Best vehicle for a fire fighter

[androgynous]

Hi everybody
   
        I joined my local fire department as a volunteer fire fighter , and was woundering what would be the best vehicle to own. when im not a the fire house i still want to be able to respond to "calls", being a volunteer fire fighter i know that i need something that can hold all my gear, and be very durable. the Chevy suburban and jeep Cherokee are in consideration


oo yeah the color red comes to mind, since its the fastest and all   

[red baron]

Nissan Pathfinder

270 HP

[squidwood]

ducati 9 er

[herm]

extended cab pickup

[bluemoco]

Here ya go.  Plenty of room for your gear, and you can just pick up your buds at the fire station as you drive by.  It can be painted red, as desired.    

[Bigbore4]

Or this one:

[somegirl]

Thanks for volunteering!

[Slide Panda]

Unimog!

[Statler]

[Drjones]

Whatever you can pay cash for and just gets the job done.  No need for a "little dick" 3/4+ ton to haul your boots and coat around.

[Porsche Monkey]

Its red

[B.Rock]

Hi everybody
   
        I joined my local fire department as a volunteer fire fighter , and was woundering what would be the best vehicle to own. when im not a the fire house i still want to be able to respond to "calls", being a volunteer fire fighter i know that i need something that can hold all my gear, and be very durable. the Chevy suburban and jeep Cherokee are in consideration


oo yeah the color red comes to mind, since its the fastest and all   

Do you guys respond in POV direct to the scene? Honestly, anything bigger than a Smart Car or Aveo basically will hold a set of turnouts and grass gear. A small car's trunk can do it but it's a little tight. I've gotten all mine in the back of our Audi S4. The only downside is that if you're filthy it sucks cleaning the trunk out. Any small truck works well for throwing all your crap in the back. Then just hose it out, and it won't make the interior reek. As a bonus the tailgate is an excellent spot to sit and put on all your stuff, that's much easier than in the front seat of a car. Especially grass gear. I'd look at an extended cab small truck (clean gear in the back seat), but it's doable in nearly anything.

[herm]

a pickup is essential if you are going to be a VFD.

a) many VFD respond directly to the scene, especially if they have been with the department for a while. with that comes the need for space to keep (securely) a bunch of additional specialized equipment.
-SCBA
-turnouts
-medical gear for the medics
-rescue equipment
-wildland gear
...the list is extensive


b) think about all the nasty stuff (other peoples bodily fluids, carcinogens, chemicals, etc...) that you kept off your body by wearing the turnouts, boots, helmet, etc....
no think about what happens when you toss all that dirty gear in the back seat of your family car.

of course, thats just my experience

[B.Rock]

At least around here, the SCBA, medical gear, rescue equipment, and so on, should go out on the engine. Even for companies that respond straight to the scene. Of course, I have no idea about this particular dept.

[B.Rock]

I forgot to mention, good for you and congrats. As a member of a paid call department, I can tell you the pay is terrible, but at least the hours are bad too.