Unimog Fire Truck is Perfect Vehicle For Wildfires
Quick access to smaller fires is made helpful by the rugged Unimog fire truck.
Wildfires take over the headlines every now and then, and although fire suppression via aircraft has been effective, it’s not always a perfect method. Some topography makes it impossible for planes, and very dangerous for helicopters to get fires put out. If there was ever a vehicle made to handle the rough terrain of a mountain, however, the fire truck version of the Unimog becomes a pretty compelling choice.
Germany’s Kirchzarten volunteer fire department uses such a Unimog fire truck, which they use for combating wildfires in the nearby Black Forest. Off-road capabilities are no doubt supported by the Unimog’s iconic portal axle allowing 18 inches of ground clearance. Low speed oomph is provided by Mercedes’ own.
But more than that, the rig’s 4,000 liter water tank is supplemented by a 500 liter foam fire-retardant tank to fight the flames far away from any water mains. In fact, the Unimog fire truck can empty that tank in little over a minute, putting a thorough soaking on any fire within the truck’s far-reaching capabilities. Mercedes OM 934 engine is a workhorse. Displacing nearly 5.2 liters, it’s a gigantic four-cylinder diesel, and the resulting 665 lb-ft shouldn’t be any surprise from a diesel that size.
California, and much of the West coast, remains constantly in danger of wildfires and while aircraft are better at taking care of large expanses of land, concentrated fire fighting isn’t their forte. Considering most of the firetrucks in the U.S. aren’t suited to unpaved surfaces at all, the more nimble Unimog might be a way to curb some brush fires before they really turn into something tragic.
Perhaps the only drawbacks we can think of is that fires state side seem to spread more rapidly due to our climate as opposed to the climate in Germany.
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