By Jennifer Upshaw
Marin Independent Journal
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The San Rafael Fire Department will soon have a shiny new toy: the city’s first wildland fire engine.
The new equipment will be purchased from West-Mark Fire Apparatus of Ceres for $294,084 with money from the city’s vehicle replacement fund, freed up by phasing out the department’s urban search-and-rescue vehicle. The city also is spending about $300,000 to replace two ambulances.
The special engine gets firefighters into the city’s roughly 5,000 acres of open space thanks to its short wheelbase, higher ground clearance, lighter water load and off-road capability, San Rafael fire Chief John Montenero said.
“One of the main advantages is we are able to go off the road,” he said. “We have streets in this city it’s hard to get a regular fire engine in. This gives us another tool.”
Urban fire engines used for house fires, called type-I engines, struggle in wildland fires because of their size, weight and lower clearance. Similarly, wildland engines, known as type-III engines, traditionally have been kept from house fires because the smaller interior space makes hauling equipment difficult, fire officials said.
Wildland engines, designed to “pump and run,” provide less water - 500 gallons per minute instead of a street engine’s 1,500- to 2,000-per-minute rating, fire officials said.
Advances in the wildland engine’s design, which are now roomier, make it an acceptable backup during smaller house fires, fire officials said.
San Rafael relies on its neighbors’ wildland engines in fires such as last month’s 14-acre San Rafael Hill blaze. In that fire, 50 homes were evacuated. No structures burned, and no one was hurt.
About a year ago, Marinwood purchased a type-III engine for $269,000 after a three-year wait for new equipment. The special district north of San Rafael, which has a cooperative firefighting agreement with the city, originally planned to purchase a second engine for house fires, but decided instead to go for the type-III.
“Urban interface is a huge issue in this county,” Marinwood fire Chief Tom Roach said. “These types of engines help us protect the community better.”
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