Fire Engine

Fire equipment goes by many names around the world, the most common being fire engine, appliance or apparatus.

The fire engine may have several methods of pumping water onto the fire. The most common method is to pass water through hoses to the fire, from an array of valves. It may also have a fixed pumping "cannon" (called a fire monitor, "deck gun", or deluge), which can direct the water as pointed by the operator. The horizontal and vertical range of the monitor arrangement usually is limited and appropriate only for specific tasks, such as airport fires. Monitors can also be used as water cannons for crowd control.

A fire engine may have an onboard water reservoir, allowing it to fight a fire immediately upon arrival, or may be completely reliant on external sources, such as fire hydrants, water tenders, river or reservoir by using draft water suction.

A modern fire engine is usually a multi-purpose vehicle carrying professionals and equipment for a wide range of fire-fighting and rescue tasks. Therefore, most fire engines carry equipment such as ladders, pike poles, axes and cutting equipment, Halligans, fire extinguishers, ventilating equipment, floodlights, hose ramps, breathing apparatus (BA) and general tools. In some areas, a ladder truck may carry some of these tools as well. Such a vehicle would in that case be known as a "Hook and Ladder" truck.