[JeremyMorgan]

This is exactly it. I'm also a volunteer for a small town, in a department that is decently funded. We have had the same two engines since 2009. We just (within the last month) received a new engine. It became extremely difficult to provide the level of service the community expects, and come up with money for a new engine. It's a major struggle.

Also something most folks don't know: about 70% of the firefighters in the US are volunteers. If you're in a big city you'll have 4 paid folks on an engine (maybe 3 and 1 intern) but as soon as you venture out of the city you'll see more engines 100% staffed by volunteers. And if you don't know the difference that's a good thing!

Fire departments run on budgets that would also shock you (how low they are).

[coryrc]

> It became extremely difficult to provide the level of service the community expects, and come up with money for a new engine.

It's too bad the only possible way to pump water is with a $2M specialty truck. Let's just raise taxes.

[strken]

The issue is that you're expecting trucks to go out in conditions like https://youtube.com/watch?v=7IFEiwNMrZ8, particularly if your volunteer brigade operates in a rural area, and they therefore have to keep crews alive in those conditions. This puts a minimum cost on each one.

Yeah, the minimum cost isn't $2M, but it's probably pretty close to $400k a truck. Then you add on urban rescue equipment if you're not in a rural area and things start to get very expensive.

[coryrc]

It's funny you say that, yet the first guy in the video is driving a small SUV https://youtu.be/7IFEiwNMrZ8?t=129

Put a pump on a trailer. The problem with this country is we're not allowed to have "decent"; we are only allowed to buy the "best" and so we just hobble along with old shit while everything's breaking down and we're paying too much for the things we do buy.

[strken]

In Australia that's either an ultralight tanker, which would cost around $100k USD today but with far lower 550L capacity and a lower throughput pump than a heavy tanker, or it's a command vehicle, and its modern equivalent would cost about $60k USD but have no pump or water tank. The ultralight tankers are mostly used for getting to fires faster when they're small, dealing with inaccessible terrain, or just being an extra vehicle during blacking out etc.

The problem you're always going to run into is that your truck needs to haul around 10 tonnes of water and protect its crew. You can stick a pump on the back of a hardened ute, but then you need to leave and find water 20x more frequently plus your pump is a dinky little water pistol, or you can drive a commercial water tanker into a bushfire, but then your driver needs to be unusually brave and no longer have much to live for.

I accept that firefighters are getting ripped off, but it feels like maybe 5% to 20% of the cost could be reduced, and then you're still dealing with unaffordable equipment.

[coryrc]

Most fire engines in the US don't carry significant water, they're "pumper trucks" for boosting pressure from fire hydrants. 80% of US citizens live in urban areas with access to hydrants. They also carry lots of other gear too: https://rosenbaueramerica.com/fire-trucks/pumpers/

But you can do everything those do with an E-series cutaway ($200k fully outfitted?) and a pump pulled on a trailer. For a whole lot less than $2M.

https://www.ford.com/commercial-trucks/e-series-cutaway/2025...

[defrost]

Here in rural Western Australia there's a range of official vehicles, the local (wheatbelt area) farmers have supplemented them recently with an ex military unimog purchased at auction and fitted with an 8 (ish) tonne water tank (with anti slosh baffles) and extra cab insulation.

Not sure where specifically they sourced it, one of the military surplus auction houses like:

https://www.australianfrontlinemachinery.com.au/vehicles/uni...

Does the job and scrambles well.

[coryrc]

An F-450 can tow 12 tons, brand new diesel chassis cab crewcab (full size 2nd row seating) is $75k. But it's better to soak the taxpayer for more.