White Lake Fire Authority was looking for a vehicle to function mostly as a water hauler on a small frame that could negotiate tight spaces, but could also function as a fire suppression unit when needed. The fire authority found the vehicle it needed in a KME elliptical pumper-tanker.
Tim Besser, KME’s sales manager, says the fire authority told him they were mainly looking for a tanker (tender) to bring the water to the scene, but also have the ability to pump to another rig if necessary. “The fire authority told me they didn’t need a hose bed on the truck, so they liked the functionality of an elliptical tank,” Besser says. “They wanted to maximize the water capacity on their specified length and width of the vehicle.”
Peter McCarthy, White Lake Fire Authority’s chief, points out the organization covers 54 square miles of both the city and town of Whitehall, and the town of Fruitland, with six full-time paid firefighters, one full-time administrator, and 19 paid on-call firefighters working out of two fire stations. “We have two 1,500-gallon per minute (gpm) Type 1 pumpers, a 1,500-gpm quint aerial ladder, 3,000-gallon and 2,200-gallon tenders, and three brush trucks, all built by KME,” McCarthy says. “We also have a UTV brush/EMS (emergency medical services) vehicle, two one-ton medical trucks, two personal watercraft, two chief’s vehicles, and one hovercraft.”
McCarthy notes that the fire authority was looking to purchase a “KME tender with a full-size pump on it so it could function as an engine if necessary, even though it wouldn’t have an engine’s equipment capabilities. We had it built to haul water, but have the big pump and enough compartments for firefighting equipment, including a couple of SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus) air packs, so that it’s a very practical workhorse truck for us.”
Chris Payette, owners of Payette Sales & Service, who sold the rig to White Lake, says the White Lake pumper-tanker is built on an International HV607 4×2 chassis and two-door cab with seating for two firefighters, powered by a Cummins 360-horsepower (hp) L9 diesel engine, and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission. “The pumper-tanker has a Hale DSD 1,500-gpm midship pump, an elliptical 2,000-gallon UPF Poly™ tank with a 3/16-inch aluminum painted body, and a Zico 2-arm Quic-Lift portable tank system holding a Husky TrimLine 2,100-gallon portable water tank.
Payette says the pumper-tanker has two 200-foot 1-3/4-inch speedlays in removable trays that are 3-1-2-feet and 5-feet above the ground so they are easy to deploy, 400-feet of 3-inch hose dead lay on top of the pump panel, hose storage wells on each side of the pump panel with the officer’s side holding 100 feet of preconnected 1-3/4-inch hose, and a 5-inch Fireman’s Friend direct tank fill and a Newton 10-inch electronic valve swivel dump at the rear of the vehicle that can be operated from the rear or from the cab.
White Lake’s tanker has a Whelen LED warning light package, Whelen LED scene lighting, and ROM roll-up doors with a painted finish.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.
