The Ellsworth Fire Department needed to replace its water tender (tanker) but, after learning the cost of a tender, decided to replace its tender and an engine with a pumper-tender. After investigating the products of several manufacturers, Ellsworth chose CustomFIRE to build the rig.
“Our initial idea was just to replace our water tender,” says Ellsworth’s assistant chief and chair of the truck committee, Ben Burshem, “but after we got prices back from several manufacturers, we decided it would be better to make it a pumper-tender. So, we sold a 2002 Peterbilt engine and retired our 1982 GMC tender.”
Wayde Kirvida, sales engineer for CustomFIRE, says the department’s truck committee “was shocked at how much a simple tender costs. So, that changed their minds about what they needed, and they went with a pumper-tender.” Kirvida says the pumper-tender CustomFIRE built for Ellsworth is on a Kenworth T880 chassis with a Full Response® crew cab that seats five firefighters, four of them in self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) seats, powered by a 565-horsepower (hp) Cummins X15 engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission.
1 CustomFIRE built this pumper-tender on a Kenworth T880 chassis with a Full Response crew cab that seats three firefighters. (Photos courtesy of CustomFIRE.)
2 The pumper-tender has a Waterous 1,250-gpm CSC20 midship pump, a 2,200-gallon water tank, a 20-gallon fuel cell, and a FoamPro single-agent foam system.
department
Ellsworth (WI) Fire Department
Strength: 55 volunteer firefighters, two stations.
Service area: Ellsworth Fire Department provides fire and rescue services to a 300-square-mile area that has industrial, commercial, residential, agricultural, and forestry areas.
Other apparatus: 2018 Rosenbauer pumper, 1,250-gpm pump, 750-gallon water tank; 2006 Rosenbauer pumper, 1,250-gpm pump, 750-gallon water tank; one heavy rescue; three Type 6 wildland/brush trucks; two utility terrain vehicles (UTVs); one Lake Assault fire/rescue boat.
He says the rig has a 66,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), a 261-inch wheelbase, a 38-foot 11-inch overall length, and an 11-foot 3-inch overall height. “The pumper-tender’s body is concealed bolted aluminum construction with a stainless steel subframe,” Kirvida notes, “and compartments are covered by roll-up doors.”
The pumper-tender has a Waterous 1,250-gallon-per-minute (gpm) CSC20 midship pump, a 2,200-gallon water tank, a 20-gallon foam cell, a FoamPro 2001 single-agent foam system, a Trident AirPrime® pump primer, and an FRC PumpBoss pressure governor. Kirvida adds that the rig has three 6-inch suction inlets, one at each side and a third at the rear; a Fireman’s Friend direct tank fill valve at the rear; and a 10-inch square Newton manual swivel dump valve with an extension at the back, with a booster reel in a compartment under it.
3 The pump panel on the CustomFIRE pumper-tender.
4 The rear of the pumper-tender has a Newton 10-inch square swivel dump chute with an extension, a slide-in compartment for ground ladders, and a slide-in compartment for hard suction and a strainer.
5 The Ellsworth pumper-tender is powered by a 565-hp Cummins X15 engine and an Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission.
6 The compartments on the pumper-tender are set up with adjustable shelving, slide-out trays, and roll-out tool boards.
specs
CustomFIRE Full Response Pumper-Tender
- Kenworth T880 chassis and Full Response® crew cab have seating for five firefighters (four in SCBA seats)
- Cummins 565-hp X15 engine
- Allison 4000 EVS automatic transmission
- Waterous 1,250-gpm CSC20 midship pump
- 2,200-gallon water tank
- 20-gallon foam cell
- FoamPro 2001 single-agent foam system
- Trident AirPrime® pump primer
- FRC PumpBoss pressure governor
- Newton 10-inch square swivel rear dump chute with extension
- Rear suction inlet
- Fireman’s Friend direct fill valve at rear
Burshem points out that the pumper-tender has two 1¾-inch 200-foot crosslays in the extended front bumper. At the rear of the rig are 200 feet of preconnected 1¾-inch hose, 100 feet of preconnected 1¾-inch hose, and 200 feet of preconnected 2½-inch hose with a Task Force Tips BlitzFire nozzle. The hosebed also carries 600 feet of 4-inch large-diameter hose and 600 feet of 3-inch hose, he says.
“Getting a truck with at least 2,000 gallons of water was a big thing for us,” Burshem says. “We wanted to go with a Peterbilt chassis, but they couldn’t guarantee a delivery date, so we went with a Kenworth chassis with a dual rear axle that gives us an extra set of brakes and drive tires to carry that amount of water. We also wanted the front bumper crosslays, like we have on our Rosenbauer engines, because we often have to pull into a narrow driveway, so it’s much easier to come off the front of the vehicle with our attack lines.”
Kirvida says that the pumper-tender’s compartments feature adjustable shelving, pull-out trays, swing-out tool boards, and a four-drawer toolbox. “The rig also has wheel well SCBA cylinder storage and extinguisher storage,” he says, “and from the rear, a slide-in suction hose and strainer storage compartment and a slide-in ladder storage compartment. A swing-out-and-down ladder at the rear gives access to the top of the pumper-tender.”
Lighting on the unit includes a Whelen LED light bar, Whelen LED warning lights, LED compartment lighting strips, LED marker lights, LED step lights, TecNiq LED tail lighting, HiViz FireTech LED scene lights, and undercab and underbody LED lighting. The rig also carries a Whelen electronic siren and a Federal Q2B mechanical siren.
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.
