Making Michigan’s wildland firefighting trucks in Roscommon: Dave Stockoski

A University of Michigan Engineering alum is helping to protect forests from wildfire in Michigan and beyond.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY:

Marcin Szczepanski

Summary

  • Dave Stockoski is engineering manager at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Forest Fire Experiment Station, established in 1929 as the first U.S. facility dedicated to fire control research and equipment development.
  • Stockoski, who is also a volunteer firefighter, leads a team that customizes heavy-duty, off-road firefighting trucks used in Michigan and around the nation to get firefighters to hot spots deep in the woods. 
  • The team maintains a fleet of 100 wildland engines and other equipment that’s used in more than 300 fires a year in Michigan, helping to protect forests, homes, people, water and wildlife.
A man seated at a desk turns toward the camera while working on a computer with a fire truck design on screen.
Dave Stockoski works on the design of a modified fire truck in his office at the DNR Forest Fire Experiment Station in Roscommon, Mich.
A wooden sign reading “Forest Fire Experiment Station” stands outdoors in winter, surrounded by snow and trees outside of the DNR’s Forest Fire Experiment Station.
Forest Fire Experiment Station sign is positioned at the entryway to the Station.
Welder works at a metal table inside a workshop with sparks flying.
Welder Jay leRay works at a metal table at the Station.

On Saturday, June 3, 2023, a small campfire on private property near Grayling, Michigan, erupted into a raging forest fire, carving a path of destruction across Crawford County. What began as a spark quickly grew into a 2,400-acre wildfire, forcing evacuations, shutting down stretches of I-75, and threatening dozens of homes—along with the pristine waters of the Au Sable River.

Flames and thick smoke rise from burning dry grass and brush during a prescribed fire in a forested area.
The Michigan DNR conducts a prescribed burn near Grayling, Mich. Michigan DNR. Photo courtesy of Michigan DNR.
A specialized forestry machine creates a firebreak by churning soil and clearing vegetation.
A Michigan DNR fireplow digs a trench around a wildfire. The plow, along with a water tank, were added to a bulldozer at the Station. Photo courtesy of Michigan DNR.

Michigan’s forests are more than scenery. They drive tourism, support wildlife habitats, provide lumber, sustain rural economies and define the character of the state. As wildfire risk increases due to changing climate conditions, rapid and effective response becomes essential.

Crews from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) battled the Grayling blaze through the night before finally containing it. Many of the trucks used in the fight had been adapted just miles away at the DNR’s Forest Experiment Station in Roscommon.

That work is led by engineering manager and Michigan Engineering graduate Dave Stockoski (BS CHE ‘97).

Wildland engines fight 300 Michigan fires a year

Three people work together on the exposed chassis of a fire truck inside a large workshop.
(From left) Dave Stockosk, Mark Trout and Ray Delaney work on the exposed chassis of a fire truck at the Station.

Stockoski, a U-M chemical engineering alum, heads a DNR team that designs, sources, adapts and manufactures the state’s 100-vehicle fleet of wildfire suppression equipment. It’s the first line of defense between Michigan’s forests and the growing threat of wildfire. The Roscommon wildland engines are used in more than 300 fires a year in Michigan, helping to protect forests, homes, people, water and wildlife.

In a typical year, the station builds an average of six new pieces of equipment and repairs 30–40 additional pieces, including trucks, tractors, and plows used by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Forest Service. Many of the workers, including Stockoski, also work as volunteer wildfire fighters.

“Up here, if there’s a fire, you’ll probably see us,” Stockoski said. Each truck is purpose-built; unlike municipal fire engines, they must navigate sandy trails and dense forest carrying extensive equipment and hundreds of gallons of water.

“We have to get into the middle of the fire and put out the hot spots,” said Raymond Delaney, a DNR forest fire officer. “Regular trucks aren’t designed to go into the woods. Dave’s shop builds the equipment that lets us do that.”

A close-up of hands pointing to specific details on a large set of technical diagrams.
Dave Stockoski and Kevin Jaskowski discuss building plans.
Two technicians inspect and work on a fire truck chassis using tools inside an industrial space.
(From left) Dave Stockoski and Ray Delaney work on the exposed chassis of a fire truck.
A wide view of a workshop with fire truck components, tools, and equipment laid out on the floor with the people behind it.
(From left) Dave Stockosk, Ray Delaney and Mark Trout modify a truck.
A worker uses an overhead hoist to position a steel beam onto a metal-cutting machine inside a fabrication shop.
Hunter Holzwarth uses an overhead hoist to position a steel beam onto a metal-cutting machine.

In the shop, every bracket, guard, and mounting system is considered carefully. How quickly can a firefighter access equipment? How will the truck handle uneven ground? How will it perform under stress?

These decisions influence real-world outcomes. And Stockoski is ultimately responsible for the design of the final products and the team that makes them.

“And besides, I get to work and live where people go on vacation,” he said.

First-of-its-kind fire station has impacts beyond Michigan

An aerial view of firefighting trucks on a snow-covered ground.
Wildfire fire fighting trucks are parked at the Station.
Two men move heavy red steel machine components with a pallet jack across the floor of a manufacturing shop at the Forest Fire Experiment Station.
Todd Keckstein (right) and Dave Stockoski move heavy red steel machine components.
A wooden roadside sign reading “Village of Roscommon” welcomes visitors at the entrance to the town.
A sign welcomes visitors at the entrance to the town.

Established in 1929, the station was the nation’s first facility dedicated to fire control research and equipment development. It invented many of the tools that wildfire fighters around the country use today. One of its most significant contributions is the hydraulically operated fireline plow, which digs deep trenches around fires that flames can’t cross.

The station’s work directly supports the protection of local homes and Up North cabins, ecosystems, and livelihoods. 

While most of the fleet stays in the state, ready to be deployed if needed, the station routinely sends equipment and personnel to other places for support. When smoke from fires in Minnesota and Ontario in mid-July gave Southeast Michigan the world’s worst air quality, four staffed engines were on assignment in Minnesota and five were out West, said Paul Rogers, DNR fire prevention specialist.

He uses his engineering education every day

An aerial view of a winding river and a road cutting through a snow-covered forest.
An aerial view of the Station and Robinson Creek in Roscommon, Mich.
A modified wildland fire skidder.
A modified wildland fire skidder.

Stockoski draws on decades of engineering experience, including time in the nuclear services industry and nearly twenty years in automotive manufacturing. 

At Michigan Engineering, he learned to break down complex systems, analyze variables and quantify risk. The rigor of the curriculum demanded precision, accountability, and resilience. Working with other engineering students gave him an appreciation of other peoples’ viewpoints. Those are skills he uses every day on the job.

“You’re doing a good thing when people are proud of what you’ve delivered,” Stockoski said. “For an engineer, that’s priceless.”

Michigan is home to the nation’s third-largest engineering workforce and second-highest concentration of engineers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 data. Only California and Texas employ more engineers. In Michigan, 29.5 out of every 1,000 jobs areheld by an engineer, nearly twice the national average. University of Michigan Engineering has played a major role in developing this talent, with at least one in five of the state’s 130,000 engineers holding Michigan Engineering degrees.

A man sits on the bed of a partially assembled red fire truck inside a workshop.
Dave Stockoski poses on the chassis of a Freightliner M916 six-wheel drive truck that is converted into a large fire engine at the Station.