Most countries in the world use European style fire apparatus and ambulances or at least small type apparatus.
It seems that they have more use for an American vehicles. Are American firetrucks better then the smaller European firetrucks? If so, how?
Firetruck pics from E-One website.
Trucks sold to Saudi Arabia. Oil companies, Military etc...

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Truck sold to South Korea Energy Dept.

Truck sold to some Russian/Eastern European oil company?

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Ambulances

Ambulances:

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Police:

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Edited September 15, 201411 yr by Iconography
Posts merged, please edit your posts in the future.

It's kind of hard to compare fire trucks between Euro and American, because they are both used in different ways and used for different reasons   I Guess the closest comparison that could be made are the FIre engines or Pumpers as some call them..  If you want a Quick answer when it comes to how many European Fire trucks would it take to be the equivalent of One American Fire truck.. The Answer is 4 (Operating at 416 gpm ((the most common among Euro Fire trucks))) Simply put it all comes down to which can pump the most gallons per minute and the American Fire trucks are far far far superior however they both have subtle differences that make them the best for their region if you want a more detailed answer keep reading if not, don't bother..

 

 

it  looks like most euro Pumpers get about 400-600 gpm depending on the psi   While American Pumpers can get around 2,000 gpm depending on the psi  this Difference is caused by the Design of the Pumpers. Most Euro Fire trucks have the Pumps at the rear of the truck 

 

 

European builders, however, put the pump at the rear of the vehicle, using power takeoff (PTO) and transmission shafts from the gear box to the pump, which results in a power loss of up to 30 percent. 

 

With American Trucks they place the Pumpers Normally Right after the Transmission, taking advantage of 90% or more of the Motor's Power.. 

 

However Most Pumpers have very small water tanks if any at all (where Fire hydrants come in), where as European Trucks carry medium to Large Tanks 

 

 

On-board water tank capacities vary according to each country's particular general specifications, although the most common volumes vary around 500 gallons, whereas tanks of up to 1,000 gallons are not uncommon, especially in rural areas and smaller municipalities with insufficient fire mains.

 

Also most Euro Fire trucks are Smaller than american ones because they need to go into tighter spaces same Thing applies with Ladder trucks and why Euro trucks are smaller, because they need to be compact unless they want to accidentally bust someones wall in trying to turn a corner in a city.. 

 

As for the ambulances i cant find any articles where experts talk about it so i cant spill out any stats but i will make note of some key Observations..  Most European Ambulances are built off of Large Vans Like Mercedes, while this is just fine and gets the job done its quite smaller than most ambulances in America Using Full sized Box'd Ambulances with full sized Truck Cabs (like International Dura-Star's Freightliner M2's and Ford F450's)  i would imagine the Euro Ambulance's are Faster, but The Size and Storage space/Room to do Emergency Operations in an ambulance is better in the American Trucks  that's just from what i can gather.. 

 

You may wonder why i take this seriously, well i plan on becoming a firefighter in the very near future. so I've already done a good bit of Research 

 

My Sources on the Engines: http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2008/09/mobile-fire-apparatus-united-states-vs-europe.html

(It also includes Insight on other Rig Differences Such as Rescue Truck's Light Engines, Brush Trucks, Ladder Trucks and etc very insightful if your looking to work with these rigs) 

 

Hope this post helps! 

It's kind of hard to compare fire trucks between Euro and American, because they are both used in different ways and used for different reasons   I Guess the closest comparison that could be made are the FIre engines or Pumpers as some call them..  If you want a Quick answer when it comes to how many European Fire trucks would it take to be the equivalent of One American Fire truck.. The Answer is 4 (Operating at 416 gpm ((the most common among Euro Fire trucks))) Simply put it all comes down to which can pump the most gallons per minute and the American Fire trucks are far far far superior however they both have subtle differences that make them the best for their region if you want a more detailed answer keep reading if not, don't bother..

 

 

it  looks like most euro Pumpers get about 400-600 gpm depending on the psi   While American Pumpers can get around 2,000 gpm depending on the psi  this Difference is caused by the Design of the Pumpers. Most Euro Fire trucks have the Pumps at the rear of the truck 

 

With American Trucks they place the Pumpers Normally Right after the Transmission, taking advantage of 90% or more of the Motor's Power.. 

 

However Most Pumpers have very small water tanks if any at all (where Fire hydrants come in), where as European Trucks carry medium to Large Tanks 

 

Also most Euro Fire trucks are Smaller than american ones because they need to go into tighter spaces same Thing applies with Ladder trucks and why Euro trucks are smaller, because they need to be compact unless they want to accidentally bust someones wall in trying to turn a corner in a city.. 

 

As for the ambulances i cant find any articles where experts talk about it so i cant spill out any stats but i will make note of some key Observations..  Most European Ambulances are built off of Large Vans Like Mercedes, while this is just fine and gets the job done its quite smaller than most ambulances in America Using Full sized Box'd Ambulances with full sized Truck Cabs (like International Dura-Star's Freightliner M2's and Ford F450's)  i would imagine the Euro Ambulance's are Faster, but The Size and Storage space/Room to do Emergency Operations in an ambulance is better in the American Trucks  that's just from what i can gather.. 

 

You may wonder why i take this seriously, well i plan on becoming a firefighter in the very near future. so I've already done a good bit of Research 

 

My Sources on the Engines: http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2008/09/mobile-fire-apparatus-united-states-vs-europe.html

(It also includes Insight on other Rig Differences Such as Rescue Truck's Light Engines, Brush Trucks, Ladder Trucks and etc very insightful if your looking to work with these rigs) 

 

Hope this post helps! 

 

Very Interesting

Do you have a degree in Emergency Vehicles?

 

Very Interesting

Do you have a degree in Emergency Vehicles?

 

lol no  Just read a lot about FD Vehicles, my dream job is Driving these rigs.. specifically a Baltimore City Fire Department Tiller (100' trailer Pulled Ladder Truck) 

 

lol no  Just read a lot about FD Vehicles, my dream job is Driving these rigs.. specifically a Baltimore City Fire Department Tiller (100' trailer Pulled Ladder Truck) 

 

 

Whats the difference between Midmounts, Quints and Tillers? they all have about the same amount of ladder length. Most quints are 75', midmounts and tillers are 100' plus. I'm guessing tillers have more space? Which is the reason why there a tiller rescue trucks...

Whats the difference between Midmounts, Quints and Tillers? they all have about the same amount of ladder length. Most quints are 75', midmounts and tillers are 100' plus. I'm guessing tillers have more space? Which is the reason why there a tiller rescue trucks...

Well there are Different Ladder Configurations for Different truck types..  

 

Tiller Trucks -- (100' Ladders)

 

Believe it or not Tillers have proved to be Easier to Control on Narrow Streets (Great for Baltimore and other cities Like LA) and Provide more Storage for Equipment that can be Used with the Ladder

(Up to 500 Cubic Feet in storage according to Pierce MFG ((American Fire truck company very very popular here) They are Easier to Control in a sense but require a little More man power than a regular Ladder truck since it usually Needs 2 Drivers to operate one in the cab and One Turning the Rear Wheels at the Trailer (Ladder) Another Setback is they generally aren't able to have Built in Water Hoses/Nozzles on them Like other Ladder trucks  (this being because the Tillers aren't permanently attached to the cab) 

These Ladders also don't have Platforms, or anything like that but i will get to that shortly 

 

Ladder/Quint / PUC Ladder -- (75', 100' and 105' Ladders)

 

Comes in all Different Materials and Sizes Designed to Withstand up to 50 mph wind, Uneven Terrain, and up to a quarter inch of Ice according to Pierce MFG they have roughly the same Payload capacity as Tiller Ladders but these Ladders are able to Come with Water Nozzles and Built in Hoses on the Ladders, Something that Tillers aren't able to do..

 

When it comes to PUC Ladders its the same as normal Ladders Except it Only comes in a 75' Ladder Option Making it a Less Popular Version but with up to "22% More Storage Capacity" for Rescue Equipment and a 5' Shorter Wheelbase than Most 75' Ladder Trucks making it better to Handle or Control its definitely go its turn on's and trade off's 

 

Platforms -- (85', 95' and 100' Ladders in Different Materials And Bronto Variants)

 

Sports a Bucket like Platform Built to have a Firefighter (or two) to go up and either rescue trapped People in Above floors Or Direct the

Water Nozzle for an Aerial attack on a Working fire  (Some Nozzles can be controlled from a designated place in the truck cab or back of the truck) with the platforms you have about 2000 gpm flow capactiy coming out of the nozzle (as the platform creates a better support) and also Platforms have a higher Payload capacity most of the time obviously specs depend on Ladder Sizes and Material

 

Most of the Midmounts you will see are Platform Based Ladders, this is for a more compact Truck height wise wont need to worry about

Clearance Levels like you would with Regular Ladders, This also applies to Tillers 

 

Bronto Platform Variants are pretty Much European Ladder Design's they aren't popular in america really