Hi! David,

On Fri, 15 Dec 06, you wrote to me:

 ->>  MM> deliver real firestorm-quenching gunk ?

 DW> Somewhere in western Canada (I think) they've converted an old
 DW> Lockheed 10-11 airliner into a water-bomber, to dump huge amounts of 
 DW> water on forest fires. It's impressive! 

Personally, I prefer the idea of using old armoured vehicles.  Back in the
late-70s, I served in an armoured reconaissance unit.  We were once pulled
into fighting fires just using our APCs in a closed-down role (all hatches
shut and operating in NBC conditions), i.e. we just used the vehicles
themselves wihout any fire-fighting equipment.  Imagine a group of tracked
armoured vehicles doing 360s in the scrub, throwing bulldust and whatever
into the flames to quell them.

Case in point, with an update to current possibilities:

-----88-----
(http://www.vop025.cz/php/index_civilni_vyroba_gb.php3?action=2003)

FIREFIGHTER-55 was designed to fight a variety of fires in difficult
terrain conditions. I t is capable of fighting oil refinery fires, fires
and meltdowns of nuclear power-stations, oil well fires, gas and oil
pipeline fires, large scale forest fires, airplane crash fires, chemical
plant fires, fires of military fuel and ammunition dumps and other
hazardous fires. This vehicle is also ideally suited for the civil defense
duties when large population centers are attacked by hostile missiles with
warheads of unknown type.

In order to accomplish its mission, FIREFIGHTER-55 was based on a standard
T-55 tank hull. It is very reliable tank hull that was tested in the most
difficult battlefields of the world. It is combined with a powerful 600 hp
diesel engine and a pair of steel tracks which are augmented with rubber
pads in order to reduce wear and tear of paved roads and also to reduce
noise levels produced by its treads. Attached to the front of the hull is a
heavy-duty bulldozer blade which can be used to create fire-breaks when
needed, and also to carry out a variety of earth moving chores.

On the top of the tank hull sits a new superstructure which consists of a
large water-tank, holding approx. 11,000 litters of water, a hydraulically
controlled water gun, foam making equipment with a foaming agent storage
tank, warning and broadcasting /PA/ equipment and heavy-duty closed circuit
TV system. FIREFIGHTER-55 has its very own water tank replenishment system
that allows it to draw water from lakes, rivers water tanks and other water
sources without any outside help. At the back of its superstructure are
several fittings to which ordinary fire-hoses can be attached to fight a
small scale fire which does not justify the use of a high powered water
gun.

FIREFIGHTER-55 requires a crew of 2, a driver and a water gun operator.
They are protected against all types of chemical and radioactive threats by
a standard battle tank filtration system. The vehicle is provided with a
unique sprinkler system, which protects its crew from heat. The crew area
it totally sealed off the outside elements be it smoke of a chemical or
radioactive threat. However, when an extremely dangerous and life
threatening situation arises, FIREFIGHTER-55 can be remotely controlled
from a safe distance via radio control.

Technical data Maximum weight (full tanks)
45,000 kg
Weight (empty)
33,000 kg
Maximum speed
50 km/h
Driving range
200 km
Water gun range
65 m
Foam gun range
50 m
Flow volume of water gun
2,270 liters/min
Capacity of water tank
11,300 l
Capacity of foam agent
600 l
Remote control range
1.5 km
-----88-----

The only major difficulty is getting enough H2O to these vehicles in a
remote bush scenario, but if priority was given to life & personal
property, and, the establishment of strategic fire breaks then such help
could make the difference.

Cheers,
Paul.

--- Radius 4.010/21.01.2005(Final)