Fire Engines Photos

Fouts specialize in large tankers on a variety of chassis, although they do also build regular pumpers too nowadays.

This is a typical tanker. They usually contain from 3, 000 to 3, 500 US gallons, have a pump around 1000 USGPM capacity and have a standard truck cab, although a few are delivered with crew cabs on rare occasions.

The design is intended to maximize water capacity, so usually they do not carry much additional equipment. But one standard item is the folding water dam, which will hold the entire tank's contents - or more.

The SOP is for the first due tanker to set up its dam, gravity dump the entire contents of its tank into it, then leave the fire ground empty to refill at the nearest hydrant, sump or open water source. It then returns and repeats the cycle.

At major fires, three or four dams can be in use at one time, feeding several pumpers using suction hoses, and the tanker relay can be as many as eight or ten units.

In rural areas, these are understandably to be found at almost every fire station.

They are however all too often involved in single vehicle rollover accidents. This is because they are heavy, have a high center of gravity and are sometime driven too fast by relatively inexperienced drivers - who do not get to drive these types of trucks at speed very often...

Added by Rob Johnson on 14 May 2018.

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