Jeep’s Replacement In Battle
Is Fine Firefighter On Range

WORDEN, Mont. —(AP)— The combat vehicle known as the Humvee has gone from fighting bad guys to fighting fires in the small town of Worden.

Worden Fire Capt. Gary Fredericks said he was just looking for some new firetrucks when a Michigan company offering Humvees equipped for firefighting caught his eye.

"On a lark I called this outfit," Fredericks said. "Never in a million years did I think we would end up with one."

He bought three, making the Worden Volunteer Fire Department the only department in Montana using Humvees as firefighting rigs.

The Humvees are the commercial "Hummer" versions of the military vehicle. A Petersburg, Mich., company, Fire Attacker, outfits the Hummers with firefighting equipment.

But their uniqueness doesn't end with appearance. If need be, Worden firefighters can roll right over a three-foot high wall, as well as other obstacles that might confront a rural firefighter.

In an impromptu demonstration recently, a first-time Humvee driver guided one of the trucks through an irrigation ditch about three feet deep in about four inches of snow.

Fredericks said Worden was able to purchase three trucks that had been demonstration models for Fire Attacker.

The trucks are new, but they were displayed at shows by the company. They cost $213,330, competitive with new brush rigs made by traditional companies, Fredericks said.

The 35-member Worden Fire Department is funded by a tax district in Worden and fire service areas around Huntley, Ballantine and Pompeys Pillar, just east of Billings. Fredericks said the department obtained a 10-year bank loan to pay for the three trucks.

The trucks are also compatible with the needs of the area the department serves. All three are multiuse, meaning they can go to everything from medical calls to range and structure fires.

"Everything we do has to be multiuse," Fredericks said. "And you can't ask for a better type of rig."

Some of the Worden firefighters went through a training school in South Bend, Ind., where they learned the tricks of driving a Humvee. Each of the four tires is gear driven, so there are no traditional front and rear axles to take away from ground clearance.

The tire pressure can be adjusted from inside the cab of the truck. And if the tires go flat, you can still drive, Fredericks said.

The all-terrain abilities of the Humvee are perfectly suited to some of the open land that Worden firefighters have to defend, especially during the summer grass-fire season.

Fredericks said the Humvees are powered by a General Motors 6.2-liter diesel engine. Almost any mechanic can work on them. The eight foot wide frame is also sturdier than the frames of other brush rigs that employ a standard truck frame, so the Humvee is more durable, Fredericks said.

In addition to their off-road capabilities, the trucks are capable of speeds well over 70 mph on the interstate. Fredericks said the Humvees rode "like Cadillacs" when they were driven to Worden from Michigan earlier this fall, turning heads the entire way.

"People were about twisting their necks off when they saw us," Fredericks said.