Vehicle to address growing urban interface challenges facing fire department
Appleton, Wis. - Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation Company and North America’s leading fire and rescue apparatus manufacturer, today announced it has sold a Contender by Pierce wildland firefighting vehicle to the Villages, Florida Fire Department located 30 miles south of Ocala, Fla. This fast growingdepartment serves a retirement community of 80,000 residents.
“We’re excited and pleased to have the Florida’s Villages Fire Department as a PierceContender customer,” said Jim Johnson, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president andpresident, Fire & Emergency. “Pierce wildland vehicles come in a wide range of configurations.We look forward to serving and supporting the firefighting challenges of this unique and impressive community.”
“As our population has grown, it has come into closer proximity to several wetlands areas that don’t always stay wet. This has increased the frequency of wildland fire incidents. In the past, we’ve had to rely on mutual aid from neighboring fire departments. This new Pierce vehicle will make our department more self sufficient and responsive to our community,” said Michael Tucker, Fire Chief for the Villages, Florida Fire Department since 2001. “Pierce is a quality builder, and that’s extremely important to our department. We’re looking forward to incorporating this vehicle’s capabilities into our firefighting operations.”
The Pierce apparatus features all-wheel drive, seating for four firefighters, a 320-amp alternator and an LED lighting package. The firefighting system includes a 500-gallon water tank, two booster hose reels, a 20-gallon foam cell, bumper turret and a single stage pump system engineered with true pump-and-roll capability to attack fast moving wildland fires.
The Villages Fire Department was formed in 2000, and in ten years has grown to include six fire stations and a force of 67 career firefighters. The department’s protection area includes 38 square miles, 80,000 residents and more than 2 million square feet of retail space.
The local Pierce dealer providing sales and support is Ten-8 Fire Equipment of Bradenton, Fla. “The people at Ten-8 are far more than a vendor; they’ve been a partner and very involved in this entire process,” added Chief Tucker. “It’s great to have them serve our business needs.”
About Pierce Manufacturing
Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company, is the leading North American manufacturer of custom fire apparatus. Products include custom and commercial 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 moreabout Pierce, visit www.piercemfg.com
About Oshkosh Corporation
Oshkosh Corporation is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of specialty access equipment, commercial, fire & emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh Corporation manufactures, distributes and services products under the brands of Oshkosh, JLG, Pierce, McNeilus, Medtec, Jerr-Dan, Oshkosh Specialty Vehicles, Frontline, SMIT, CON-E-CO, London and IMT. Oshkosh products are valued worldwide in businesses where high quality, superior performance, rugged reliability and long-term value are paramount. For more information, visit www.oshkoshcorporation.com.
All brand names referred to in this news release are trademarks of Oshkosh Corporation orits subsidiary companies.