 Contributed photo.
Hoodland Fire District (HFD) received a new high-axle
emergency response vehicle on Jan. 24 that will certainly turn heads on the
mountain due to a combination of unique appearance and off-road performance
ability.
“It’s a different looking type of vehicle than people are
used to seeing at the station,” HFD Division Chief/Fire Marshall Scott Kline
said.
The high-axle rescue vehicle is made by Earthcruiser, a
boutique RV company from Bend that typically produces approximately 30 custom
overland vehicles each year. The model HFD received is a CORE V8,
cab-over-chassis base model design that is a separate division of the company.
The vehicle was selected for the district by the Oregon Office
of Emergency Management (OEM) as part of a grant program intended to increase
emergency response preparedness across the state.
HFD was awarded the vehicle for use in response to flooding
or high-water events that require evacuating and transporting civilians to
safety. The vehicle is multi-use and will also be used to assist with wildland
fires.
“CORE applications include wilderness firefighting, Homeland
Security, medical response, equipment delivery, mobile laboratories, DIY
overland vehicle builders, and more,” according to the Earthcruiser website.
The district has ordered a custom slip-on fire unit that can
be loaded and unloaded from the chassis with a forklift. The fire unit will be
a combination of a water tank, pump and hose reel. The skid can be unbolted and
traded out with seating on the vehicle in minutes, depending on which
application is required.
“The idea is to augment our brush vehicles or to have an
additional one as needed,” Kline said. HFD applied to receive a high-axle
rescue vehicle through the OEM’s State Preparedness and Incident Response
Equipment (SPIRE) grant in 2019 and received approval in 2020.
The SPIRE grant was established by Oregon State House Bill
2687 and funded $5 million of emergency response equipment across the state.
The grant included an equipment list of eligible items with priority given to
items that are intended to save/sustain lives.
Approximately six of the CORE vehicles were awarded to fire
districts across the state through the grant.
The CORE chassis typically costs just over $100,000 for the
base model according to the Earthcruiser website.
“Due to the grant the vehicle didn’t come out of fire
district money,” Kline said.
For more information contact HFD by email at
hoodland@hoodlandfire.org.
By Ben Simpson/MT | 
