Keystone Wildfire Crew
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Originally established in 1984 as a satellite support crew, the Keystone Wildfire Crew provides wildland firefighting support in the southeastern portion of the state. Serving District 17 encompassing nine counties from Lancaster to just outside the city of Philadelphia, the crew’s 39 members
annually respond to an average of 5 to 15 incidents supporting fire companies and forest districts in Lancaster County and throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Keystone Wildfire Crew - Lancaster County Station 95
The Keystone Wildfire Crew operates their fleet from a two bay garage at the Fort Pine Fire Base outside Rawlinsville in the southern portion of Lancaster County. Unlike a typical firehouse with a Dalmatian, Keystone’s mascots include roosters, chickens, dogs and even steers! This was the first (and since to date the only) firehouse I have ever visited where there was a rooster crowing in the yard!
Brush 95-1 - 2008 Ford F-550 4x4/Reading 450 PSI/300 gal.
The primary response unit, this rig was built by the members and financed through $250 yearly subscriptions advertising local businesses. Featuring a manual transmission, it is equipped with a 34 HP turbo charged high pressure pump as well as a custom manifold (plumbed to the gas tank) that can draft, relay, circulate and fight fire simultaneously. Classified as a Type 6 engine, it is equipped with hand tools for 20 firefighters, a portable pump, 10 gallons of Class A foam, backpack leaf blower and an 18” Stihl® chainsaw (provided in exchange for advertising). Outfitted with 3,750 feet of hose, it features 1,450' of 1" forestry, 2,200' of 1-1/2" attack line as well as 100' of 2-1/2" plus two 30' sections of 2-1/2" suction hose for the high pressure pump.
Brush 95-2 (Retired) - 1987 Chevrolet 18HP/200 gal.
The original (and at one time the only) response vehicle, this military surplus rig was provided on loan through the Bureau of Forestry and equipped/staffed by the volunteer members. A Type 6 engine, it was equipped with wildland hand tools for 11 firefighters, 2,000 feet of attack line (ranging from 3/4" to 2-1/2"), 5 gallons of Class A foam, a chain saw and two bladder style backpack pumps.
Brush 95-3 - 1989 Amertek CFRV-1/Pierce 1000 gpm/700 gal./60 gal. foam
After an elusive search for over two years trying to find one of these unyque Amertek brand engines (a defunct Canadian manufacturer) to photograph, I finally located this one that had entered service in 2011 with the Keystone Wildfire Crew. In keeping with my motto of “Every Fire Truck Has A Story”, this rig certainly lived up to that with quite a story of how it was acquired and modified to fit Keystone’s unique response needs.
One of only 362 of this model ever built, this rig has quite a story of how it was acquired and modified through a variety of local resources to fit Keystone’s unique response needs. Provided through military surplus, this rig formerly served the Air Force in several locations prior to being sent to a DOD decommissioning yard in Maryland. Keystone was originally slated to receive another rig, however, it was found to not be in serviceable condition (gouges in tires, dents, etc.). By sheer luck, a newer batch of Amertek rigs (which had been refurbished by Pierce in the 1990’s) came in that same day - due to regulations, they had to wait for it to be released into the surplus fleet so a crew member who works for the government on the third watch kept a close eye on the website and literally secured the rig two minutes after it was posted at midnight!!
The rig features pump-and-roll capability, a generator, alternator/generator, an inverter and FireCom® radio headsets for all four riding positions (due to the high noise level of the air cooled diesel engine). Outfitted with a foam proportioner plumbed to all discharges including both roof and bumper turrets (500/250 gpm respectively), the onboard foam tank carries Pyrocap®, a foam concentrate that can be dispersed at 1, 3 or 6% (Keystone’s tank was filled to near capacity free of charge by the manufacturer in exchange for providing a demo of its’ capabilities to local fire companies). Its' equipment complement includes over 3,000' of attack line (ranging from 1” forestry to 2-1/2” diameter), 200’ of 4” LDH supply line, 30' of 6" hard sleeve suction and 22' of ground ladders.
Various resources were utilized to modify this rig to fit Keystone's unyque applications including the front brush guard that wraps around the cab which was fabricated free of charge by the friend of a squad boss (line officer) who had pipe benders in his shop for making modifications/repairs to dirt track race cars. In lieu of a hydraulic lift that formerly carried a 35' ground ladder, Keystone had a local Amish shop fabricate a custom rack to hold three section of 6" hard suction hose as well as a custom step to allow access to upper level compartments. An Amish harness maker produced custom leather covers to protect the heads of the Pulaski tools (the traditional tool of the wildland firefighter) ensuring they remain functional as well as decorative. In addition, special sand had to be imported from Maryland to sandblast the rig down to its' original Lime/Yellow color (which remains on the compartment interior surfaces).Keystone Wildfire CrewAmertekPierceBrushEngineMilitary Surplus