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Different Fire Apparatus & Their Uses

Most people think of a fire truck as a big red engine screaming down the street on the way to an alarm. But there are different types of fire trucks, each of which has a special and well-defined purpose. Some fire trucks are built to pump water at a fire so that the firefighters can extinguish the flames. Others are built to reach the high floors of tall buildings to perform rescues and other fire operations, while still others are meant to extinguish aircraft fires and wilderness fires.

  1. Fire Engine

    • This type of fire truck is the one most recognized by most people. It is used to transport firefighters, water and hoses to a fire scene to extinguish a blaze. It has a small complement of ground ladders and some forcible entry tools, but using those tools is not its main purpose. A fire engine has a pump driven by the apparatus engine to supply water to the hoses from an on board water tank. The engine also has the capability to hook its pump to the fire hydrants on the street to give the firefighters a constant water supply.

    Ladder Truck

    • The fire department ladder truck is a truck body with a mounted ladder capable of using an elevated water stream or for accessing tall buildings. The mounted ladder comes in different lengths and may have an attached basket at the end for carrying firefighters and rescuing fire victims. It may also be configured as an extendible ladder with no basket. Either of these configurations may be had with high flow water nozzles to apply water through the roof or windows of a tall building. The ladder truck also carries a large complement of different ground ladders and forcible entry tools. The firefighters' responsibilities on a ladder truck usually include venting a building, forcible entry and rescue of occupants. The ladder truck may also have an engine-driven pump and small water tank with a small complement of fire hoses, although extinguishing the fire is not usually its primary responsibility.

    Brush Truck

    • These smaller fire trucks, usually built on an off-road, four-wheel-drive chassis, are used to fight fires in woods, mountains and any other challenging off-road terrain. They are equipped with smaller water pumps and smaller hoses with less water output than an engine. This is necessary due to the limited availability of water in the areas where they must work. They also carry chainsaws, shovels, axes and tools to move dirt to create fire breaks in the wooded areas.

    ARFF Truck

    • The Airport Rescue Fire Fighting vehicle is used exclusively at airports. The personnel on these fire trucks have specialized training to deal with fires involving airplanes. These fire trucks carry special chemical fire extinguishing agents to battle fires involving jet fuels and other fluids. They also carry many special tools to provide rescue capabilities in dealing with aircraft. Most modern ARFF trucks have a telescoping boom that has a piercing nozzle at the end that can puncture a burning aircraft hull and distribute the extinguishing agent inside.

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