1945 Ford F60S Water truck

[Tony Smith]

While the BFB have added a few modifications to suit their purposes, it still remains the essential features of the original Water truck.

The toolboxes are original items, as is the spare wheel carrier and fuel can racks. The POL Can rack has unfortunately has some timber removed to allow the carting of standard bushfire backpack sprayers, but these can be restored. The platforms on either side of the tank are original, but with the added safety of guard rails provided by the BFB.

[Tony Smith]

One of the interesting modifications by the BFB are the door tops.

As a Bush Fire truck, this vehicle would have remained in the shed during winter, or wet weather, only coming out in fine weather for hazard reduction burns, or in very hot weather during fire risk periods. As a result, there would have been no need for the canvas door tops to provide occupant protection. You would want all the cool breezes you could get.

But for actual fire fighting work, and open cab can present a real danger. One of the major hazards of a wild fire is radiant heat. Even from a distance of 20-30 feet away, radiant heat from a large fire can cause serious burn injuries, but it is very simple to avoid. The wearing of heavy clothing can help, but the easiest way is to screen the direct line of radiation with a solid barrier. Normally a vehicle is ideal protection, but driving through a fireground exposes the crew through the open door tops. The BFB solved this issue by manufacturing solid screens for the doors to shield the occupants.

A simple yet effective solution to a problem, with one small oversight. You should only close the doors when someone is inside the cab, as there is no means to operate the door release from the outside! This could be viewed a nice security measure, but it could be life-threatening if a crew were to leave a vehicle to fight a fire, but then had to return to the vehicle to escape.

[Tony Smith]

The truck also retain some water distribution features, but much of these have also been altered for Bush Fire use.

The hose reel on the top is a BFB addition, although the rollers for a hose appear original. The original PTO driven pump is missing, replaced with a Briggs and Stratton powered portable unit. Also the filters and valves in the rear cabinet are gone, used instead for hose storage. There is also a distribution pipe located across the rear crossmember with several taps that looks to be original, but the taps themselves could be BFB, or maybe they were a standard Australian plumbing pattern of the time?

The tank body (and presumably much of the associated plumbing) is made by Engineering Products Pty Ltd of Burnley Victoria.

[Tony Smith]

The NSW Bush Fire Brigades were a prodigous user of CMP trucks in the post-war period, as were other rural fire agencies in other Australian states. The NSW BFB has recently digitised it historical bulletins on the National Library's website Trove, and you might find it interesting to scroll through some of the activities in the 50's to 70's to find pics of Blitzes in action (unfortunately, the real early editions are light on photos, but they become more illustrated as they progress):

https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/resources/bush-fire-bulletin

Bulletin1959.JPG Bulletin1962.JPG

[Mike Cecil]

Tony,

Nice find. a 'Truck, 3 ton, Water, 400-gallon, (Aust) No.2'. Very nice!

The BFB did more than just the door tops: they retrofitted solid doors to a 1944 Aust pattern cab, so removed the door guard across the bottom of the opening and external hinge pins to fit the solid door hinges and door. They left the external part of the '44 Patt canvas door lock attached to the cab body.

I'm pretty sure there were no hose rollers (the steel bracket & wooden rollers) fitted to the truck originally. May be a later in-service addition, but not 'as built'.


Mike

[Mike K]

Found this one . They are not common

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