Ashton Amphibious Firefighting Vehicle Replica On Ebay

[x635 4,066]

Very cool replica, and I must say a very interesting piece of apparatus.

I wonder if these really existed, and how many were made and what departments had them?

If I had the money, I'd love to add it to my diecast collection!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ASHTON-FIRE-1984-AMPHI...ksid=p1638.m122

Ebay Item #: 170179252274

[xfirefighter484x 234]

Thought this unit looked familiar Seth. Although not in a firefighter mode, I found a thread from right after the major flooding earlier this year.

http://emtbravo.net/index.php?showtopic=17...bious&st=20

Page 2, JBE made a reply. This was a thread on "High Water Rescue Vehicles".

LARC I used to drive this one

They are a little slow, and may not handle that great, but it was awesome driving through Sea Bright during a Noreaster back in 95. I wish I had the picture of the actual one from Sandy Hook.

Edited December 27, 2007 by xfirefighter484x

[xfirefighter484x 234]

Those are cool! I saw one awhile back that had like a 1500 GPM pump a couple master stream monitors, and a couple suction lines running down off the side. Fentonfire.com said it would top out at 30 MPH land and 5 MPH sea.

Mike

Seeing that USCG rig, made me remember, wasn't it Miami that had the amphibious engine, back in the 1980's?

Edited December 27, 2007 by xfirefighter484x

[xfirefighter484x 234]

http://www.buyaduck.com/larcs.html

"L.A.R.C.s"

L.A.R.C. - stands for Lighter, Amphibious, Re-Supply, Cargo. Recently some people have employed poetic license and referred to the L.A.R.C. as meaning Lighter, Amphibious, Rescue, Craft.

After Word War II, the war analysts recognized that the D.U.K.W. had significant war time value and some shortcomings. They not only wanted to make improvements, but also desired to make the first integrally-designed truck and boat, from the ground up.

They commissioned Borg-Warner to do a 10-year study and to develop a new, state-of-the-art, properly engineered amphibian. During that time, nine prototypes were designed, built and tested. The final result was the only model commissioned for production -- "The L.A.R.C."!

Less than 1,000 were built. Approximately 550 went to Vietnam and did not return. The U.S. Government is believed to have approximately 85 in full service today and another 135 in a parts resource fleet. Over the years, some were given to coastal communities for search and rescue. Many have met an unknown fate. It is rumored that some were used for target practice and that some were cut up for the aluminum.

THE L.A.R.C. WAS THE LAST WHEELED AMPHIBIAN BUILT BY THE US GOVERNMENT AND IS STILL THE "STATE-OF-THE-ART" WHEELED AMPHIBIAN EMPLOYED BY THE MILITARY TODAY.

Many firms have converted L.A.R.C.s to passenger vessel use. The first documented conversion was done in 1994 -1995 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The LARC has since proven to be amenable to upgrades and improvements. The primary advantages to LARCs are

1. Longevity - because their hulls are aluminum, your investment does not rust out from under you;

2. Stability - the Government put the LARC through many years of testing and revisions to achieve maximum stability;

3. Engineering - no wheeled amphibian has had the level of professional engineering in development study, prototypes, testing, revision, documentation and construction as the Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo.

[lalautze 35]

Yes, there were a few of these used for fire & rescue. Miami had one as well as Milwaukee I believe. I would have to look through my books for further details but those are the two that I can think of.

[lalautze 35]

Ok - I've looked through my books. Tampa was the third city to use the LARC. LTI was the manufacturer that did the outfitting on the vehicles in the early 80's with pump capacities of 2500 to 3000gpm.

Books:

The History of Fire Engines by John Calderone

Fire Engines by Fred Crimson