Camp Ripley receives new Tactical Fire Fighting Truck

Photo By Sgt. Daryl Sanford | Sgt. Jeramie Mrozek practices using a hose of the Tactical Fire Fighting Truck during certification training Aug. 27 at Camp Ripley, Minn.  

CAMP RIPLEY, UNITED STATES

08.27.2009

Story by Sgt. Daryl Sanford 

Minnesota National Guard

CAMP RIPLEY, MINN. — Soldiers from Camp Ripley finished their training with a new fire truck, Aug. 28.

The Tactical Fire Fighting Truck, which was built by Pierce Manufacturing, Inc., and has a $700,000 price tag, was based off the current Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck chassis. The equipment on this version of the HEMTT was specially designed for the TFFT, and makes it more versatile than the standard fire truck.

"This is not for your run-of-the-mill on-post fire stuff," said Roger Smith, production manager, Heavy Tactical Vehicles. "It can do that, but it is designed to go where other trucks can't get to."

The TFFT, only one of 138 in the Army and the last one to be fielded, was issued to Minnesota because of the high number of wildfires (about 1,200 annually) that happen in the state. Its main purposes will be to deploy to a remote crash site for fire control and rescue, as well as serve as a brush truck during wildfires. But it is also serves in several different situations, such as aircraft and automobile firefighting and rescue, and structural fires.

"Our job was to design a fire package around a HEMTT, and this is the result," said Smith.

The TFFT, along with the HEMTT-based Water Tender (which will be fielded next year) will support a crew of seven firefighters in full Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus gear, and holds wildfire tools, rescue tools, various saws and other tools.

• Date Taken: 08.27.2009
• Date Posted: 08.28.2009 15:52
• Story ID: 38092
• Location: CAMP RIPLEY, US