Skid units are portable fire suppression devices that can be mounted on pickup trucks or other vehicles. They can hold up to 1,500 gallons of water or chemicals and extend firefighting capability at a lower cost than fire engines. Skid units can be designed for use with foam or other chemical fire suppression methods and can be installed on various vehicles, including ATVs for increased mobility in rough terrain. Some skid units also include life-saving equipment and can transport casualties out of hard-to-reach areas.
A skid unit is a type of portable fire suppression device that can be mounted to the bed of a pickup truck or other similar vehicle. These self-contained devices are designed to slide over the body of a vehicle normally used for other purposes to transform it into a highly mobile fire platform. Skid units can extend a fire department’s firefighting capability at a lower overall cost than purchasing a fire engine, but they can also be used to reach areas that larger fire trucks cannot. The size of a skid unit is limited only by the platform it is designed to be installed on and can hold 50 to 1,500 gallons (190 to 5,600 liters) of water. It is also possible for a skid unit to dispense firefighting chemicals instead of water.
Skid units can vary in complexity, although many consist of at least one water source, pump and hose. Other units are designed to use foam and other chemical fire suppression methods. A skid unit may be specifically designed to dispense class a or b foam, in which case it will have containers for foam concentrates in place of or in addition to the water. Other skid units use a dual agent fire suppression system (TAFES). In some hazardous applications, this use of dry chemicals and foam may be necessary to contain a fire.
The various components that make up a skid unit are typically mounted on a platform that can slide into the bed of a standard size pickup truck. There are also larger and smaller units designed for use with other commercially available vehicles. Very large skid units can be installed on flatbed trucks and typically have very large water tanks, and small units can be placed on the beds of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for increased mobility.
Forest services and other organizations often make use of small ATV-mounted units. These vehicles can handle rough terrain much better than pickup trucks and can often reach areas inaccessible to full-size fire engines. Some skid units designed for ATVs also include various life saving equipment that is typically carried by ambulances. These units also sometimes have the space to transport a casualty out of a hard-to-reach area and back to medical attention.
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