Tucson (AZ) Fire Department, a paid firefighter city fire department covering 237 square miles in the city of Tucson and adjacent Pima County from 22 fire stations, has taken delivery and put in service a new pumper, Engine 10, built by Pierce Manufacturing Inc.
Chris Callies, salesman for Hughes Fire Equipment, who sold the pumper to Tucson Fire, says the Pierce rig is the last delivered of a seven-pumper order, and is built on an Enforcer chassis and cab with a raised roof and seating for six firefighters, three of them in self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats. He notes the pumper is powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission. Wheelbase is 191-1/2-inches, overall length is 31-feet, 6-inches, and overall height is 10-feet, 6-inches.
Callies points out that three other SCBA are in cabinets, and there are two emergency medical services (EMS) cabinets in the back corners of the crew cab. Callies adds that the vehicle has side roll and frontal impact protection, carries a 3M™ insulation package in the cab to keep out excessive heat and noise, and has extreme heat insulation in the bottom of the cab and in the cab walls to keep it cooler in the sun. Callies says that there’s also solar film on the inside of the cab windows to keep radiant heat from coming through the glass.
The Tucson Fire pumper has a Waterous 1,250-gallon per minute (gpm) midship pump, a 750-gallon water tank, a 20-gallon Class A foam tank, and a 10-gallon Class B foam tank. Callies says Tucson Fire doesn’t have an onboard foam system on the rig but rather uses inline foam eductors. He notes that there are flow meters at each discharge.
The pumper has two 1-3/4-inch hose cross lays of 200 feet each, one 250-foot 2-1/2-inch hose cross lay, one front bumper line of 150 feet of 1-3/4-inch hose, and 200 feet of a 2-1/2-inch preconnect off the rear of the rig. The hose bed holds 800 feet of 5-inch LDH (large diameter hose), and 1,000 feet of 2-1/2-inch hose in different configurations, all covered by an aluminum hose bed cover.
Other equipment on the Tucson pumper includes an Akron Brass 3433 high rise deck gun, a hydraulic ladder rack on the top right side of the rig, a Whelen LED Freedom IV 72-inch light bar, a Hi Viz Fire Tech LED brow light, and a Go Light LED spot light on the front of the rig, as well as Whelen LED emergency lighting, Hi Viz Fire Tech LED scene lights, and a Whelen LED Traffic Advisor and a Pierce rear view camera at the back of the rig.
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.
