SCFC Wildfire Response Arsenal Showcase

South Carolina Forestry Commission officials celebrated the attainment of the agency’s 160^thenclosed-cab bulldozer March 3 with a VIP/media event at Jim Hamilton-LB Owens Airport.

With its most recent purchase of 11 new Caterpillar D2 models, the agency now maintains an entire fleet of frontline firefighting bulldozers that are all enclosed-cab units and all within their 15-year safe service lives.

Dubbed the SC Wildfire Response Arsenal Showcase, the event featured all of the equipment and vehicles the Forestry Commission and its contract and military partners use to suppress wildfire on the state’s nearly 13 million acres of forestland.

• Among the Forestry Commission’s arsenal of firefighting resources on display were a Caterpillar D2 enclosed-cab dozer, a Caterpillar D5 enclosed-cab dozer, two AT-802 Fire Boss single-engine air tankers, a Type 6 engine, a Cessna 182, a Cessna 206, a water-tending firetrack, an International transport, a Can-Am utility vehicle and an SC National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk.

  
• Communications & Public Information Director Doug Wood explains how the recent purchase of 11 additional enclosed-cab dozers means 100% of the agency’s frontline firefighting bulldozers are now enclosed-cab units within their 15-year safe service life.

  
• Caterpillar D2 enclosed-cab dozer (left), open-cab dozer (middle), Caterpillar D5 enclosed-cab dozer (right)

  

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“This milestone has been more than 15 years in the making, and it would not have happened without vision and a strong commitment to safety. That vision began before I became State Forester. My role in reaching this milestone was simply to run the last leg, to communicate how critical this equipment is to the safety of our firefighters and strategically position the agency for a strong finish.”

State Forester Scott Phillips

Before 2013, all Forestry Commission bulldozers were open-cab models that offered no protection for their operators from heat, smoke or embers.

When the agency began seeking funding to replace these dozers on a fixed timeline, it received help from the legislature, which directed insurance premium tax revenue to the effort.

But it wasn’t enough to accomplish the agency’s original goal of replacing all 160 dozers by 2017. In 2018, State Forester Scott Phillips outlined a plan to pursue recurring funding that would enable the agency to replace all open-cab dozers by the end of 2025 and maintain the fleet on a 15-year safe replacement cycle going forward.

The General Assembly responded with resounding support in successive budget years with recurring and non-recurring appropriations, culminating in FY2021-22 with the remaining $1 million in recurring funding that helped the agency ultimately lay the groundwork for the celebration at Owens Field.

Moreover, the FY21-22 budget win allowed the agency to shift strategies and begin modernizing other aspects of our firefighting arsenal. With funding secured for the enclosed-cab tractors, the Commission was positioned to request additional funding for other assets like single engine air tankers (SEATs).