Iserlohn is a small town set in the foothills of northwest Germany. Here, the German Army recently closed a base, which includes acres of training grounds. Locals now use the site for hiking and bicycling; it also houses the manufacturing, business and training center for Airmatic.

It is fitting that Airmatic set up shop on the old base because it has just rolled out a new wildfire apparatus: a converted German military tank.

Airmatic is a German company owned by inventor Hubert Schulte that got its start in the fire service with a line of vehicles used to clean hazardous materials off roads, such as fluids spilled after an auto accident. Those vehicles have two rotating sprayers that blast the road with high-pressure water and cleaner and a vacuum that removes the fluids. But the tank is a completely different animal. Where the street cleaners are about the size of a Zamboni, the tank is … well, a tank.

Airmatic bought surplus Marder A3 tanks from the German government, stripped them of weapons and armor, and installed collapsible water tanks and three nozzles. The tanks have fireproof plating, a 2,900-psi pump, onboard air supply and sprinklers, and a long-range nozzle that can shoot water more than 260 feet. Both the long-range and fog-pattern nozzles are mounted on a swivel base that can be pointed in any direction; both are controlled by a joystick remote controller. A third nozzle has two sprayers attached to a bar at the front of the tank; it is used to extinguish fire in the tank's path. There's also a hook up for a handline. The units require two operators: someone to drive and someone to work the nozzles, and they have a video system that allows the driver and nozzle operator to drive and extinguish while sealed inside. And for rescuing trapped firefighters or civilians, the water tanks can be dumped quickly to make room for as many as eight passengers.

In November, Airmatic hosted a demonstration in Iserlohn. A small group of us gathered in a field bordered by woods that was once used for military training — there was a film crew making a documentary, a local radio crew and government officials from Greece; the mayor of Istanbul and his delegation were held up at the Turkish border and did not attend as planned. There also was a terrorism expert from Northern Ireland inspecting the site for training; he stayed for the demonstration.

Airmatic employees propped up felled pine trees in a clearing on a rolling hill. Before the tank came into sight, we could hear the clacking of its rubber-shoed tracks on the asphalt road. These hard-rubber shoes keep the tracks from destroying the pavement and can be replaced when they wear down. The circle of trees then was lit.

Schulte, made a few passes by the onlookers and his nozzle operator shot a stream toward the top of the tree line. Once the fire caught, Schulte circled it and doused the fire with the long-range and fog-pattern nozzles. When it was nearly out, he slowly drove over it while hitting the pile with the front spray nozzles. There was another nearby pile of branches, limbs and trees that stacked maybe 10 feet tall. Schulte blazed the tank up and over the pile a few times to show what most already knew — these things were made to go through just about any obstacle.

The German government produced about 3,000 Marder tanks and, according to one source, it still owned 2,000 of them in 2006. The A3 model, which Airmatic uses, was rolled out in 1989. According to Germany's Department of Defense, the Marder weighs 33.5 tons, extends 22 feet long and 10.5 feet wide, could carry a crew of nine, and could reach a top speed of 40 mph. It also had a 20-mm gun that could fire off 1,000 rounds per minute and hit targets 6,500 feet away.

The retrofitted tank has a top speed of 50 mph and can carry one extra passenger. And instead of popping off 20-mm rounds or anti-tank missiles, the unit can blast its vortex jet at 79 gallons (300 liters) per minute for 30 minutes. At full jet, the unit can spray 26 gallons (100 liters) per minute for 90 minutes and the handline can operate at 13 gallons (50 liters) per minute for three hours. The front nozzles can spray continuously for two hours. The tank carries three water bladders that hold a combined 2,100 gallons (8,000 liters).

While kept in storage, these Marders were regularly maintained and the engines have less than 2,000 miles, Airmatic says.

Stefan Pöschel, Airmatic's chief marketing officer, says the Marder was selected because of its cargo capacity. To compete with other wildland firefighting apparatus, the tank had to be able to fight fires for an extended time.

Although price is always negotiable, the tanks will sell for less than $1 million each. Airmatic has no plans to open a manufacturing or distribution operation in the United States. Rather, if any orders come in, the tanks will be crated up and shipped. But, the company is more interested in selling its firefighting system than individual tanks.

The system calls for five tanks: four Marders for firefighting and one Leopard A2 for support and ground clearing. It also includes the company's portable water tanks that can hold between 13 and 65 cubic yards, or as much as 18,500 gallons. The company says two firefighters can erect a tank in 15 to 45 minutes depending on tank size.

Another component is a biological fire retardant and extinguishing agent called FireTex. Airmatic recommends blending one part FireTex to 20 parts water. This, Pöschel says, allows the tank to fight fires longer than it would using only water. The company claims it is 20 times more effective than water alone and that it is biodegradable and environmentally friendly.

Airmatic partnered with IQ Wireless, a Berlin-based surveillance technology company, for smoke and fire detection in forested areas. That system uses cameras mounted on towers throughout the forest. These cameras are linked back to a control center, which uses smoke-detecting software and global positioning technology. If a fire begins, there are pilotless drones and zeppelins with linked cameras that can beam back aerial images. Those images can be sent to both the control center and the tanks. The system is being used in Germany's Brandenburg forest. Company CEO Hisko Baas says there are 110 cameras covering 1 million square miles of forest. He says this system has cut observation staff by 25%.

Unlike the surveillance system, the tanks have not had any beta testing. Yet that hasn't stopped interest in these unconventional apparatus. In addition to the Greeks and the Turks, company officials say the Australian government is showing interest in the tanks.

But before Airmatic's tanks can invade America, they will have to scale obstacles larger than a 10-foot pile of debris. The cost of the system, let alone the units, will certainly be a barrier. Learning to operate the vehicles will be more difficult than conventional apparatus and they will have to be moved to the scene by truck. And the units will have to pass air-pollution standards, which Airmatic says they do. There also is the issue of parts and service. Yet those and other considerations aside, it is, at the least, a unique concept.