The Oak Ridge Fire Department has a new truck designed to fight brush fires.
The new vehicle, Brush 1, was purchased by the city, and the equipment was purchased with a grant received from Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, for off-site emergency planning and response in the amount of $16,000.
It has a 300-gallon per minute Hale pump with a 300-gallon capacity water tank and a five-gallon foam storage tank, a press release said.
It can pump water through a bumper-mounted nozzle, which is operated via joystick inside the cab, while the vehicle is being driven so fire along the roadside can be contained and extinguished. This prevents having to deploy a hose line for a small area and helps to cover a larger area in less time, the press release said.
Brush 1 also carries 200 feet of booster line for easy access, fire rakes, rogue hoes, and backpacks that allow a firefighter to carry a bladder of water on their back with a manual hand pump for extinguishing smaller fires. It has hose packs that carry 100-feet of one-inch fire hose and the necessary hardware for use away from the apparatus, the press release said.
The department also purchased two backpack leaf blowers that help with cutting fire breaks into the ground, while blowing the unburned fuels toward the fire line. A chainsaw was added for cutting burning trees that create injury hazards and fall into the unburned areas.
The apparatus designated as Brush 1 was built by Anchor-Richey on a 2020 Dodge 5500 4X4 chassis.
“Brush 1 is in service and ready to help protect the citizens and property of Oak Ridge,” the press release said.
For more information, contact Oak Ridge Fire Department at (865) 425-3520.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. You can see what we cover here.
Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today!
Alternatively, you can donate to support our work here. Thank you for your support!
Copyright 2021 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Leave a Reply