Fighting brush fires

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Another dry weather day around the Wabash Valley, and with no big rain falls expected anytime soon, local fire departments are gearing up for a dangerously dry summer.

Departments will see more brush fires over the next several weeks, but fighting those fires with a usual engine truck is nearly impossible. That makes it' easy to see why some local departments opt for something a little smaller.

"We can drive this [brush] truck across fields and assist in putting out brush fires," said Honey Creek Fire Deputy Chief Tom High.

The specialized engine makes it possible to get to some of those hard to reach places.

"It's a one ton truck, so it's a lot lighter than our aerials or our engines."

It still has the amenities of the trademark fire truck and then some.

"One of the other firefighting tools is we have spray booms on [the front of the truck]. "

Brush Engine "93" is the only one of it's kind for this department, but in a drought stage like this, it will see very little rest between brush fires.

"They can get quite big extremely fast because of the dry conditions," High said.

Burn bans drastically decreased the department’s runs.

Even though it's not ideal, officials hope many will stray away from fires.

"If at all possible, try not to burn, but if you have to, follow the rules."

When it's needed, the Brush engine makes fighting those unconfined flames much safer.

Fire officials say they're already anticipating a very busy 4th of July.