The Wilmington Fire Department operates
three Hackney rescue trucks; one light duty classified
as Tactical Rescue mounted on a Ford F550 and two
medium duty classified as Squads mounted on Freightliner
FL70’s with 4-door cabs.
The port city of Wilmington is the
fastest growing city in North Carolina, both in residential
and industrial growth. The fire department has kept
pace with that growth by adding several modern sub-stations
and a $7 million headquarters building in the historic
district that blends architecturally with its surroundings.
The building includes all administrative offices,
classrooms, dorms, maintenance and warehouse facilities,
city emergency operations center, and three drive-through
bays.
The two squad trucks feature Hackney
DF0773 seven compartment bodies with the drop/pinch
frame that maximizes storage capacity. Both have 25
kw Onan PTO generators mounted in the left front compartment
to protect them from silt associated with seasonal
street flooding. A 6000 watt NightScan light tower
was mounted on the roof with limb guards to protect
the lights from the low hanging limbs on the stately
old Live Oak trees throughout the city. Both the squad
trucks and the light duty Tactical Rescue carry a
24 ft. 2-section and a 14 ft. roof ladder in the specially
designed roof compartments. The back compartments
above the step bumper measures 73" high x 42"
wide x 40" deep and is configured with slide-out
trays for all the hydraulic rescue tools, portable
power unit, and pre-connected reels. Due to the heavy
traffic throughout the response areas, the front bumpers
are equipped with Federal Q2B sirens, Roto-Ray traffic
clearing lights, and strobes. The Tactical Rescue
features a Hackney SD0764 seven compartment body,
a 6.5 kw Honda generator, a 8000 lb. bumper-mounted
Ramsey winch, and a isolated rope compartment.
