Well-designed quick-attack pumpers can perform lots of jobs. Driving them off road to fight brush fires isn’t one of them. Here are some suggestions on where they should — and should not — be used.

Small pumpers have been around for decades. The mini-pumper concept was popular in the 1970s, and some departments still use that term. Before that, they were called squads, booster pumpers and other names. The general reasoning behind their use was that most fires don’t require a full-size pumper to respond. Rather than tie up the entire crew and wear out an expensive apparatus, departments could dispatch one or two people in a smaller pumper to handle the job. There also was the feeling that smaller pumpers could get to the scene quicker and could maneuver more easily in places with limited access than a large pumper.

Some of these reasons proved themselves over time, while others did not. The argument that quick-attack pumpers could get to the scene faster than large pumpers was false and simply encouraged unsafe driving practices. All emergency vehicles, large and small, still have to maneuver through traffic at a safe speed and with proper caution for other vehicles. On the other hand, smaller pumpers could handle a lot of non-fire calls and could often go where larger ones could not, and that proved beneficial in some situations.

One of the best applications for quick attack pumpers is as general first-response apparatus in departments with limited staffing where most of the calls are for emergency medical and minor rescue incidents. In these cases, a quick attack has sufficient compartment space for the required gear and can provide firefighting capabilities, if needed. It allows the on-duty or first-arriving personnel to respond immediately before the remaining personnel arrive to staff other emergency vehicles as required. Departments need to establish standard operating procedures to ensure that all structure fire responses include the required number of engines and ladders on the first alarm to gain credit from the Insurance Services Office. Calling for additional units once the quick-attack crew reaches the scene and sizes up the fire is not sufficient and will not gain full credit.

Another good place for quick attack pumpers is any situation where access is limited. This might be a height, width or length limitation such as parking structures with low overhead clearances or narrow driveways on steep hillsides. It may also be a weight limitation such as private bridges to isolated residential areas. Some departments equip quick attack pumpers with several hundred feet of large-diameter supply hose and pre-plumbed monitors to deliver water from a pumper in the street to an isolated structure in a restricted location.

One place where quick attack pumpers do not work is driving off graded roadways to attack wildland fires on uneven ground. Quick attacks aren't built to provide adequate ground clearance or angles of approach and departure to negotiate across off-road terrain. They also often lack the side-slope stability to traverse hillsides safely.

Another place where these pumpers should not be used is attacking structure fires without support from additional units. As their name suggests, quick attack pumpers are designed to make quick attacks on fires with a limited pump flowrate, limited amount of water and limited equipment. Trying to use them for standalone, sustained structural fire suppression is not effective and potentially can place firefighters in jeopardy.

Quick-attack pumpers fall under the requirements of the NFPA 1901, Automotive Fire Apparatus, which classifies them as initial-attack fire apparatus. These requirements include a minimum pump rating of 250 gpm at 150 psi and a minimum tank capacity of 200 gallons. Other requirements include 300 feet of 2½ inch or larger hose, 400 feet of 1½ inch or larger hose and one 12-foot ground ladder. Ground clearance is only eight inches, compared to the 9- to 15-inch clearance required by NFPA 1906 for wildland apparatus. The angles of approach and departure are only 8°, compared to 20° for wildland rigs.

If your department could use a small, lightweight unit with the ability to handle many different calls, perhaps a quick-attack pumper is an economical, effective solution.