Isuzu tanker at the ready

Managing wild fire risk across a territory the size of Luxembourg takes good planning, hard work and, above all, dependable, trustworthy equipment.

With responsibility for over 600,000 acres of valuable plantation land, it's understandable that Hancock Victoria Plantations (HVP) takes its management of fire risk very seriously.

So much so, the Melbourne-based company has developed seven Forest Industry Brigades or FIBs, which come under the umbrella of the Victorian Country Fire Authority.

These trained brigades are dotted strategically across Victoria and provide joint fire suppression and prevention activities, training and safety management.

Their main aim is managing fire risk facing not only their plantation assets, but also surrounding communities and private land holdings. To do so effectively, the FIBs need trusted, specialised equipment that gets the job done and keeps the crew safe.

That's a big part of the reason HVP's Gippsland Fire Coordinator, Maarty Krygsman, looked to Isuzu Trucks when searching for a tough 4x4 tanker to complement existing Toyota LandCruiser 'slip-on' units.

"Traditionally, we used the bigger tanker trucks that carry between 3000 and 6000 litres on the back, but their abilities in certain terrain were limited," Maarty said.

"We then moved to 400-litre slip-ons that went onto the back of Toyota LandCruisers, before we recently acquired the Isuzu NPS 300 4x4, and the boys absolutely love it.

"It's extremely versatile and it holds a huge 1800 litres on the back, but it can go anywhere where the smaller 4x4s can go, which makes it so valuable. It carries a lot of water for its size, so it's the first out the door these days… it's very popular with the guys."

HVP is Australia's largest private timber plantation company, owned jointly by superannuation and investment funds both in the United States and at home in Australia.

Directly employing some 450 people, their plantations supply approximately three million tonnes of hardwood, namely eucalyptus, and softwood (pine) to pulp paper mills, sawmills and panel producers across Australia and internationally.

HVP replaces half-a-billion dollars of potential forest product imports into Australia every year, so it's very big business with plenty at stake.

The NPS was recently utilised by HVP and the CFA on a fuel reduction burn just outside the town of Tyers in the Gippsland region in Victoria's south-east.

With only a few outings under its belt, the NPS was in for a solid test, with an area of 50-odd acres of native bush to be managed.

"It's not easy terrain and we encountered some steep unmade trails, but the Isuzu performed fantastically," Maarty said.

The NPS 300 4x4 is powered by a 5.2-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine supplying a handy 114kW at 2600rpm and 419Nm in the 1600 to 2600rpm band.

Abundant power at all four wheels means the HVP tanker can forge further into a fire front whilst carrying all the safety and fire suppression gear of a larger truck.

"In the past we've had a lot of clutch problems, but with the smaller Isuzu, it handles just like a standard 4x4, so no one's had any troubles operating it. They love driving it – they say it handles as well as any four-wheel drive – so they'd rather jump in this truck over anything else."

The truck's safety features include driver and passenger airbags, anti-lock brakes, a hill start aid and an ECE-R29 compliant cabin, which together make for safe and reliable commuting both on and off-road. This particular truck also benefits from some specialised safety equipment tailor made for its role.

"We installed fire curtains that drop down in the event of a burn over," said Maarty.

"We've got a sprinkler system in place as well, so the whole cabin is flushed with water if a fire comes over the top, and we've installed fire blankets in the cab that the boys can get under too. We're well covered in a fire safety sense."

And it’s precisely that coverage and peace of mind that's critical when lives and property are on the line.

Indeed, for Maarty and HVP, it's their trust in proven, reliable and dependable capital equipment that'll see their assets protected and their people safe.

"Simply speaking, Isuzu puts out a fantastic truck and, importantly, it meets all the standards for firefighting that we require. For the guys, it is the first truck they jump into every time, so that's saying a lot."