It’s been a very busy time for CFA’s Engineering team. A number of new and innovative prototype vehicles have been on display around the state over the past few months.
The first is a new single-axle trailer pump. Two other prototype vehicles were recently completed and started their tours in March.
Ultra heavy tanker
Two new ultra heavy tankers have been built to CFA requirements. Although it’s based on the NSW Rural Fire Service version, it has a number of key differences to align with our specific safety, maintenance and operational requirements.
“We don’t have a tanker of this size in our fleet just yet,” said Engineering Project Manager Karen Barnet. “Last year, we built two 11,000-litre bulk water carriers that are now in service in the north-west of the state. Our volunteers have also been asking for a similar-sized large tanker.”
The new vehicle has a 9,000-litre water tank and a 1,000 litres per minute firefighting pump, plus many of our standard operational and safety features.
The vehicle is as large as the name suggests. Weighing in at approximately 22.5 tonnes, it’s almost 8.5 metres long. The cab chassis is a 6x4 single cab Hino FM2630 with an automatic transmission and seating for three crew.
It has a 450 litres per minute front-mounted monitor that can be operated inside the cabin. The same feature is fitted to our heavy and medium tankers.
To drive this vehicle, you’ll need a heavy rigid truck licence.
There are two live hose reels, one with a traditional 20m x 25mm diameter hose and one with a new 45m x 19mm diameter hose. Both are fitted at the rear together with pump controls and 200 litres of Class A foam.
The vehicle is also kitted out with a full stowage inventory.
There’s a traditional open deck area behind the cabin for firefighting. However, one difference you will notice is that the pump is mounted up on the tray area behind a number of soundproofing panels.
Ultralight tanker
At the other end of the scale, we’re also trialling a new ultralight tanker. We’ve had to change the cab chassis because the Nissan Patrol that this vehicle was previously based on is no longer available.
We’ve taken the opportunity to upgrade the vehicle to the new ANCAP 5-rated four-wheel drive, 4.5-litre, V8 Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series Workmate. This still only needs a car licence to drive it.
We’ve tried to keep the main body and locker features the same. It has the same amount of water (550 litres), same capacity of 500 litres per minute pump and the same live hose reel fitted with lightweight 30m x 19mm diameter hose.
However, we’ve taken the opportunity to trial a couple of new features. The body now includes a permanently connected suction hose and locker fitted underneath the tray at the rear on the driver’s side. We are also trialling a new water-cooled pump engine with the expectation that this will be a lot quieter.
With the new pump and plumbing the layout at the rear has changed a bit, but we have tried to keep the main features, including controls and the deliveries, as consistent as possible.
The ultra heavy tanker and ultralight follow the new heavy tanker and medium pumper which are now under mass production.
It’s been a busy and exciting time for CFA’s Engineering team members, who are keen to know how well these new prototypes perform and what suggestions our members have to make them even better.