Fire departments are all over the map when it comes to choosing the size pump they put on their engines and aerials. They consider the type and use of the rig they are purchasing as well as the kinds of fire situations the departments are likely to face.
Ryan Darley, vice president of sales for Darley, says his company values the importance of understanding the community and structures being protected by end users. “We want to gather information on the type of buildings present, whether they be high-rise, residential, industrial, or commercial structures; the typical home sizes; or industrial facilities and commercial zones,” Darley says. “We especially take note of any airports, oil refineries, or energy storage facilities in their response areas and their mutual-aid responsibilities.”
Darley adds that his team inquires about the response times; the district’s topography; the number of rigs that typically respond to a fire; the average number of firefighters on the engine, truck, or tanker; and the department’s standard operating procedures for fire suppression. “We’ll also ask if they will operate at ultra-high-pressure, high-pressure, or low-flow pressure and if they need to pump into a standpipe and go up 20 floors. After receiving this information, we can recommend the type and size of pump required for their particular apparatus,” Darley points out.
He states that according to data, up to 75% of fire apparatus purchased are equipped with pumps in the range of 1,250 gallons per minute (gpm) to 1,750 gpm. “Our P series pump is a popular choice, which is available in either midship split-shaft or power takeoff (PTO) versions and is rated from 1,000 gpm to 2,000 gpm,” Darley says.
Mark Brenneman, assistant sales manager for 4 Guys Fire Trucks, observes that the trend in pumps over the years has moved from 1,000 gpm and 1,250 gpm to 1,750 gpm and 2,000 gpm. “The technology has made it possible to get pumps up to 2,250 gpm in the same footprint as the smaller gpm versions,” Brenneman said. “The pump size itself is the same for all those capacities in the range, and what’s different is the number of discharges that the pump feeds.”
1 W.S. Darley & Company makes the P series pumps, which have proven to be popular choices on engines and aerials. Shown is Darley’s PSM standard pump module. (Photo 1 courtesy of W.S. Darley & Company.)
2 4 Guys Fire Trucks built a pumper for the Chenango (NY) Fire Company with a Hale Qmax 1,750-gpm pump. (Photo 2 courtesy of 4 Guys Fire Trucks.)
Brenneman surmises that the increase in pump gpm size on apparatus might reflect multiuse fire vehicles. “We are seeing a lot of departments getting rid of a pumper and a tanker and purchasing a pumper-tanker with a big pump on it because of the versatility that the rig offers but also reflecting the lack of staffing that many departments are facing these days,” he says.
Aaron Zak, product specialist lead for fire suppression at Pierce Manufacturing Inc., notes that for the past five years of production at Pierce, two thirds of the pumpers built carried 1,500-gpm pumps, 20 percent had 1,250-gpm pumps, with the balance carrying 2,000-gpm pumps.
“In terms of aerial apparatus, our numbers show that just shy of 50 percent of our production has a 2,000-gpm pump, followed by 1,500-gpm, and 1,750-gpm pumps splitting the remainder of the builds,” Zak points out. “While the numbers for pump sizes in pumpers has remained very steady, we’ve seen aerials going to 2,000 gpm after 2020, with an increase from one third to one half of production.”
Jeffrey Van Meter, director of global product management for IDEX Fire and Safety and Hale Products Inc., says that Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association (FAMA) data shows that the majority of fire apparatus sold in North America carry a fire pump of at least 1,500 gpm. “We’ll talk with a customer about how much water they need to flow,” Van Meter says, “and often we might recommend a 2,000-gpm pump but rate it at 1,500 gpm to make it easier to be pump tested. At 1,500 gpm, a pump test can be done with a single 6-inch suction instead of two of them for the higher ratings.”
Van Meter says that Hale Products hears from a lot of fire departments that want to flow 2,000 gpm from their aerials but sees an equal number running 1,500-gpm pumps. “The larger the aerial, the bigger the fire pump they want,” he points out. “But, sometimes we suggest putting a smaller gpm pump on the aerial because you don’t want to overload the vehicle’s axles.
He continues, “The Qmax and Qmax-XS pumps are our most popular models for both pumper and aerial applications, and we can offer flows of 1,250 gpm to 2,250 gpm. And, we also offer the Double Thunder 6,000-gpm pump for special applications like on industrial fire apparatus.”
3 Hale Products Inc. makes the Qmax series of pumps in sizes from 1,250 to 2,250 gpm. (Photo 3 courtesy of Hale Products Inc.)
4 The CSU pump made by Waterous is offered in flows of 1,500, 1,750, 2,000, and 2,250 gpm. (Photo 4 courtesy of Waterous.)
5 Fort Garry Fire Trucks built this pumper for the Harrison Hot Springs (BC) Fire Department with a Hale 1,500-gpm RSD1500 rear-mount pump. (Photo 5 courtesy of Fort Garry Fire Trucks.)
6 This rear-mounted Rosenbauer NH55 1,500-gpm pump is on a Timberwolf WUI engine Rosenbauer built for the Banks (OR) Fire District #13. (Photo 6 courtesy of Rosenbauer.)
Gregg Geske, director of sales and marketing for Waterous Co., notes, “The ‘bigger is better’ mentality is still strongly in force in the fire service. In the 1990s, the average fire pump was 1,250 gpm, but now it’s 1,500 gpm and sometimes up to 2,000 gpm and 2,250 gpm. But, a department has to consider feeding that fire pump. With a 2,000-gpm pump, you have to pull in water from both sides of the apparatus, but with a 1,500-gpm pump, you can do it from a 6-inch inlet on only one side.”
Geske says, “There definitely are more single-stage fire pumps going on vehicles these days, but in areas with a lot of high-rise buildings, they are trending toward the two-stage pumps. And, we don’t anticipate the average 1,500-gpm pump to go much higher in the near future.”
Joe Lichtscheidl, director of inside sales for Rosenbauer, agrees that the 1,500-gpm pump seems to be the sweet spot for many fire departments. “We have some applications where certain pumps work best, like on our Timberwolf wildland urban interface (WUI) pumper carrying a Rosenbauer NH55 1,500-gpm pump in a rear-mount application,” Lichtscheidl observes. “With our rescue-pumpers, there are a few options with Rosenbauer pumps, with the Rosenbauer UHPS ultra-high-pressure-pump being common because it can be used in pump-and-roll applications or in a fixed nonrolling state.”
He points out, “We’re definitely seeing bigger pumps going on fire vehicles, with a 1,500-gpm pump being the solid norm now. At FDIC International 2023, we displayed a pumper-tanker we built for the Chisago City (MN) Fire Department that carries a 1,500-gpm Waterous pump and a 2,500-gallon water tank with a Newton dump chute at the back. In terms of aerials, we often use the Rosenbauer N110 pump, which is available in ratings from 1,000 gpm to 2,250 gpm.”
Zach Rudy, director of sales for Sutphen Corp., says that Sutphen very often has been installing the Hale Qmax pump in the 1,500-gpm to 2,000-gpm range on a lot of vehicles. “We also use a lot of Waterous CS and CSU pumps and occasionally their S100 in sizes of 1,250 gpm, 1,500 gpm, 1750 gpm, and 2,000 gpm, Rudy notes.
Justin Howell, Sutphen’s southeast region sales manager, says that Sutphen is able to use a full body pump like the Hale Qmax or Waterous CS on its aerials below the turntable and body. “We use the space like we would on a pumper,” Howell says, “and put the full body pump in there instead of having to develop our own manifold for the rig.” Howell adds that a department’s choice of pump also affects the other elements on a pumper or aerial when they go over 2,000 gpm because the bigger pump means larger systems of valves, intakes, and discharges.
Rob Pike, corporate services manager for Fort Garry Fire Trucks, says that “the days of the 1,000-gpm pump are pretty well over. Now the norm is a 1,250-gpm or a 1,500-gpm fire pump on pumpers and pumper-tankers. In terms of aerials, we typically see a 2,000-gpm pump with a 2,000-gallon waterway to a platform running two 1,000-gpm monitors.”
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
