TC24D Fire Rig (Class 7)

[LAGEORGE]

I added a small cheap “blue painted” tool box to the side of the reel to hold all those Forestry type fittings and adaptors that one would need to gain water from various sources including a garden hose /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. Also I have additional nozzles that allow me to vary GPM as water supplies allow.

In wild land fire fighting it’s all about the pressure!

Nozzles range from 6 GPM to 30 GPM at 100 PSI (I use 150 PSI as my target pressure at the nozzle)

Fittings range from ¾ GHT to 2 ½ NST mainly aluminum ones are used.

LAGEORGE

 

[hobbyfarm]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( HA HA on that parts list, you were poking fun at me, yes? )</font>

No, really.
It would be neat to see at least a major component or supplier list.

Most of us are ignorant of these types of attachments, but always eager to learn.
For example - where did you find the fire hose nozzles? Or the tank? Is the tank just a skid mounted sprayer that you modified?
I'm sure the whole community wants to know! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Please enlighten us. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Thanks.

 

[DocHeb]

Thanks,

Your project is so out of the ordinary (i.e., not a boom pole, counterweight, etc.) and that is what makes it so interesting.

Is your reel motor driven (electric or hydraulic) or manual?

The CoxReels web site link was very helpful - with google all I had found were resellers that only carried bits and pieces of their line. Their products seem like very high quality.

 

[LAGEORGE]

Ok, here are the major players for my project.

PBM Mfg. in Calif. - Custom built “3 point fire sprayer” with Hypro D115 PTO pump, 110 gallon tank, Cox hose reel painted New Holland Blue!

Cascade Fire Equipment - adaptors, fittings, suction hoses and lots of ideas! great catalog
National Firefighting Equipment - adaptors and clothing ECT.
Banjo Corporation - 3 way valve and hose fittings (tank)
Cordova Fire Equipment – makers of Forestry nozzles and fittings
Wildfire Equipment – Forestry equipment sales
Red head Brass LLC. - Custom adaptors (real nice stuff!)
Darley.com – huge fire fighting site including equipment sales and very custom fittings and great 1-inch booster hoses! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
Grainger – stainless steel fittings, nipples (1 inch and 1 1/2 inch)
Lowes Home Improvement – OK full flow valves ¾ inch up to 2 inch in size
The John M. Ellsworth Company, Inc.- brass fittings and stuff
homefirefightingsystems.com – inspiration! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) – government construction specifications for forestry gear

I also had to get out my one and aquire additional pipe wrenchs and learn a lot about plumbing. Also used lots of Teflon tape and pipe dope.

Now you too can go out and build one as well. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

LAGEORGE

 

[LAGEORGE]

The reel is manual but I could use the workout any way. Electric would be real nice but adds weight and cost.

An additional note, it is almost mandatory to have a hydraulic top link since the geometry of the 3-point lift changes radically as you lift the rig higher off the ground. The hydraulic link allows you to keep everything water level.

LAGEORGE

PS: Call COX Reels, they will help you find a place where one can get the stuff. The quality is good enough for my purpose.

 

[theonlybull]

nice looking rig.

now that i see your putting down the volly fd, have you ever thought of joining them, or donating to them? it's a tuff job, and requires alot of $$ that's not always provided by the government....

nice to see you planning to defend your property, but do you have any formal traning on wildland firefighting? what ever you do, keep yourself safe, fire demands respect.

 

[LAGEORGE]

Theonlybull, my wife keeps saying the same thing but I am 37 years old and they consider me a bit old to start out in the fire service. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif They want the young pups with their open minds kind of what the military wants. Not a old dog like me.
I do respond to incidents in backyard until help arrives and have a valid commercial class B license and can pitch if needed but thankfully we have not had any major incidents recently.
The Fire Marshall for our city was the guy who really inspired me 3 years ago and the situation has only got worse. He had suggested I get a 1-inch hose line and a foam kit since we were so far away from the fire station. But last I heard he considered our property one of the safest since we are very aggressive with brush and tree trimming. He may be surprised to see how far I took his suggestion. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Thank you for the suggestion about fire and training maybe I can try to get some free training from our city even though I am considered to old to invest in. I can at least try and try again.
In terms of training I have none other then my 20 plus years covering them for the News and driving class B rigs on fire roads during fires. But I am praying all I will ever have to do is just practice, train and never have to face a real fire.
A large brush fire could prove very tragic to my community. Fire prevention is my main focus and I think everyone’s best defense.


And don’t get me wrong our city has lots of cash for the fire department with close to a millions bucks in the bank as well. They are even considering a new fire station to replace the only fire station even further from my part of town.
So maybe I can start my own? On second thought maybe not!

Here is a link that has some info on our fire department. Everything seems right expect for the 3 station statement that I think is there to get the better ISO rating for insurance companies. I have only seem one station and I have looked for them.

Fire Department Info. LHH, Calif.

 

[theonlybull]

funny how some departments are with ages for members. ours welcomes anyone crazy ehough to join up. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

and a 6.5 mile area is pretty small, compared to some of the areas around here, i don't know the #'s, but i'm a 10 min drive from the hall, and it's over a 30 min drive from one end to the other.

do some searching online for wildland fire training. there must be something out there. i've seen how quickly fire can turn on ya, and don't want anyone gettin hurt. just be safe.

 

[LAGEORGE]

Theonlybull, thanks for the advice I will look into some training but firefighting is not really my goal just protection and prevention.
The problem with our city’s response time is due to the geography of the city. In order to get to our part of town you have to travel 3 sides of a rectangle through 2 other cities with very congested streets to then make their way back up the hill to us and beyond. A direct route is difficult due to the narrow semi two lane roads really one lane roads. People in cars consider the roads very dangerous let along traveling them in a fire rig doing code 3. So I see why they take the route they do so thus the extended response times. They really need another station on our end of town.

And like I mentioned before I built the rig for peace of mind and because I had the means (time and more time). No plans to play fire department but I have made it easier for them to locate, park and hookup if the need should arise.

LAGEORGE

 

[RobertN]

I was 37 when I entered our local Fire Dept as a volunteer. Our local station is staffed; volunteers are used for addition resource and secondary staffing. I had to back out of it for a couple of years now. It was the greatest thing I have ever done.

I would note that getting on with a dept is simplified if you get an EMT cert.

They already see your interest. They can work with age at thier discretion. Go for it! Especially since they have seen what you can already do. You have a good start too, since you already have a Class-B license...

Actaully, your B license and expierience could be key for you and them. The biggest issue we found as volunteers, is we only had a couple who were ok to drive. If they were not available, it really limited what we could do. It was a bummer to run to the station, with the first out Engine already out, and sit next to the second out engine waiting for a driver operator...