1945 Ford F60S Water truck

[Tony Smith]

Original vehicles still turn up from time to time.

This Ford F60S Water Truck was recently picked up, and is in very well looked after condition. The story attached to it was that it was transferred direct to the Bush Fire Brigade direct from the Army (not purchased through auction) having been specially selected. (Mike Kelly, have you come across 4G49560F in the AWM files? I'd like to confirm it's disposal story.) The Odometer shows 12300 miles, and this would be consistent with a 1945 built specialist vehicle that went into pampered post-war use.

[Tony Smith]

On being released, it was overpainted in a heavy coat of Silver paint, and a later coat of BFB Blaze Orange paint. Where this paint is now peeling, there is nice un-faded KG3 paint underneath, also supporting the story that it was a young truck when picked up. The Interior remains in KG3, but has seen a lot of use.

I have not seen photos of early BFB trucks in service to note if silver was a colour used by them in the late-40's and 50's, but Blaze Orange was certainly the widely used colour by the 60's.

[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

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Tony,

What a great find, and a rare variant in extraordinary condition too!

Yours?

Hanno