Thoughts on fire trailer?

[August]

I am a property owner in a small community of 85 recreational and residential properties. I am a member of our informal volunteer fire brigade and we a looking to expand our capabilities (equipment and training).

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on using a trailer rather than a fast attack or pickup with a slip-on. The rational behind a trailer is low maintenance. A majority of the property owners have towing capabilities and the community is only a 1km ring road.

[g-01]

August: The answer depends greatly on the services available and the needs of the community. Is there a "formal" fire team to perform fire/rescue duties or are you the only action in town? Is your community hydranted or does it have another water source, or will the trailer carry a tank? Will it be for structural FF or wildland, or medical?

I used to work at a facility that was a 150 acre tree farm / research area (big $$ invested). It was serviced by a mutual aid agreement with the city career dept and the municipalitie's volunteer dept with a response time of 5 - 10 minutes. They created a fast response trailer with a 500 gallon tank, wajax pump and hose, as well as several backpack pumps and handtools. The intent of the trailer was to slow the spread of the fire until the "pro's" got there.

If you are looking to outfit a trailer for structural attack / rescue, I think you may be biting off more than you can chew - fitting enough gear on a trailer..... Having said that, I do remember reading about a community that used modified golf carts for an EMS type response.

The most important thing to remember is to do a needs analysis before spending dollar one.

Hope this helps

Scotty

[Roadwarrior]

Here is a bit of a twist on the theme. We just had our mini-pumper weighed (with equipment) and found out that we were overweight by a fair amount. We are considering the purchase of a trailer for all of our specialty equipment (Extrication, Wildland, Ice Water Rescue). That way, the trucks stay primarily for fire and then if we get one of these other call, it's a matter of hooking up and going. Yes, there will be a bit of time lost, but the upside is that everything is located in one place, rathere than scattered amongst the other apparatus.
Does anyone else do this or have any thoughts?
Oh, yeah, don't even suggest a new truck...at this point, that is not an option.
Thanks

[cdares]

Sounds like you have got some homework ahead of you- Not saying you're right or wrong, I don't really know what your situation is...Anyway, If you guys do decide to go the trailer route check out this one that we have for sale.... http://lunenburgdist.firehallsites.com/gpage6.html

[ssifire]

August: The answer depends greatly on the services available and the needs of the community...

...If you are looking to outfit a trailer for structural attack / rescue, I think you may be biting off more than you can chew - fitting enough gear on a trailer....

Scotty

I would tend to agree that you will end up overloading the trailer in a hurry, especially if it's going to carry water as well.

While you said most vehciles are able to tow, do they all have the same hitch / plug? Can they carry that kind of weight? Will most driveway accomidate the unit?

I'm not knocking the idea, you have to make work whatever you can in your community. It sounds like you're taking the right approach, think of solutions, and research them. I just think in the long run, you might be better off with a good used fire truck, but then again, I don't know the full story. :D

[Roadwarrior]

We are considering an enclosd 6'x12' tandem axle, 5,000 lb payload.
No structural ff equipment would be on board...that stays on the trucks.
It would be primarily for:
1: Vehicle Extrication - Hyraulic Pump, Hoses, Cutter, Rams, Combi Tool, Hand Tools, Z-Mags, Cribbing etc.
2: Ice Water Rescue - PFD's, Immersion Suits, Ropes & Rigging
3: Wildland Fires - Mark 3 Pump, Backpacks, Hose Bags, Hand Tools
Perhaps a few spare cans of gas and a couple of spare pails of foam.
That's kind of our thoughts in a nutshell.
Thanks for the input all.

[CrazyLadder]

I guess we really need more info; about your team/crew, your geography (hilly, near water), nearest organized fire protection (who do you call and how far away are they), do any of your people have any training in firefighting, etc. The more you can tell us the better. I think the trailer might be an excellent idea in the right situation. Not to many years ago a lot of small rural depts started with not much more than a 1/2 to stored in someones barn.

[cdares]

I think that having a multi-purpose trailer is an excellent idea- there's a few dept's in NS and around that are building Haz-Mat trailers...The great part is that as Road Warrior mentioned, DOT's across Canada are getting strict with weights and measures- building a trailer eliminates that problem. The only reason why we're getting rid of ours is because it doesn't fit into our response- and we haven't had any use for it since it's built- I guess it has it's uses, however....

[DFCSmash]

I am a property owner in a small community of 85 recreational and residential properties. I am a member of our informal volunteer fire brigade and we a looking to expand our capabilities (equipment and training).

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on using a trailer rather than a fast attack or pickup with a slip-on. The rational behind a trailer is low maintenance. A majority of the property owners have towing capabilities and the community is only a 1km ring road.

August, probably a fine idea, as long as everyone involved understands that they can put out trash (grass, light brush, and garbage) fires, but in no way can you possibly do structural. You would be able to do exposure protection until the municipal crew arrived.

Interior operations can never be attempted without proper protective equipment, or you will die.

A small gasoline pump and a couple of hundred feet of 1" forestry type hose, and say 250 gallons of water. Water weighs about 10lbs to the gallon so thats 2500lbs of water. With the small diameter line, 250 gallons will go a long way along with rakes and shovels, beaters and the like. Some hardhats and goggles at a minimum. This kind of setup would end up weighing about 3000lb, so size your trailer accordingly. Talk with your local Fire Department and municpal councillor, and bounce the idea off them. They may have some previous experience with what you are proposing. At the very least, they will be able to give you sound advice (legally and operationally) on your proposal.

Hope this helps.