The World of Fire Trucks: Specialized Equipment for Diverse Situations

Modern-day fire trucks are specialized for specific duties, and there are three general fire apparatus types that dominate the landscape: pumpers, turntable ladders, and specialized fire trucks. Pumper is a broad term that encompasses a variety of specialized units, but one type of pumper known as a wagon is typically defined by permanently installed water tanks, pumps, and hoses. The tanks often hold around 1,000 gallons of water, but can be as big as 5,000 gallons.

In contrast to pumpers, another type of pumper is called a water tender. These vehicles are essentially big rolling water tanks that are used more often in rural areas because their pumps can draw water from a stream or lake if a hydrant isn't available. This feature makes them extremely useful for washing away chemical spills and drawing water from flooded areas.

The three main functions of a ladder truck are to provide access to higher levels, serve as a means of escape for firefighters and fire victims, and provide an elevated water stream often called a master stream. These vehicles are equipped with two drivers: one in the front and one in the back, known as tiller trucks. The driver in the back steers the rear wheels, allowing for incredibly tight corners.

There are numerous specialized fire engines, each with its own specific purpose. Wildland fire engines are designed to tackle large-scale forest fires, while marine rescue units are equipped to respond to emergencies on the water. Arson investigation units use specialized equipment to analyze evidence and track down arsonists. Turbo extinguishers come equipped with jet-powered pumps that can spray eight thousand litres a minute.

Among these specialized units is the plane crash tender, which is the vehicle you see hanging out at airports ready to go at a moment's notice in case of an emergency. The Oshkosh Stryker is one of the most ubiquitous airport firefighting vehicles, with models available in 4x4 and 6x6 configurations, as well as the massive Stryker 4500 8x8. This behemoth of a vehicle has a 4,500-gallon water tank and a 630-gallon tank for fire-suppressing foam.

The Stryker's powerhouse is its engine, which consists of two 770-horsepower diesel engines pushing the 124-ton vehicle from zero to 60 in just 20 seconds. Speaking of engines, fire trucks have some of the burliest mills around, with most engine motors boasting between 400 and 800 horsepower and over 2,500 pounds of torque.

For instance, the Pierce Enforcer is a popular conventional fire engine that's seen at fire departments across the US. It features an 8.9-liter Cummins L9 engine that puts out 430 horses and almost 1,400 pounds of torque. A more upscale option is the Detroit Diesel DD-13 engine upgrade, which makes 525 horsepower and 1,850 pounds of torque.

Fire trucks have come a long way since the horse-drawn carts of the 1800s, but it's reassuring to know that these life-saving machines are just a call away. As we gaze upon the mighty fire engines, it's clear that they're an integral part of our emergency response infrastructure. Whether tackling wildfires, marine rescues, or plane crashes, these specialized vehicles are the heroes we need in times of crisis.

As we conclude this journey into the world of fire trucks, it's worth noting that the industry is constantly evolving to meet new challenges and technological advancements. With their incredible capabilities and versatility, fire trucks will undoubtedly remain a vital component of our emergency response systems for years to come.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwithout a doubt being a fireman is one of the most stressful jobs in the world it's a lot of waiting around but when you're needed you have to be ready at a moment's notice to run into a burning building all of their gears are helmets oxygen tanks and especially their truck is essential to doing the job they do putting out fires nowadays fire trucks are massive sophisticated machines with state-of-the-art technology but has it always been that way the first fire engine was built by John Brathwaite and John Erickson in Britain in 1829 it was a steam-powered water pump that had to be lug around by people before that it was commonplace for folks to just leave a bucket of water on her front doorstep in case of fire so I guess this was an improvement the Erickson brathwaite fire engine worked it protected the English Opera House with burning down and also the house of parliament in 1834 but it didn't last too long before it was destroyed by an angry mob the first self-propelled fire engine was designed and built in New York in 1841 the engine wasn't as fast or reliable as one pulled by horses but it did however get destroyed by an angry mob who are these angry mobs that keep destroying these fire engines you might be asking well firefighters at the time bucket brigade firemen were jealous that the steam powered pumps to put out a fire faster than a bunch of guys with buckets and were probably scared they would lose their jobs so they destroyed what they feared most and thus continued the folly of man one invention during the late 1800s changed the firefighting game forever in 1868 Daniel D Hayes a New York City fireman had the bright idea to put an extending ladder on top of a truck not only could firemen reach higher floors to extinguish fires but people could be evacuated using the ladder as well instead of jumping out of the window onto those weird anything from cartoons and risk plunging to their death the latter is synonymous with firefighting now but back then it actually took a while for it to be fully adopted four years passed before the haze ladder was used and it was only after a massive fire the Harpenden block Fire of 1871 that San Francisco firefighters realized they could have saved a lot more property and lives they could have reached higher horse-drawn fire engines may have been popular at the tail end of the 1800s but the early 20th century are when fire engines really start looking more like the ones we know today Popular Mechanics published an article in 1905 detailing how gas-powered fire engines were gaining popularity in England that same year a small company out of Springfield Massachusetts by the name of Knox automobile company started selling what some have described as the world's first modern fire engine a year later the city of Springfield Fire Department was filled with Knox fire trucks and then a mob destroyed them all I'm kidding they were seating for only one person in the NOx truck the driver the rest of the fire brigade had to hang off the side of it like circus bears and many times they'd be thrown off as the truck sped around tight corners resulting in injury or sometimes death by about 1911 all the horse-drawn and steam-powered fire engines have died out or converted to gas power which vastly outperformed other methods of fire prevention steam powered vehicles took about 20 minutes to heat up and horses are scared of fire even the Buffalo over the next decade many automotive companies pivoted making gas-powered fire trucks companies like Aaron's Fox LaFrance and maybe the most popular brand associated with the fire engine Mack trucks in the 1930s the area ladder truck got an upgrade the development of the turntable ladder who allowed it to swivel and allow fire crews to reach areas never before possible as skyscrapers continued to become taller this became an essential feature the design of the fire engine we know of today came about in the 60s water pumps from modernized turntable ladders came with with cherry pickers and perhaps the most important feature fully enclosed cabs became standard finally firemen didn't have to risk their lives hanging off the sides of a truck we know of fire trucks having pumps hoses ladders and water tanks but that's just the conventional fire engine there's still common that most modern-day fire trucks are specialized for specific duties there are three general fire apparatus types pumpers turntable ladders and specialized fire trucks pumpers known as wagons are usually defined by permanently installed water tanks pumps and hose but the tanks often hold around a thousand gallons of water but but can be as big as 5,000 gallons about the capacity of an above-ground pool another type of pumper is called a water tender basically a big rolling water tank there used more often in rural areas because their pumps can draw water from a stream or lake if a hydrant isn't available these are extremely useful for washing away chemical spills and drawing water from a flooded area although many modern turntable ladders have built-in pumping capabilities and water reservoirs the three main functions of a ladder truck is to one allow access to higher levels and a means of escape for firefighters and fire victims to provide an elevated water stream often called a master stream and three provide a platform to ventilate a building the ladder trucks you see with two drivers one in front and one in the back are called tillers a tiller truck is the bastard child of a ladder truck and of semi the driver in back steers the rear wheels allowing for insanely tight corners trucks like these are essential for navigating tight city streets like those in New York City there are a ton more specialized fire engines each with their own specific purpose there are wildland fire engines marine rescue units arson investigation units turbo extinguishers with jet powered pumps that can spray eight thousand litres a minute and my personal favorite plane crash tenders these are the ones you see hanging out at airports ready to go at a moment's notice should the thinkable happen one of the most ubiquitous airport firefighting vehicle is the Oshkosh Stryker in service in 70 countries and nine out of ten airports in North America there are a few different structures a four by four a six by six and the big daddy of them all the Stryker 4500 8x8 Singh's bad ass dude since airports don't typically have fire hydrants on the runway the Stryker 8x8 has a 4,500 gallon water tank and a 630 gallon tank for fire suppressing foam powering the Stryker are not one but two 770 horsepower diesel engines pushing the 124 thousand pound vehicle from zero to 60 in 20 seconds speaking of engines fire trucks have some of the burliest mills around most fire engine motors have between 400 and 800 horsepower and some have over 2,500 pounds of torque displacement in these engines can range from 6 litres to 19 litres for specialized vehicles like the Stryker by far the most powerful fire engine in the world is the Hawaiian Eagle fire truck this 1940 Ford is powered by two rolls-royce Bristol Vipers jet engines with a combined 12,000 horsepower and 12,000 pounds of thrust it broke the Guinness world record for fastest jet powered truck at 407 miles an hour fully equipped fire trucks can cost anywhere from 500,000 to a million dollars depending on the features the Pierce enforcer is a popular conventional fire engine that is in use all around the US you've probably seen these things at your own fire department it has an 8.9 liter Cummins l9 engine that puts out 430 horses and almost 1400 pounds of torque it's got an Allison transmission room for eight firefighters and is ready to hold up to 48,000 pounds of gear if your department has a little more money to spend the Detroit Diesel DD 13 engine is a fun upgrade the big-block 12.8 liter diesel engine makes 525 forces and 1,850 pounds of torque fire trucks have come a long way since the horse-drawn carts of the 1800s but it's nice to know that these life saving became it's are just a call away I love fire trucks thanks for watching wheelhouse we look at the weird and wonderful world of cars all around us hit this yellow subscribe button right here if you don't mind check out our new show prostate oh right here it's in Spanish but it has subtitles I love it follow me on instagram @ nolan j psychics follow donut at donut media be nice see you nextwithout a doubt being a fireman is one of the most stressful jobs in the world it's a lot of waiting around but when you're needed you have to be ready at a moment's notice to run into a burning building all of their gears are helmets oxygen tanks and especially their truck is essential to doing the job they do putting out fires nowadays fire trucks are massive sophisticated machines with state-of-the-art technology but has it always been that way the first fire engine was built by John Brathwaite and John Erickson in Britain in 1829 it was a steam-powered water pump that had to be lug around by people before that it was commonplace for folks to just leave a bucket of water on her front doorstep in case of fire so I guess this was an improvement the Erickson brathwaite fire engine worked it protected the English Opera House with burning down and also the house of parliament in 1834 but it didn't last too long before it was destroyed by an angry mob the first self-propelled fire engine was designed and built in New York in 1841 the engine wasn't as fast or reliable as one pulled by horses but it did however get destroyed by an angry mob who are these angry mobs that keep destroying these fire engines you might be asking well firefighters at the time bucket brigade firemen were jealous that the steam powered pumps to put out a fire faster than a bunch of guys with buckets and were probably scared they would lose their jobs so they destroyed what they feared most and thus continued the folly of man one invention during the late 1800s changed the firefighting game forever in 1868 Daniel D Hayes a New York City fireman had the bright idea to put an extending ladder on top of a truck not only could firemen reach higher floors to extinguish fires but people could be evacuated using the ladder as well instead of jumping out of the window onto those weird anything from cartoons and risk plunging to their death the latter is synonymous with firefighting now but back then it actually took a while for it to be fully adopted four years passed before the haze ladder was used and it was only after a massive fire the Harpenden block Fire of 1871 that San Francisco firefighters realized they could have saved a lot more property and lives they could have reached higher horse-drawn fire engines may have been popular at the tail end of the 1800s but the early 20th century are when fire engines really start looking more like the ones we know today Popular Mechanics published an article in 1905 detailing how gas-powered fire engines were gaining popularity in England that same year a small company out of Springfield Massachusetts by the name of Knox automobile company started selling what some have described as the world's first modern fire engine a year later the city of Springfield Fire Department was filled with Knox fire trucks and then a mob destroyed them all I'm kidding they were seating for only one person in the NOx truck the driver the rest of the fire brigade had to hang off the side of it like circus bears and many times they'd be thrown off as the truck sped around tight corners resulting in injury or sometimes death by about 1911 all the horse-drawn and steam-powered fire engines have died out or converted to gas power which vastly outperformed other methods of fire prevention steam powered vehicles took about 20 minutes to heat up and horses are scared of fire even the Buffalo over the next decade many automotive companies pivoted making gas-powered fire trucks companies like Aaron's Fox LaFrance and maybe the most popular brand associated with the fire engine Mack trucks in the 1930s the area ladder truck got an upgrade the development of the turntable ladder who allowed it to swivel and allow fire crews to reach areas never before possible as skyscrapers continued to become taller this became an essential feature the design of the fire engine we know of today came about in the 60s water pumps from modernized turntable ladders came with with cherry pickers and perhaps the most important feature fully enclosed cabs became standard finally firemen didn't have to risk their lives hanging off the sides of a truck we know of fire trucks having pumps hoses ladders and water tanks but that's just the conventional fire engine there's still common that most modern-day fire trucks are specialized for specific duties there are three general fire apparatus types pumpers turntable ladders and specialized fire trucks pumpers known as wagons are usually defined by permanently installed water tanks pumps and hose but the tanks often hold around a thousand gallons of water but but can be as big as 5,000 gallons about the capacity of an above-ground pool another type of pumper is called a water tender basically a big rolling water tank there used more often in rural areas because their pumps can draw water from a stream or lake if a hydrant isn't available these are extremely useful for washing away chemical spills and drawing water from a flooded area although many modern turntable ladders have built-in pumping capabilities and water reservoirs the three main functions of a ladder truck is to one allow access to higher levels and a means of escape for firefighters and fire victims to provide an elevated water stream often called a master stream and three provide a platform to ventilate a building the ladder trucks you see with two drivers one in front and one in the back are called tillers a tiller truck is the bastard child of a ladder truck and of semi the driver in back steers the rear wheels allowing for insanely tight corners trucks like these are essential for navigating tight city streets like those in New York City there are a ton more specialized fire engines each with their own specific purpose there are wildland fire engines marine rescue units arson investigation units turbo extinguishers with jet powered pumps that can spray eight thousand litres a minute and my personal favorite plane crash tenders these are the ones you see hanging out at airports ready to go at a moment's notice should the thinkable happen one of the most ubiquitous airport firefighting vehicle is the Oshkosh Stryker in service in 70 countries and nine out of ten airports in North America there are a few different structures a four by four a six by six and the big daddy of them all the Stryker 4500 8x8 Singh's bad ass dude since airports don't typically have fire hydrants on the runway the Stryker 8x8 has a 4,500 gallon water tank and a 630 gallon tank for fire suppressing foam powering the Stryker are not one but two 770 horsepower diesel engines pushing the 124 thousand pound vehicle from zero to 60 in 20 seconds speaking of engines fire trucks have some of the burliest mills around most fire engine motors have between 400 and 800 horsepower and some have over 2,500 pounds of torque displacement in these engines can range from 6 litres to 19 litres for specialized vehicles like the Stryker by far the most powerful fire engine in the world is the Hawaiian Eagle fire truck this 1940 Ford is powered by two rolls-royce Bristol Vipers jet engines with a combined 12,000 horsepower and 12,000 pounds of thrust it broke the Guinness world record for fastest jet powered truck at 407 miles an hour fully equipped fire trucks can cost anywhere from 500,000 to a million dollars depending on the features the Pierce enforcer is a popular conventional fire engine that is in use all around the US you've probably seen these things at your own fire department it has an 8.9 liter Cummins l9 engine that puts out 430 horses and almost 1400 pounds of torque it's got an Allison transmission room for eight firefighters and is ready to hold up to 48,000 pounds of gear if your department has a little more money to spend the Detroit Diesel DD 13 engine is a fun upgrade the big-block 12.8 liter diesel engine makes 525 forces and 1,850 pounds of torque fire trucks have come a long way since the horse-drawn carts of the 1800s but it's nice to know that these life saving became it's are just a call away I love fire trucks thanks for watching wheelhouse we look at the weird and wonderful world of cars all around us hit this yellow subscribe button right here if you don't mind check out our new show prostate oh right here it's in Spanish but it has subtitles I love it follow me on instagram @ nolan j psychics follow donut at donut media be nice see you next