August 2007

The Road Warrior

by Allen Baldwin

Special Service Vehicles Should Meet Individual Needs

There are numerous specialty vehicles throughout the fire and rescue service. There’s everything from the Super Pumper to large rescues to deluge wagons and special one of kind pieces.

Many departments have particular needs, and we’ll look at some of them, including small command/chief officer vehicles and one specialty unit designed to address several needs of one department.

With chief/command officer vehicles there are some things we should consider when designing or upgrading an existing unit. One major area that is often overlooked with this type of vehicle is scene and work lighting. It’s critically important to make sure we have the ability to properly light the area around the command vehicle to improve functionality.

Vehicle interior lighting is important. Departments should consider extra, or larger dome lights and having some of them be red or blue to provide better nighttime interior lighting. Small fluorescent lights are not a bad idea either as they provide a good working light level or don’t draw a lot of power.

If you have a command console in the rear of the vehicle, often found on sports utility vehicle (SUV)-based command vehicles, consider adding lights in the rear compartment areas to illuminate the work area and on the rear, lift-up tailgate to provide additional lighting for your work/command area. You’ll also need plenty of space for writing, and a dry erase board is also a good idea. Many new command vehicles have boards mounted parallel with the vehicle body and on a slide-out tray as part of the command console.

While considering the topic of command consoles, make sure there’s enough storage space for your needs and enough area to mount radios and support equipment.

Power supplies, both AC and DC, are required, and make sure there’s enough outlets for both sources and that they are powerful enough to meet current and future power needs.

As for the command console itself, there are many companies that will custom build them to particular vehicles and others that have pre-made units for standard command vehicles. A well-organized radio console is a good idea as it makes everything readily accessible. The same amount of attention to detail should be given to the drivers’ console in the front of the vehicle. It’s always important to think about future radios and communications devices and leave room for them in the consoles.

Extra storage space for map books and other reference material is also a good idea.  Another nice option is the addition of a vehicle repeater system and carrying a couple extra portables for large events and incidents. 

Saving room for SCBAs and turnout gear on a command vehicle is also a good idea, but remember to make sure that all equipment is properly mounted and secured.

The Fountaindale Fire Department, in Fairfield, Pa., responds with a pumper/tanker, a rescue pumper and a brush unit, serving the rural mountain area of southwestern Adams County and several neighboring counties in Maryland, which includes high-dollar value, remotely-located homes, along with providing mutual aid to a large military installation. The department has designed a special unit to meet the unique needs of its first due area.

After a couple of years of research and looking at various designs, the department settled on a design of its own. The goal was to design and build a special unit that could provide additional support services to the department and provide response diversity.

With this design in mind, the department approached a couple of different builders and settled on Pennsylvania Fire Apparatus in Heidlersburg, Pa., to build this unique unit.

The department wanted a cost effective, but durable unit that could meet their needs now and have room to grow in the future. The unit is based on a Ford F550, four-door, four-wheel drive chassis. It’s equipped with a 3,000-watt generator, 2,000-watt Command Light light tower, 300-gallon water tank, 300 gpm C.E.T. pump, three preconnected hose lines which include one 1.75-inch and two 1-inch hand lines.

It also has a variety of wildland fire fighting equipment, quick response service (QRS) emergency medical service (EMS) equipment, portable lighting, light rescue equipment, a compressed air foam system (CAFS), a 10-gallon foam tank, traffic control equipment, Stokes basket, back board, a good complement of firefighting hand tools and equipment and three self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). The unit is equipped with a 2.5-inch intake and can be supplied by a larger piece of apparatus that cannot get into tight areas and allows the special unit to be the attack piece.

This unit was designed to be able to access remote areas of the department’s first due area, assist on vehicle accidents and provide additional support where needed.

The unit was designed with a short wheelbase, turning radius and good angle of approach and departure to ensure that the vehicle could negotiate the various areas and terrain of the fire district. The apparatus body is a standard Stahl utility body that was heavily modified by Pennsylvania Fire Apparatus to fit the specific needs of the department.

A Great, Functional Unit

This included adding several auxiliary compartments and coating the exposed body surfaces and compartment interiors with a spray-on polyurethane covering for protection. All equipment was mounted with easy access in mind and to properly secure the equipment.

The preconnected hose lines are stored under the skid unit to save space and for easy access at a low level. The department ended up with a great, functional unit at a minimal cost. They were also able to have it constructed locally which is always a help from a service and builder-support standpoint, not to mention supporting the local economy.

Special thanks are offered to Chief Dave Martin from the Fountaindale Fire Department for his assistance with this article.

As always stay safe and return to quarters.

Editor’s Note: Allen Baldwin is the manager of operations and incident response for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and a volunteer captain with the Gettysburg (Pa.) Fire Department. He has been a firefighter and EMT for over 25 years, served as chief of the Chambersburg (Pa.) Fire Department and is an instructor with the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy and several community colleges.

Command units and chief’s vehicles are often based on sports utility vehicles (SUVs). Consoles in the rear storage areas of command vehicles should have plenty of power outlets for AC and DC powered equipment and be well organized for easy use. Many consoles available today feature dry erase write-on, wipe-off boards to help incident commanders keep track of scene activities. '

The Fountaindale Volunteer Fire Department, Fairfield, Pa., designed its own special service unit to provide scene lighting and fire suppression in tight areas. The volunteers selected Pennsylvania Fire Apparatus in Heidlersburg, Pa., to build their apparatus on a Ford F550 cab and chassis.

A C.E.T. Pumps fire suppression system, which includes a 300 gpm pump and a compressed air foam system (CAFS), helps the Fountaindale Volunteer Fire Department firefighters put out fires in remote locations. The unit also has a 300-gallon water tank and a 10-gallon foam tank.    (Fire Apparatus Photo by Allen Baldwin)