The San Bernardino County Fire Department is proud to announce the newest addition to the dozer program. County Fire has accepted delivery of a brand new Bulldozer to replace an older model and add some much needed upgrades. The new dozer is a 2014 Caterpillar D6N XL model, and comes equipped as a fire service rated tractor equipped with the forestry package, making it capable of deployment to any wildfire. The new piece of equipment will replace a 1968 D6C model dozer.
While the older dozer provided many years of great service for the department, the new one comes with technology that can help the operator perform more efficient work in less time. The new model is also ‘greener’, exceeding all U.S. EPA Tier 4 Interim and EU Stage IIIB emission and noise specifications. This allows for a smaller carbon footprint, more efficient fuel consumption, and lower cost of ownership. The list of newer technologies is long, but some notable features are: a new Variable Pitch Angle Tilt (VPAT) blade, a winch rated at 54,000 lbs., electronic steering, throttle, and transmission, and a fully enclosed operator’s station with full electronic display.
County Fire’s main priority is always safety, and this dozer delivers in that area very well. Robust rollover protection will help prevent injury to the operator in the unlikely event it happens. Communication is also a priority on all fires, and the fully enclosed operator’s station is capable of running radios, wireless phones, and laptop computers to keep the operator informed on tactics and hazards. The dozer is also compact enough to be transported to a fire without a pilot car. This substantially increases response times and cuts down on costs as well.
The SBCoFD Dozer Program has a growing roster of three experienced operators and sixteen dozer operator assistants, called ‘swampers’, that deploy with the dozer and are the operator’s eyes on the ground. With the addition of this dozer, there are now two dozers under ten years old, two transports, and a front-loader tractor. San Bernardino County Fire is proud and excited to see the department’s newest asset help save life and property.
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