We have added yet another department in MABAS Division 15. The Rockdale Fire Protection District has one station with a three square mile district. They have two engines, a tanker, a squad, a brush truck, and two support vehicles. The newest engine is a 2008 custom Sutphen top-mount which is backed up by a 1994 FMC Omega pumper on a Sentinel chassis. The cab and chassis were built by Spartan and basically represent the Spartan RS style (round-steel) but there was a custom set of trim packages and options that were unique to the FMC private label.
The Rockdale station has traditional red doors. Karl Klotz photo
Rockdale Tanker 2017 was one of many that were called to assist the Joliet Fire Department on the 20th of March, 2009 in battling the Empress Casino Fire. Larry Shapiro photo
A gallery of images from the Empress Casino Fire in Joliet on March 20, 2009 can be seen HERE.
An FMC Sentinel tear sheet showing the unit purchased by the Woodstock FPD with the standard Sentinel trim package.
The front cover of the introductory FMC Sentinel brochure.
#1 by Joe on April 27, 2011 - 10:09 PM
Hello! I’m a member of the Rockdale Fire Dept. A correction needs to be made here. Engine 2011 is somewhat mislabeled. Originally built by FMC in 1988 (Job #7388), it has a Pem-Fab T-942 open cab chassis with the Sentinel body. The pump & tank size shown are correect. In 1999, the engine was involved in an accident in which the cab was damaged. The Fire Dist. contracted with RPI of Tipton, IN to replace the damaged cab. The remains of Pem-Fab Truck Manufacturers had 2-T964 cab shells left. 1 of them became the new cab for this engine. In May of 2000, this engine was placed back in service. It continues to provide protection today.
#2 by bgshap on April 27, 2011 - 10:38 PM
thanks for providing the information Joe, we’ll correct the year and cab/chassis. Unless we’re mistaken though, Sentinel was the name given to the cab design and Omega was the body style of your rig. Do you know for sure that the body was referred to as a Sentinel?