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Two pumper fire trucks are pictured next to each other, one is black and white the other is red.

Fire departments around the world rely on pumper fire trucks to quickly and effectively extinguish fires. With so many different types of pumper fire trucks available and thousands of available features, it can feel daunting to start the specification and selection process.  

At Pierce Manufacturing, we are proud to work with fire departments to understand the mission of a new fire truck to design and manufacture a truck to the desired specifications.  

See how two different departments outfitted their Pierce pumper apparatus in more detail below.

Build My Pierce Biloxi Fire Department Pumper

The red Biloxi Fire Department E-7 pumper is parked outside on an angle with snowy woods in the background.

The Biloxi Fire Department in Mississippi boasts 10 stations in a bustling urban environment. When the fire department sought to replace an older pumper in its fleet, the staff visited Pierce Manufacturing to talk about their needs and truck specifications. The municipal department wanted a strong and reliable work truck without all of the bells and whistles. In fact, the department representatives visited four different fire truck manufacturers to evaluate how best to proceed with a new truck order.

The Biloxi Fire Department was looking for a multipurpose pumper truck which could provide reliable support for fire calls, auto accidents and medical calls.

The end result—they chose Pierce Manufacturing’s Build My Pierce program because it offered the features they wanted and the durable multipurpose truck they needed.

The biggest change for the department was the added room, seating and layout functionality which came with the new Enforcer™ chassis. The department was also able to add strategic EMS compartmentation to cater to auto accidents and medical emergencies.

Here are some of the specifications of the Biloxi pumper fire truck:

  • Enforcer chassis
  • Top mount pumper
  • 42-inch pump house with a 19-inch walkway
  • Cummins Lp 380 hp engine
  • 750-gallon water tank
  • 1250 gpm single stage pump
  • Medium 152-inch body
  • Low crosslays on the front bumper

The design flexibility of Build My Pierce allowed the department to consider new options, which enhanced space efficiency and on-scene capabilities. In fact, the department was so happy with the front bumper crosslays they are strongly considering adding the feature to all future fleet trucks.

See the details of this unique truck and download the drawing here.

Exxon Mobil Baytown Refinery Pumper

The black and white Exxon Mobil Baytown Refinery pumper fire truck is parked outside on an angle with snowy woods in the background.

The Exxon Mobil Baytown Refinery is the largest refinery in the United States. Located in Houston, Texas, along a shipping channel, the refinery can be a hostile, hot and humid environment.

An industrial setting requires fire trucks to flow a high volume of pressured water and foam at an extremely high rate of speed to elevated storage tanks and large processing facilities.

When the fire department needed four new industrial pumper fire trucks, they trusted Pierce Manufacturing to deliver fully-equipped, highly capable apparatus with unique added features.

Here are some of the features of the Exxon Mobil Baytown Refinery pumper:

The first delivered Baytown Refinery pumper features a Velocity® chassis and the largest engine available for fire trucks, a Cummins X15, 605 hp with 2050 with lbs feet of torque, required to drive the Darley 2ZSM pump. The 5500 gpm pump can discharge an excess of 10,000 gallons per minute from a pressured water source. The Husky™ 450 Industrial foam system is managed with hydraulically actuated valves with flow meters on every discharge, allowing operators to vary foam percentages for each individual discharge. This proprietary digitally controlled foam proportioning system responds rapidly and accurately to changes in water pressure and flow.

The refinery is required to follow OHSA guidelines and the pumper truck is built accordingly. The hosebed includes a walkway down the middle with tethering points across the top of the truck for secured fall protection from elevated positions. When firefighters are tasked with re-loading hose after an incident, the on-site safety managers can be sure the fire truck meets all OSHA safety requirements.

To function effectively in hot Texas weather, the pumper fire truck was built with an enclosed top. Firefighters are able to manage all pump operations from inside the pumper in a fully air-conditioned space away from dangerous fire toxins and oppressive summer heat.

Read the full truck specifications and see the drawing here.

No matter what type of pumper apparatus your department is seeking, Pierce can help support your needs. From understanding the mission of your truck to fulfilling your specification requirements and offering design insights and recommendations, Pierce has the expertise to bring your ideal pumper fire truck to life. Reach out to your local dealer to get started.

Questions on pumper fire trucks? Let us know in the comments.

Interested in learning more about pumpers? Take a look at our additional resources:

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About Pierce Manufacturing
Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] business, is the leading North American manufacturer of custom fire apparatus. Products include custom and commercial pumpers, aerials, rescue trucks, wildland trucks, mini pumpers, and homeland security apparatus. In addition, Pierce designs its own foam systems and was the first company to introduce frontal airbags and the Side Roll Protection system to fire apparatus. To learn more about Pierce, visit www.piercemfg.com.

About Oshkosh Corporation

At Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK), we make innovative, mission-critical equipment to help everyday heroes advance communities around the world. Headquartered in Wisconsin, Oshkosh Corporation employs over 18,000 team members worldwide, all united behind a common purpose: to make a difference in people’s lives. Oshkosh products can be found in more than 150 countries under the brands of JLG®, Pierce®, MAXIMETAL, Oshkosh® S-Series™, Oshkosh® Defense, McNeilus®, IMT®, Jerr-Dan®, Frontline™ Communications, Oshkosh® Airport Products, Oshkosh AeroTech™ and Pratt Miller. For more information, visit oshkoshcorp.com.

®, ™ All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation or its subsidiary companies.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that the Company believes to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, earnings, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “should,” “project” or “plan” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include the Company's ability to successfully integrate the AeroTech acquisition and to realize the anticipated benefits associated with the same; the risks associated with international operations and sales, including compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act;  the Company’s ability to comply with complex laws and regulations applicable to U.S. government contractors; cybersecurity risks and costs of defending against, mitigating and responding to data security threats and breaches impacting the Company; the Company’s ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate other acquisitions and to realize the anticipated benefits associated with the same; and risks related to the Company’s ability to successfully execute on its strategic road map and meet its long-term financial goals. Additional information concerning these and other factors is contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company assumes no obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to update information contained in this news release. Investors should be aware that the Company may not update such information until the Company’s next quarterly earnings conference call, if at all.

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