Valley fire department talks about how they fight wildfires

PHOENIX (FOX 10) -- It was a busy weekend for fire crews as several fires broke out around the Valley. So what does it take to fight them?

Rural Metro firefighters who work on the frontline say a quick response time to these high fuel load brush fires have never been higher as the lower humidity levels increase fire danger.

"All the rain we had early on brought up a lot of fuel, it's very dense right now as our temperatures start to get warmer and warmer," said Shawn Gilleland, the Public Information Officer for Rural Metro Fire.

High winds in the Valley especially pose a threat, blowing even the smallest fires into something bigger. To battle the wild blazes, firefighters use different hand tools.

"A Pulaski, which is like an ax, shovels, McClouds hitch are basically rakes where they can take and sort of move that fuel away to get away from the fire and create a break for it," explained Gilleland.

The trucks these crews use have a portable water tank which holds about 2,500 gallons of water they're immediately able to dump on the fire.

"We always have tender trucks, so we always need to have a full water supply when we head out there, an extra tank on an additional truck so this would hold about as much as a single truck or a couple of engines," says Gilleland.