Tame the flames with Dressta

About 40% of forest resources in the world are susceptible to fire, including almost 65% of the forest area in Europe and approximately 85% in Poland. According to the FAO, the earth annually faces hundreds of thousands of fires that destroy approximately 10 million hectares of forests. The fire hazards are not only affected by meteorological conditions (e.g. high temperature and low humidity), but are caused most commonly by human negligence.

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The most common method to prevent and contain forest fires is to create fire breaks (strips of land, clear of vegetation, between the growths of trees) through the forest. These safety lines should have a 2m border on each side with purified minerals added to the soil to stop fires from spreading.

With the help of DRESSTA dozers, operators can plough the buffer strips and clear fires breaks close to the fire’s edge. Other applications include extinguishing fires, moving fallen trees and burning ash, and transporting water tanks and other supply equipment in difficult terrain.

DRESSTA offers a range of specially engineered dozer features for use in forestry applications, including fire suppression. Ranging from 85HP to 240HP, models are equipped with special fire rack blades and fire break ploughs installed on the rear of the machine.  

A Direct Drive System (DDS) with a rigid clutch transfers the entire engine power output directly to the gearbox without increasing the torque. With a conventional torque converter, a decrease of oil viscosity due to high temperatures causes a reduction in the performance, which results in higher operating costs and lower productivity. The Direct Drive System, however, enables the machines to continue to perform under extremely high ambient temperatures.

For productive and safe operation, fire dozers can be configured with special attachments ranging from fire rack blades, winches, tow hooks, multi-shank rippers, GPS fleet management and fire ploughs. Cab guarding and forestry sweeps are fitted to protect the operator work station, which is fully ROPS/FOPS compliant.

Other special features fitted on DRESSTA fire dozers include manual shut down of the fuel supply with flame retardant fuel lines and hydraulic hoses, and extensive use of guarding for cylinders and working equipment are utilised throughout the machine. 

DRESSTA fire tractors can be specified with a range of undercarriage options to enable ease of operation and maneuverability in varied and demanding ground conditions.  

All these features make the DRESSTA fire dozers the ideal tool for the prevention and combat of forest fires, and have gained the recognition of foresters around the world.