How to Build a Light Fire Engine

The imposing nature of the modern, purpose-built fire engine often obscures how simple it is to put together a working vehicle for fighting fires. After all, the earliest fire engines were just pumps with hoses mounted on wheels, a litter, or in a cart or wagon. Building a fire engine need not involve much more than retrofitting a truck or jeep to do the same thing. Indeed, there are some examples of real fire engines that are built along these lines.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Jeep or pick-up for retrofitting
• High volume water pump
• Two sets of hose
• First aid kit
• Ladder
• Complete set of auto tools

1. 
    
   The Firelite is little more than an ATV with a pump and some gear.

   Measure your cargo bed. As a practical matter, if you are building your own fire engine instead of buying one, it likely means you are retrofitting an existing vehicle. This means your cargo space will need to be large enough to fit both a high volume water pump and all the hose you might need, both for reaching a water source and for fighting a fire.

2. Choose your pump. A good example of a high volume pump is the Davey 5290BE (see Resources); there are several other models out there that are called "firefighting water pumps." What pump you choose depends not only on your space limitations, but also on your budget, and the duties you have in mind for your fire engine. Depending on your needs, the pump can run between $2,000 and $10,000. Hose choice can vary with the pump; some of these pumps use heavy duty versions of garden hoses. A small pump, the kind you might put in the back of an old Army Jeep or Jeep Wrangler, for instance, might use just a heavy duty version of a garden hose.

3. 
    
   The Red Rhino is a professionally modified light truck/fire engine used in Singapore.

   Collect your firefighting tools and other equipment. At a minimum, a fire engine should have: a tough, stable ladder; axe, shovel, crowbar, pick, and sledgehammer; fire-resistant rope; a large, high capacity first aid kit; a tool kit for working with hydrants, exterior faucets, the pump, and your own vehicle. These are all fairly standard for a normal fire truck.

4. Bolt things into place. Bolt your pump into place; it is likely that you will have to put clasps on the outside of the vehicle to carry the ladder, and perhaps even the longer tools such as the axe. You may or may not want to add storage containers for stowing the tool box and first aid kit, or keeping extra fuel for the pump safely out of reach of sparks.

5. Decide if you need to add a siren. As you are building a private fire engine, a siren may or may not be appropriate for your intended purpose.

Resources

• Davey 5290BE Fire Fighting Pump
• Red Rhino-maker ComfortDelGro
• Kimtekresearch Firelite ATV