dining facilities along with them. A large fire camp may have 1000-5000 firefighters so the entire kitchen unit could be a convoy of 5 or 6 trucks. This particular unit also includes some hand washing stations one of which can be seen in the foreground.

 

 

 

 

[Aaronw]

The associated dining area and one of the refrigerated trailers.