How a Fire Engine Works

An in-depth, x-ray style look inside a fire engine or "pumper truck".
PATREON
Help me keep making videos:
/ animagraffs
PRIVATE WORK
Need 3D illustration and animation? Let's chat:
animagraffs.com/contact/
LICENSE Animagraffs' work for your own purposes
animagraffs.com/licensing/
WEBSITE
See more explanations of how things work:
animagraffs.com/
SOFTWARE USED
I use Blender 3D to create these models. It's free and open source, and the community is amazing:
www.blender.org/
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:23 Exterior
1:34 Pump panel
3:58 Pump
5:03 Master stream
5:41 Water tank
6:23 Rear storage
9:40 Drafting
10:03 Cab
Correction:
0:10 Before commenting, check the top pinned "VIDEO CORRECTIONS" thread.

[@animagraffs]

VIDEO CORRECTIONS (compiled from viewer comments): From user "Mike Gasking" 4:28 It is possible to have a 3,000 GPM pump (or even more on an industrial pumper for a refinery, etc.) but it would be uncommon on a pumper like this one, it would be more commonly 1,500gpm these days From user "SpartacusColo": 7:11 SCBA's are filled with breathing air: the same ambient air we all breath. They are not oxygen tanks. Please add your comments to this thread to help others learn accurate info!

[@animagraffs]

From user "Ryan Wood": Boosters are usually only 1 inch and the crosslays go from 1.5” to 3” but 3 is Usually used as supply. The deck gun can not create a head barrier. Radiant will go right through it. It’s why water curtains are no longer a thing. Also the reason we don’t go in with a master stream is that it will steam us out and hurt us because there is no control on how it disrupts the thermal layer of the fire.

[@thomasstuart2936]

The standard ladder complement on an Engine (as opposed to a Ladder or Rescue truck) is usually one 24' extension ladder, one 14' roof ladder (with roof hooks) and one 10' folding or "attic" ladder. Often this will be complemented with a 17'or 22' "Little Giant" style ladder. The 24' and 14' ladders are rated to 750 vertical pounds, more than twice that of standard ladders and can be used for bridging gaps. All Ground ladders are tested annually to ensure they meet NFPA standards.

[@thomasstuart2936]

While you mention that 1500 gpm is the common flow, you neglected to state that the full flow rating is at 150 psi pressure. Pumps are certified at the factory for full flow at 150 psi, 70% flow at 200 psi and 50% flow at 250 psi. These flows are tested and re-certified annually. Primer devices on the pumps are rated for 21" of vacuum.

[@oillipheist]

can you do a post van next

[@masternobody1896]

@@animagraffs you are a legend please make a engineering full course in plane, rockets and stuff in youtube

[@ronaiosa126]

As a firefighter for the last 10 years, I was expecting another wildly inaccurate video with information from who knows where, but I couldn’t believe how accurate this was (concerning the apparatus and pump) Fantastic job

[@legen_dary42]

As a volunteer on a rural department, I can't tell you how jealous I was of that truck 😄

[@Qualls_MD]

@@legen_dary42 "Anything other than a trash or vehicle fire they connect to a hydrant" lol I wish we had hydrants. We shuttle water in tankers and use drop tanks.

[@112chapters3]

Jeeez how big da fire???

[@manojmahtoxyz4865]

J

[@vikingitis286]

I am pursuing fire engineering...could you refer any source of guide to fire fighting apparatus...like this video ...

[@jrbowlder]

I’ll be showing this to our students at our next Engineering class. Awesome work.

[@garrettgold]

Man thanks for being an awesome teacher

[@epicn]

You seem like a cool teacher, keep it up

[@koonkar]

Tqsm sir for showing this in our class. But I have already seen this 😅

[@akshatgupta8787]

@@koonkar bhai aap India se ho kya

[@uppercutgrandma4425]

Show them how to make robot wimmin! Japan can't win this race!!

[@samus318]

I could tell within 10 seconds that I would be watching this repeatedly with my 3 year old! Thank you so much for the dedication it takes to put one of these together

[@mercbenz5885]

Exactly.....the video was interesting...

[@DHunter_47]

The Kingdom of God is at Hand John 3:16 King James Version 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

[@FF5754]

Been a firefighter, driver engineer for 14 years. Love the old Q too. The air horn and Q are controlled by a foot pedal from either driver or officer side of our engine. Our engine is all manual, no electronics on our operator panel. This video is pretty modern, looked like a universal storz fitting in front driver compartment. We draft alot and do shuttles from tankers, not many fire hydrants here. When we draft a real pond we use a large screw on strainer. Great video!!!

[@mihail0431]

How often do firefighters respond to fires in lets say a year. Do you just train for long periods of time withoit any action or is there actually a lot of work on a weekly basis?

[@rkrchada8455]

It's a very advanced upgradation in terms of present scenario......with the limited man power by using in the difficult situation the fire engine work's to control the fire, And reloads the tank with advanced suction pumps at the water source available near the incident happened..... V needs this for india

[@literalantifaterrorist4673]

@@mihail0431 roughly 80% of fire department calls are for medical responses. 10% are rescue calls like car accidents, and the other 10% are actual fires.

[@Roberta_Esposito]

@@mihail0431depends on Dept and location Boston and Providence respond to 1 call/day avg. thats avg for All locations

[@Roberta_Esposito]

@@mihail0431volunteers normally have at least 1 “ training day” per week. there are way more volunteers than paid FFs in US

[@OldTimerGamer-pr3ow]

Excellent video of the basic functions of a fire engine. The rest of us who actually drive and work on them will always have some additional info to share. But this is great info for public knowledge.

[@ENGSTROM79]

No halligan bar!?!

[@mightymystery9204]

@@ENGSTROM79 From the point of view of tradition, he was right to leave it out of the gear bay. The device, invented by a fire captain, had to be custom made. Although now purpose-manufactured, the halligan is still a personal purchase, and the firefighter will have it in cabin. I saw an excellent irrodescent halligan on the hands of one of our local aerial crews. Progressive as the department was, he admitted that he had to buy it himself.

[@EaglemanF3OX]

@@mightymystery9204 Where the hell are you that FF's are buying halligan's themself? My dept has at least 2 on every apparatus. Never heard of any dept not providing any of the basic hand tools.

[@leondillon8723]

Can they claim a deduction on their income tax?@@mightymystery9204

[@thomasmcmahan2014]

I’m watching this after just having checked off a fire truck just like the one in the video. I’ve got to say, as someone who drives one of these for a living, you’ve nailed this video. The animation, the terminology, the descriptions and uses. This video was actually spot on with how a fire truck really is, even down to the individual tools. Not to mention you talking about the different fire extinguishers, a small detail but a thorough one you did. Fantastic job with this video, and all the research that has to go into it!

[@thomasmcmahan2014]

Edit: I will say one thing that needs clarification, the SCBA tanks/air packs are just plain air and are not oxygen. The bottles are filled with the same air you breathe regularly, and not pure oxygen.

[@DHunter_47]

The Kingdom of God is at Hand John 3:16 King James Version 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

[@elliotmarks06]

The detail in the modeling and texturing for these videos is INSANE! Nice job!

[@prodigy0311]

You can clearly see the time and dedication you put into this. Mad respect

[@jonshort6709]

I'm an emergency vehicle technician, doing service and maintenance on fire trucks and rescue equipment for the city's fire departments. Of course all trucks are custom built for each fire department, but I'm impressed on how accurate this video is. You even correctly identified each individual part of the truck. Very cool!

[@danielnembhard9651]

This was incredibly legit! I was a firefighter for nine years. I wish this was available when I began training on the pumpers. I’m very interested in sailing someday. Could you please make a video on how modern sailboats work?

[@JDnBeastlet]

Extremely well done - the level of detail is excellent, the flow of information is thorough and smooth, and the audio is great. A quality production - thanks for sharing!

[@KB-gd6fc]

Been a firefighter for 14 years and I learned something from this. Excellent job on this video.

[@azuldiablo18]

This should be shown at all intro to pump classes. Fantastic video. Being able to see individual components in their correct spots will make learning the basics of a pump much easier to understand. Great work!

[@abracadaverfox]

This is so beautifully made, and the descriptions are deep and on point! Thank you a ton!

[@rkkastarshina3989]

Great video! I'm a german firefighter and I'd love to see a video of a german fire truck (best choice would be an HLF) I can already tell you some things: German fire trucks are usually packed with a LOT more eqipment, therefore have smaller water tanks (in our station both LF and HLF carry 2000l of water, and 150-200l extinguishing foam) In germany, every fire truck with a pump has it on the back. The crew cabin reach from 6 to 9 seats, 6 is called a ''Staffel'' and 9 is called a ''Gruppe". In our station, LF and HLF both are Gruppen-vehicles, one driver, one officer/group-leader and 3 troops of 2 firefighters with each troop having their own task. The design of the vehicles is also different of course

[@bobszabo7387]

The rebreathers ( or long duration scba) are usually used in a cooler enviornment such as work in a tunnel. The air you rebreathe tends to be warmer ,warmed by body heat. The standard scba bottle has a duration of 30 minutes, if you aren't working. a more realistic duration is usually about 15-20 minutes ( speaking from 40 + years experience ). Also as the air decompresses it cools. So you are breathing about 60 degree air regardless of the surrounding temperatures ( as high as 500 degrees for a short time in a structure fire interior attack). This does help to keep you cool as you work. I've seen bottles breathed down in as little as 10 minutes, usually by rookies in their first time in training and the bottles will actually ice up on the bottle.

[@user-xu3gy7ib5j]

This is great! Back in the day we had to rely on the instructor drawing on the board to show the PTO and Impellers. I would have understood it better and quicker had a video like this been available. You have created a wonderful training tool for firefighters.

[@selimhassairi1744]

Animagraffs, once again, coming in hot with answers to the questions we've all had at some point in our lives but that were left unanswered

[@rexpayne7836]

Another great video and presentation. Great work. 😊

[@jamesbronson8713]

Amazing 3D work; I started doing 3D construction using main frame computers in 1982 for GE Nuclear Energy Division, which at the time was only 3D wireframe. This sort of imaging and animation was something we could only dream of...

[@Aitelly]

Wow you are a legend ! Great to hear some of your Stories. Because 7 years we had to use CPU rendering but now due to the technology we use Blender EEVEE renderer through Graphics Card which is 90 times faster .

[@jorgemartiperez4747]

I discovered this channel some months ago and I've been having a blast watching all your videos. I was thinking, would you mind doing something like a Q&A someday? I would love to know what programs you use, how much time you put into these animations, if you get help from anyone and so on. Keep the content coming, this is the high quality part of youtube and I couldn't thank you enough for giving us the opportunity to enjoy these videos for free, all the luck!!

[@ryanwood7112]

Boosters are usually only 1 inch and the crosslays go from 1.5” to 3” but 3 is Usually used as supply. The deck gun can not create a heat barrier. Radiant heat will go right through it. It’s why water curtains are no longer a thing. Also the reason we don’t go in with a master stream is that it will steam us out and hurt us because there is no control on how it disrupts the thermal layer of the fire.

[@sbdftw1702]

Crosslays and the jumpline at my department are 1 3/4 inch hoses. Our pumpers also have 5 inch and 3 inch supply lines in the hose bed, as well as a rear discharge with 2.5 inch hose. But most pumpers are widely configurable when being built.

[@dogmug7708]

This was really good. Every academy should watch this the first day.

[@DropBear69]

Insanely good animations on this channel. Well researched topics and very educational. Thank you Jacob!

[@hobbesip1]

Excellent video. This is the first video about fire trucks I have found that actually dig into the engineering panel and pump, and illustrates the water tank and various hose connectors. Bonus insight to the various tools and hardware placement.

[@sand4684]

I am so glad I discovered this channel; the production value and information packed into each video is incredible! Could you do a video on how motorcycles work next?

[@gabrielamancio6286]

Not only the information is the best quality but also the animation! Great video!

[@mc_double]

Thanks for the amazing content, man!

[@elymcdonald7141]

Bravo sir for your detailed yet not dry breakdown of these vehicles!! I'm absolutely stunned by the detail and information you convey. Awesome job keep doin what you do. Honestly I'm stunned and fascinated at the extra detail that I've never known. Thank You

[@Marshaze1]

A great overview of a standard pumper. Towers and Ladders would be an interesting follow-up to this!

[@williamcranmer9778]

This is very cool! I have always wondered how it worked! The quality of these animations are crazy!! It must have taken you lots of your time and focus to make. Thank you! Edit: 21 likes!! Wow! This is the most likes I have ever had! Thanks everyone! Edit: 33 likes! Wow! Edit: 47 likes!!!!!!! Thank y’all so much! This is crazy! Edit: 53 likes already! Wow I am shocked at how many likes I have gotten from this. Edit: 102 likes!!!! I never thought I would ever get this many in my life! Thank you so much everyone! Edit: 133 likes!!! Thank you so much! I bet I will never get this many likes again, so thanks everyone for helping me achieve this! Edit: 144 likes! This is unbelievable! 150 likes!

[@rang5210]

Make that 47 likes... 👍👏👏👏

[@burntsouffle]

i disliked it so you don't have to come back again for a while.

[@mahmutkandara3497]

@@burntsouffle LOL

[@prakgm4235]

u reached 150 likes

[@alanc.4437]

I appreciate this informative and interesting clips that providing an accurate and varied fire engine and pump mechanism in fire fighting in real. Way to go, Jake !

[@farmer87yj]

found your channel today ..i think you will go far there have been so many things that ive said or searched for an animated videos of how things work ..keep up the great work

[@dad-ms8mz]

Thank you 💞 For providing some great Information ❤

[@legoadan]

Awesome as always!! I hope your videos stay in-depth! That's my favorite thing about them, I like learning about every single little thing-even if it takes a long time.

[@pjsmith6954]

I cannot believe how consistently good these videos are. amazing work!

[@davidedutremblay5050]

Absolutely fantastic I can’t imagine the research and development work that must go into your masterpieces. Thoroughly enjoyable and informative.

[@kuriz7004]

This is a great explanation of a fire truck, it explains everything

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

These are amazing the amount of work going into it deserves a lot of respect

[@JFANDHISPEOPLE]

Put together seamless, great job

[@thomasmikalishen6515]

Amazing presentation! As someone who loves learning, this was a very detailed and engaging video, and my 2½ son who loves firetrucks was locked to the screen.

[@Coolielocal]

Ive learnt so much from your video mate. Please keep them coming, theyre incredible

[@bronzetoothbrush6825]

Awesome video . Great detail was put into this . A bit more to add . Of course this is a standard engine so it doesn’t have everything but I know that in the video it neglected to say we almost always carry a pair of what we call the “married irons” or flat head axe and halligan , as well as we typically carry chocks for the wheels of the truck or for a vehicle accident where the cars on its wheels ( even tho we don’t always use them in either scenario ) . Safety vests , a cooler filled with ice and water sometimes and spare SCBA bottles also . And I may have been confused but near the end when you were talking about the hose size you mentioned us carrying 1 1/2 , I don’t know anyone in America that uses that size , we use 1 3/4 . A booster line is an 1 in I believe , you also got 2 1/2 for the big boys . Those are all attack lines . Not to mention the view you showed was the supply hose which is 3in and 5in variety , the length and amount was accurate tho but the sizes felt off .

[@akiraak2247]

thank you for your hard work, that was just great

[@gaberthesnipergaming8335]

Fire Engines are impressive, but I think I'm even more impressed by the amount of quality details both in the animation as well as the research! Koodos

[@user-en1yy1ov4s]

Great info, thanks!!

[@gregvinson1]

These animigraff videos are such a great idea and so well done. I have watched several, all very interesting.

[@gd.m.2236]

Great job! Thanks for making this thing in detail.

[@johnnyringdoe]

Great Job on this video. I’ve been a firefighter for over 10 year and this is a great learning tool. I’ll be using this video for my students who plan on coming into the fire service. Kudos to you.

[@trob0914]

Nicely done, with a few exceptions already mentioned, you nailed most of the basics with none of the extraneous comments!

[@thebestofj.fraley]

Retired Payson FF/EMT. Very good job on this set up. Every department, even every Engine can be set up for different types of tasks. Some areas might have their apparatus carry more Wildland gear during the Summer months. Some also carry foam for hard airport landings. My Engine EP 121 at station 12 right by the Payson airport. We had to have AFFF on board, plus because we were a Paramedic unit, we had to have one compartment strictly for medical calls. We had to rig up a heating pad in that compartment to keep the IV fluids warm in Winter. We also had to keep backboards, KED devices, MAST pants. Our apparatus all had 5' supply hoses. Not fun to lug around after a fire when you feel like you been through Hell and back. God I miss it!!!

[@SpartacusColo]

Just a note: SCBA's are filled with breathing air: the same ambient air we all breath. They are not oxygen tanks.

[@Roberta_Esposito]

ikr

[@Roberta_Esposito]

“ Cylinders” 😹

[@genericasianperson6405]

Guess it makes sense an oxygen tank would probably make the fire worse

[@SpartacusColo]

@@genericasianperson6405 It probably wouldn't affect the fire so much, but it would be an ignition source at your face: the seal between mask and face will slip from time to time. It's also just not necessary to use pure oxygen: you just need regular air to breath.

[@djsalose]

@@SpartacusColo its also not healty to breath O2 for a long time

[@asimgilani5727]

Salute to your dedication and hard work. Amazing content and detail as always.

[@ravvenhawk1110]

I know there is a lot of work and dedication in this video, thank you very much sir for all of these efforts. I really appreciate it.

[@Myshit76155]

Please don't stop.... Literally LOVE ALL of your videos and have been looking for a channel as such, for quite some time.

[@felipel.r.637]

More than a technical video, this is a piece of art. The Airplane video was also jaw-dropping. Thank you very much for your time and effort.

[@Kyle_Evers]

Great video man. Thorough but to the point, great models for visuals, easy to follow.

[@aquatone327]

Your videos are great quality content and very informing. Thank you for the time you put into these!

[@theamaturepro]

Jake, this is the first time I've seen your work and I'm blown away with your work. You're one of the handful of "content creators" that actually creates. The time you've invested in this video is beyond what I can begin to guess at. I hope you're making bank and having the time of your life!

[@brianb-p6586]

The illustration is very clear. It would be nice to mention, when pump drive is introduced 24:07 and following, that the gears (which are nicely shown) step the speed up from the driveshaft speed to the higher speed that the pump needs to be effective.

[@HTX-pk6mu]

Not only is your animation outstanding, so is your narration

[@bobvines00]

The Fire Department at the Naval Air Station where I worked used "purple stuff" (a term used by some of the Firefighters there) for metal fires, but since it was a Class D compound, I can see how I could have made a mistake trying to use Purple-K on a metal fire in my workshop. I'm glad I checked!

[@davey1044]

Simple and great quality, keep it up! I suggest detailing a plane model or a fire fighting aircraft.

[@JohnSmith-lw2bm]

Those “oxygen” bottles are really air bottles, or scba. Self contained breathing apparatus. Oxygen bottles have 100% oxygen and are green in color. Those are air bottles with 20.8% oxygen and remainder nitrogen. Just like the air here on earth.

[@ianray8823]

Your narration as well as animations are A++

[@kingapplefruit9427]

Very high quality and detailed info, implimentation of rectifications is also gr8, Thx this really help understand the topic well

[@Daemonpool65]

What put you up to these? These are amazing man, holy. Thank you for this content. It serves more than a wide range of people.

[@jakewebber4567]

To get more specific on the “Q” siren: The most common type of mechanical emergency siren is the Model Q2B, made by Federal Signal corporation. The way it works, is an electric motor spins an impeller inside a stator at a very high rpm. The stator has a specific number of holes. The more holes, the higher pitch of a tone the siren has. (on the Q, I believe it’s 16), and the impeller is shaped to cover those holes simultaneously. The centrifugal forces from the high RPM spinning causes a vacuum effect, pulling air in and through the holes, in which the impeller “slices” the air. It’s the same principle that applies when you talk through a fan. There’s literally thousands upon thousands of makes and models, with the Q2B being only one of literally numerous different models from Federal Signal alone.

[@iAMxplosiff]

Very good video, stumbled across it randomly but very well animated and very well presented! Great work!

[@ElDarren]

Excellent 3d modeling and gear breakdown!

[@MinionInc]

That was cool to watch!! Thank you!! Keep 'em coming!!

[@ericmwangi1140]

Very impressive explanation and presentation. Great work.....Never dissappointed.

[@cleyshoncleet3905]

Great illustrations and explanations!! Plz keep the videos coming

[@user-bp8yg3ko1r]

Incredibly animated, bravo!

[@scottlazar9731]

I'm showing this to every rookie the first week for the rest of my career. Phenomenal overview of a fire engine

[@afeefali9933]

Thank you brother for the awesome creation.❤

[@NeonDreams7]

I enjoyed this video. It was well thought out from an instructor sense and did not get "in to the weeds" with specifics or details. We could really go deep with specifics and exact PSI ratings and GPM but that isn't what this video is meant to convey and there would be 100+ varants of this animation. It is a struggle and balance to build a training model and storyboard it while trying to keep variations "generalized" to not put everyone to sleep. Thanks for sharing!

[@Sweetz_]

I don't no how long these take to make but please please never stop making them..... There sooooo good and interesting!!!!!!!

[@live4life767]

Jake, Another awesome job! Thank you😃

[@RahulSharma-lw3ei]

Unbelievable! Beautiful Animation ❤

[@davidbehrend7054]

Many apparatus also carry great lengths of large diameter hose (i.e. 5 inch) in the hose bed to connect to fire hydrants. Great video.

[@theociba3762]

This video about answered most questions I had about a fire truck. Very cool.

[@Nakira2000]

Excellent video, i learned a lot from this. And your corrections comments was also very well informative keep up the great work. 💕

[@fermleegrasspit2187]

Thank you for this very informative

[@dhananjayapuvvala5092]

Excellent Explanation with animation.

[@wyskass861]

Great video as always. To add, in larger cities with more equipment, the fire "engine" will have less structural entry equipment and more hoses so be more specialized since there also be "trucks" which are used for resque and building entry. The engine operators are tasked with delivering water, while the truck people finding people and dealing with structures. There are also ladder trucks which extend their trailer configuration ladders and can hook up to water from the engine. Smaller departments will need to do more of the job off one vehicle more like this one.

[@jcoop4298]

Jake; Really enjoy your videos man. I haven’t got a clue how much time it must take to get the graphics so smooth and accurate but I bet it’s an age. Great content man. Educational and interesting. Keep churning it out. Jc

[@shaulhameedshaik1613]

Really great clarification sir

[@viewfromthefrontseat5338]

Fantastic job describing a fire engine!!!

[@krisgeorge8201]

This was sent to me from my diesel tech mechanic son who works on fire engines and ambulances, I've always been extremely interested in everything shown in this video, truly LOVED THIS. Very informative, Thank you!!! 🥰

[@muhamadirfaan3329]

This so cool. In my country we even got specialize fire appliance vehicles. First its a LFAV (light firefighter attack vehicle) or red rhino. Its a small vehicle that seats 3 -4 firemen. Basically a offroad buggy fire engine and also fire bike

[@fyerfyter339]

A great representation of a basic type 1 engine with some incorrect info. I suggest providing a disclaimer in beginning which points this out because of different variations, types, and uses. Excellent animation!

[@rocketranger9375]

Your channel and work is so amazing. Thanks a lot!

[@hannnahmax7353]

Happy that I have found your channel keep up the good work much love 💓

[@jibguy2003]

Awesome description. Thanks.

[@Be_humble707]

Beautiful executed video for a dummy like me ....what precision with amination and graphics with ease and total clarity and the pace of speech to match the content , Well done team koodos ❤❤❤

[@constantinvasiliev2065]

Amazing. Thank you!

[@ell6323]

your channel is gonna blow tf up, just keep doing what youre doing 🧡

[@stephenhood2948]

Man, I cannot get enough of this channel!!