The U.S. Forest Service is putting some fancy new engines in service. Ten of them, like the one above, are designated for the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California — four this year and another six next year. The specifications for these Type 3 engines are HERE.
The last time I was a USFS engine foreman captain it was on a 16-year old Model 60 on the Cleveland National Forest that was far past it’s prime, and broke down almost every time it went “off forest”. In the 1980s, sometimes the forest would send a USFS mechanic along with every 5-engine strike team on a fire assignment. The firefighters loved it, because there was always something on the engines that needed fixing — sometimes minor issues, at other times problems that put the apparatus out of service. The mechanics liked it too, since it was a source for overtime, which they rarely got otherwise. I have a feeling these new engines will be a lot more dependable, as long as they are not still trying to make it to fires 16 years from now.
Thanks Ken
Nice Engines, don’t let management in R-3 see those Red Lights!