I thought I would add pictures of what happens when a M211 and a M35A2 rolls down hill when the parking brake fails. Both instances the operators advanced ahead of the main fire to put out spot fires. With no baffles in the water tanks, the water slouched around, braking the grip of the parking brake band to the drum. Once the band slipped on the drum, the weight of the trucks plus full tanks of water, there was no stopping it. P.S no injuries on either truck.
I don't know how to link the photo albums, so if yo go to the Photo Gallery section and look at Crook County Wildland fire trucks, the photos will be in there.
The M-211 was rebuilt in 3 days to to the fact that there were 4 part trucks sitting in the County Maintenance yard. The M-35 went to auction and sold as a parts truck or scrap. somebody put a bid on it and got it.
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Oh yea we used them, but parking on a fire break after a dozer been through made the area sandy, The trucks just rolled over them and pushed them down into the sand, about as effective as using an empty beer can in this case. But when you have a fire coming up your behind like this, there is no time to analyze your parking arrangement, You get your butt out of the truck set the parking brake and on your way to the hose you throw chocks under the wheel of the truck. then you battle the fire trying to save a house our something in that nature. The cost of the trucks to the county do even measure up to someone's house, I'll sacrifice a deuce any day to save a someone's house
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Now let me make a safety not here, for the 8 years I was on the fire department, these were only the two trucks ever damaged and they happened in the same year. So for how many wildland fires these trucks respond to usually 4 to 5 fires a year that burn over 10,000 acres and numerous smaller fires. Usually in the summer we respond twice a week for wild land fires. Our county is the size of Rhode Island. A pretty impressive record I must say.
Im sorry, I have to disagree. Apparatus placement is THE largest part of the drivers and offciers inital concern. Another 10 seconds perhaps to swing around so it's not pointed uphill (if terrain allowed it) probably would of prevented this. And if you dont have the 10 seconds, you need to reevaluate things to see if you really belong there.. And yes, I drive for my local FD, and usually driving the first due engine.. Apparatus placement is KEY to helping get a good inital attack going, and here, it falls squarley on the driver and officer's shoulders.
As for chocks. Rules here are chocks go down right after you get out of the cab. If you dont proceed DIRECTLY to the chock holders right next to the wheels and put the chocks in, bad things happen. After chocks are down, then you go to the pump panel and move water or hook up or whatever needs to be done.
Good thing no one got hurt, else this would be another NFPA statistic.
I can't see the photos - but from my uninformed sideline coachng position - the M135/M211 are factory equipped with electric line locks on the brakes. Depress the brake pedal, throw the switch on the dashboard and a solenoid valve is actuated, holding the pressure in the brake lines. (The M-series wreckers have these as well). Perhaps its use would have prevented this incident.
The army mandated these be on the M135/M211 trucks because with their automatic tranmssions they could not be held stationary by placing them in gear (these GMCs - like everything of the era - had no "Park" detent in the transmission).
I once had a M35 that someone had added a commercaial line lock to - but being a purist I removed it.
Pictures that make your heart sink
