Fire Truck



The Fire Truck (or Firetruck) is a general purpose fire truck equipped with a water cannon. The Fire Truck has appeared in every GTA game.

Description
The Fire Truck is depicted in every appearance as a large truck-based vehicle with a predominantly red paintjob, long chassis and bulky design, evidently to contain firefighting equipment. Being an emergency vehicle, the vehicle has a good top speed, however its weight gives it poor-to-moderate acceleration, and poor handling. In most GTA games, the Fire Truck spawns where large fires or explosions have occurred. Since GTA 2, Fire Trucks may be found at fire stations as well.

Fire trucks in the GTA series tend to feature a fire hose capable of putting out fires, especially from GTA III onwards. This allows the play to extinguish burning pedestrians, cars, or open flames.

GTA 1—GTA 2
Prior to GTA III, the Fire Truck's main virtues are its large size and weight, which make the vehicle resilient to damage and difficult for most other cars to ram off-course. Other common traits of these early renditions are their average speed, and poorer acceleration and cornering. While revealed in game files in GTA 1 and GTA London to be valued at $1,500 and 1,500, respectively, the vehicle cannot be exported as it is too large.

GTA 1 features two variants of the Fire Truck, with one appearing in Liberty City and Vice City, and the other exclusive to San Andreas; their exact sources of inspiration are unknown, but are generally depicted in the style of typical American fire trucks. The Fire Truck featured in GTA London, however, assumes a more European design, likely to be based on a chassis of a British lorry; the vehicle's design is also adapted into the ICBM in GTA London 1969.

In GTA 2, the Fire Truck is designed in a classical rounded appearance, in line with the game's retro-futuristic styling. The game's Fire Truck is also introduced with a functional water cannon that serves as a passive weapon which pushes (human) targets back using a gush of water. A Fire Truck with a mounted flamethrower may also be unlocked by completing the Wang Cars side quest. Like in earlier games, the Fire Truck is too large to be crushed.

GTA III—GTA Vice City Stories
The GTA III Era Fire Truck can reach high speeds and has good acceleration, however the resulting lack of traction in such a heavy vehicle makes it susceptible to oversteer and spinning. Like Police Cars and Ambulances, it is equipped with sirens that make traffic move out of the way. Its hose can be used to spray pedestrians, knocking them down. The player can activate Firefighter missions with the Fire Truck. In GTA San Andreas, a second Fire Truck variant exists, equipped with a ladder but not a water cannon; this variant does not allow the player to trigger the firefighting side-mission. The ladder variant of the truck is prominently featured during the second half of the mission "End of the Line".

In GTA III, GTA Vice City, GTA Liberty City Stories, and GTA Vice City Stories, the Fire Truck is based on a Pierce Contender, with the front resembling a Seagrave Marauder. In GTA San Andreas, the standard Fire Truck resembles a Crimson Spartan; the ladder variation is based on a Pierce Arrow.

Fire Trucks in GTA III, GTA Vice City, GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories may be numbered 1 to 6, or unnumbered.

GTA IV
In GTA IV, the MTL "V 24 Supercharged" Pumper serves as the FDLC's standard firefighting apparatus, equipped with a high powered deck-mounted water cannon. Every fire truck is numbered 69, unlike in previous games where they were pseudo-individually numbered.

The Fire Truck can be found at fire stations, but is rarely seen driving around, even with a fire in the vicinity; they can, however, be summoned by dialling 911 and requesting the fire emergency service. Firemen are apparently not coded to put out fires at all, even when called to existing fires — the fireman complain about "another prank call", as they usually do upon being summoned, and depart.

If the player fires the Fire Truck's water cannon at any vehicle (excluding police), the driver will brake, and then either ram the truck, or get out and attempt to pull the player out of the truck. If the police see the player "attacking" cars or people with the water cannon, a one-star wanted level is given, and if the player hits the police cars with the hose, two wanted stars are given. The water cannon is apparently seen as a deadly weapon by the LCPD; using it against police and civilians is one of the fastest ways to gain a six-star wanted level.

The front of the Fire Truck resembles a Pierce Dash, while the cab and rear resemble some Seagrave models.

Firefighter side-mission
The Firefighter side mission can be toggled on or off from within a Fire Truck in all GTA III Era games. The mission requires the player to find and extinguish burning vehicles within a time limit. This side-mission is not available in GTA IV.

Locations
In every game except GTA IV, starting a fire will see the fire department send a Fire Truck to put it out. The Fire Truck also spawns predominantly at fire stations, including:

GTA III, GTA Advance and GTA Liberty City Stories
 * Fire station in Harwood, Portland Island, Liberty City
 * Fire station in Belleville Park, Staunton Island, Liberty City
 * Fire station in Francis International Airport, Shoreside Vale, Liberty City

GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories
 * Fire station in Downtown, Vice City
 * Fire station in Escobar International Airport, Vice City

GTA San Andreas
 * Building in Commerce near Glen Park, Los Santos
 * Fire station in Doherty, San Fierro (sometimes the ladder version of the fire truck spawns here)
 * Fire station between Redsands East and Redsands West, Las Venturas

GTA IV
 * Fire station at Hardtack Ave, Acter Industrial Park, Alderney.
 * Fire station at Vitullo Ave, Berchem, Alderney.
 * Fire station at Xenotime Ave, Northwood, Algonquin.
 * Fire station at Privateer Rd, Fishmarket South, Algonquin.
 * Fire station at Bronco St, Northern Gardens, Bohan.
 * Fire station at Dillon St, Rotterdam Hill, Broker.
 * Fire station at Francis International Airport, Dukes.
 * A Fire Truck can be obtained after the mission Rigged to Blow (GTA IV), when one responds to the fire.
 * They can also be obtained by dialling 911 and choosing the fire service by dialling 3.