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| Pierce's new wildland-urban firefighting vehicle is built to address a wide range of responses |
Pierce Manufacturing, an Oshkosh Corporation company, is showcasing the capabilities of a new Type 1 wildland-urban interface firefighting vehicle that incorporates the patented Pierce Ultimate Configuration (PUC) technology.
The new apparatus offers enhanced emergency response performance for wildland and urban interface firefighting in regions of the country such as the West Coast, for example, where areas of housing are adjacent to undeveloped wildland vegetation.
A demonstration vehicle, built on the Pierce® Arrow XT™ custom chassis, is in the Pacific Northwest with Pierce dealer Hughes Fire Equipment through June 2011. The vehicle was on hand at a ride-and-drive event in Eugene, Ore.
“Many regions of the country are experiencing increasing risk of fires and other emergencies in the wildland-urban interface, and the new PUC Type 1 engine is built to address a wide range of responses in this environment,” said Jim Johnson, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Fire & Emergency. “With its shorter wheelbase, excellent pump-and-roll capability and increased storage space as compared to a traditional Type 1 engine, the PUC wildland-urban interface vehicle offers the flexibility to address wildfires and natural disasters, as well as traditional structural fires.”
The PUC is an industry changing multi-purpose response vehicle that is engineered to eliminate the need for a bulky pumphouse. It features a simplified two-step pump shift operation and a redesigned pump panel for easier use. The standard pump-and-roll capability allows the vehicle to simultaneously move position while effectively fighting a fire.
The apparatus features a wheelbase as short as 162-inches as well as high chassis angle of approach and departure for improved maneuverability, and all-wheel drive is available for unmatched off road performance. In addition, the PUC technology frees space while improving function. Because of its space saving design, the PUC wildland-urban interface vehicle offers 200 cubic feet of storage space for rescue and EMS equipment.
The PUC wildland-urban interface vehicle is available on all Pierce custom chassis.
