Allison Automatics help Australian Fire Service safely fight flames

Safer and more efficient operation has made Allison equipped bush fire trucks a preferred choice in the fire prone regions of one of Australia's driest states

ADELAIDE , Australia – The Country Fire Service (CFS) of South Australia has successfully trialed Allison automatic equipped Isuzu 4x4 and 6x4 rural fire trucks to make driving safer and easier in bush fire situations.

The CFS in South Australia currently has one Hino GT and six Isuzu FTS 800 4x4 trucks on its state-wide fleet, along with 14 Isuzu FVZ 1400 6x4 trucks helping fire fighters protect property across one of this country’s most bush fire prone states.

According to Sandy Patterson, the manager of Vehicles and Equipment for the South Australian CFS, the addition of the Allison equipped fire trucks has demonstrated important benefits in terms of safer operation, reduced driver fatigue and overall ease of driving in an emergency situation.

"Automatics are a real advantage in a bush fire brigade situation where we have a large number of drivers who may not be familiar with different vehicles and controls or where we have a wide range of driver experience and skills," said Sandy Patterson.

"The Automatics are better and faster from a cold start up which is important when the brigade is responding to an urgent emergency fire call. They are also easier and safer to operate at a slow walking pace which is a situation that often arises with a bush fire where fire fighters are walking alongside the truck extinguishing grass fires and embers, during back burns and while mopping up after a fire has passed through," he said.

"The other area where the Allison automatics have excelled is in an emergency situation where drivers don't have to worry about gear changes and can keep both hands on the wheel for better control of the truck, enabling them to concentrate on getting to the fire situation faster and safer," he added.

South Australia's vastly arid outback regions pose many challenges for bush fire fighters, not the least being the many sandy tracks through semi-desert areas across the state. The CFS automatic Isuzu and Hino 4x4 dual cab trucks weigh in at 12.5 tonnes with a crew of six, a 3000 litre water tank, fire fighting pumps and equipment on board.

"In sandy conditions, the automatics work much better than a manual with less chance of the truck being stuck in the soft sand. In an emergency situation, this is vital," Patterson added.

About the SA Country Fire Service

The SA Country Fire Service (CFS) is a volunteer based, fire and emergency service dedicated to protecting life, property and environmental assets in regional and semi-metropolitan South Australia. It supports approximately 15,000 volunteers and has a permanent staff of 110, providing a range of fire and emergency services to more than 434 communities across the state and operates a fleet of more than 800 vehicles.

About Allison Transmission Allison Transmission is the world’s largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. military vehicles and hybrid-propulsion systems for transit buses. Allison transmissions are used in a variety of applications including on-highway trucks (distribution, refuse, construction, fire and emergency), buses (primarily school and transit), motor homes, off-highway vehicles and equipment (primarily energy and mining) and military vehicles (wheeled and tracked). Founded in 1915, the Allison business is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. and employs approximately 2,750 people. Regional headquarters with dedicated support staff are located in China, The Netherlands, Brazil, India and Japan. With a global presence in 80 countries, Allison has over 1,500 independent distributor and dealer locations. More information about Allison is available at www.allisontransmission.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plans," "project," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," “intend,” “forecast,” “could,” "potential," "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar terms or phrases. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks. Factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made include, but are not limited to: our participation in markets that are competitive; general economic and industry conditions; our ability to prepare for, respond to and successfully achieve our objectives relating to technological and market developments and changing customer needs, the discovery of defects in our products, resulting in delays in new model launches, recall campaigns and/or increased warranty costs and reduction in future sales or damage to our brand and reputation; the concentration of our net sales in our top five customers and the loss of any one of these; and labor strikes, work stoppages or similar labor disputes, which could significantly disrupt our operations or those of our principal customers. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All information is as of the date of this press release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in expectations.

###

Media Enquiries

Press Enquiries
Claire Dumbreck, Propel Technology, Bloxham Mill, Barford Road, Bloxham, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK, OX15 4FF. 44 (0)1295 724130 / 44 (0) 7768 773857. claire@propel-technology.com

Tags: