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Our Trucks and Gear
Malua Bay Rural Fire Brigade
currently has two tankers, but there is room in our fire shed so as our
volunteer numbers grow, we will be able to have a third fire-fighting
appliance. The shed also houses a meeting room, office and maintenance
workshop. It's all protected by an electronic surveillance and
security system.
The Cat 1 Tanker
"Malua Bay 1" is our biggest tanker, which we tend
to take out first. It's one of the latest, received in 2009. It's a
gutsy 6-cylinder four-wheel drive diesel, equipped with the latest safety features,
including water/foam spray jets on each wheel and over the cab, so that
in the event of being caught in a fire overrun they can be
activated from within the cab or from the back of the truck.
In 2009 we
were generously supported by our community, raising funds for two
electric hose winders which are now installed on the two "first
aid" reels you see on the back of the truck.
The Cat 1 tanker carries 3300 litres of
water to which we can add foam to make it "wetter" and stretch it out.
It can carry a crew of five comfortably and six at a pinch.
The Cat 7 Tanker
This tanker is smaller, lighter,
4-cylinder 4WD and is easier to manoevre in the bush, and carries less water (1100 litres). This truck
can carry a crew of five.
Hoses
We use three main sizes of hoses:
Small (25mm diameter) - the 'first-aid' hoses that are quickly
accessible.
Medium (38mm diameter) - used for fighting more intense bushfires
or structural fires.
Large (65mm diameter) - these have greater volume and flow and
are better over long distances. They are heavy, and are used mainly for
structural fires.
Pile burn at Burrawang Lodges November 2008
Updated July 2011
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