By Bob Vaccaro
The Milford Fire Department in Massachusetts is a well-equipped, full-service department providing fire and emergency medical services to its population of 30,000 across 15 square miles from two stations (21 Birch Street and 1 Spruce Street). In 2022, the Milford Fire Department responded to 5,933 calls for service.
Its highly trained and skilled staff of 45 members includes 36 firefighters, seven lieutenants, one deputy chief, and fire chief. In addition to fire suppression and emergency medical services, the overall capabilities and resources of the department include vehicle extrication, trench rescue, building collapse, confined space rescue, fire and arson investigation, code enforcement, plan review, and public fire and life safety education. Lastly, Community EMS is contracted to provide emergency ambulance service for the Town of Milford.
According to Chief Mark Nelson, “the department was in the process of decommissioning a military vehicle that had a skid mount pump and tank. It was built in 1993 and was showing signs of wear and also had some mechanical issues.”
In 1975, the department picked up a military tanker that holds 1,000 gallons of water to supplement the fleet. In 2015, the department had Bulldog Fire Apparatus/KME build an International brush truck. In 2020, the department applied for and received an Assistance to Firefighter Grant, which enabled Milford to build another tanker to add to the fleet.
“We went again with Bulldog Fire Apparatus which took over some of the KME buildings in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania,” Nelson said. “We were happy with their previous work for us, so it was felt that it was the way to go.”
Milford decided to build a rig that would be easy to maneuver on the interstate and easy to operate for all of the firefighters in the response area. Before choosing a manufacturer, Milford took all of them around the response district to show them the type of area the vehicle would have to operate in.
“Only one manufacturer bid, which was Bulldog,” Nelson said. “They met all of our specs and were able to build a tanker/brush truck that had a small wheelbase and yet carried a lot of water.”
The rig was built on a heavy duty International 4×4 chassis with compartment space for a portable 1,500 gallon FOL-DA-TANK®, chain saws, hand tools, portable pump tanks, and hand tools.
Hose carried: Two Booster reels of a 1,000 feet of 1-inch forestry hose, 700 feet of 3-inch supply line and 300 feet of 1¾-inch hose. It also has a stand-alone Kubota pump. “We also wanted the truck to be able to draft if our other brush truck was out of service as well,” Nelson said.
The vehicle was ordered during 2022 and even though factory visits were allowed, we opted to just view weekly photos during the build, he said. The truck was built within a two-year time frame.
“Luckily, we didn’t have to make any changes to the vehicle and it turned out well,” Nelson said. “Dealing with Bulldog was great. They answered all of our questions and were a pleasure to deal with.”
MFD had certain objectives to meet for its new brush truck/tanker. It needed it to carry a decent amount of water, carry an adequate hose load, a 1,500 gallon drop tank, and a full complement of tools. The manufacturer they chose, Bulldog accomplished these objectives. It built a highly maneuverable vehicle with a great deal of compartment space to meet all for the departments needs.
When planning for a special unit for your response district, take into consideration what you want to accomplish and design the vehicle to your needs. Consider the terrain of your area if you are building a brush truck, the amount of water you want to carry, and needed equipment.
Proper planning ahead of time will save you the headaches later on.
Brush Truck features:
- International HV507 SFA
- Cummins L9 380-hp engine
- Allison EVS 3000 transmission
- 2-Door 4×4
- 195-inch Wheelbase
- 16,000-pound front axle
- 23,000-pound rear axle
- 1,250-gallon water tank
- 30-gallon foam cell
- Darley HE 65K Kubota
- 190-inch aluminum flat bed
- Locking differential
BOB VACCARO has more than 50 years of fire service experience. He is a former chief of the Deer Park (NY) Fire Department. Vaccaro has also worked for the Insurance Services Office, the New York Fire Patrol, and several major commercial insurance companies as a senior loss control consultant. He is a life member of the IAFC.
