June 2007

Special Delivery

By Tony Lolli

Castleton (Vt.) Gets A Real Tanker, A 2,300-Gallon Toyne
As is the case with many rural fire departments, the Castleton (Vt.) Volunteer Fire Department’s tanker for many years was not really a tanker. It was a 1978 International fuel oil truck that was donated to the department.

That changed early this year, when the 29-member department accepted delivery of a new Toyne 2,300-gallon tanker.

“This truck is definitely better than what we had because it’s a spec fire tanker with a heavy-duty chassis,” said Castleton Fire Chief Heath Goyette. “There’s no comparison in the handling. This Toyne handles so much better.”

Handling is an important consideration when it comes to tanker crew safety. Last month firefighters in Maine and Alabama lost their lives in tanker accidents.

Tanker Accidents
Tankers account for only 3 percent of all fire apparatus in the United States, but more firefighters are killed and injured in tanker accidents than in crashes of any other type of fire, rescue or emergency vehicles, according to a 2006 report called “Safe Operation of Fire Tankers” published by the U.S. Fire Administration, a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The overwhelming majority of tankers in service in the United States are operated by volunteer fire departments. The FEMA report included 38 case histories of fatal tanker accidents, and all of the firefighters involved were volunteers. The report’s primary recommendation to reduce tanker crashes was to operate them at safe and reasonable speeds.

Gear Ratios
“Some [fire departments] are asking for different gear ratios as a way of slowing tankers down,” said Mike Schwabe, president of Toyne, Inc. in Breda, Iowa.

He said homemade tankers can present problems because a used chassis, converted for tanker use, is often not heavy enough for the tanks that are being mounted.

Castleton VFD Chief Goyette, in addition to praising the handling of his department’s new Toyne tanker, said he was surprised at its performance in moving water.

“We recently rolled on a mutual assistance call for a fully-involved garage fire,” he said. “We shoveled two loads of water into [another department’s] portable tanks. The Toyne dumps so fast that we needed the bigger portable tanks because the Toyne overruns the normal tank where usually the pumper will keep up with the dump.”

Short Turning Radius
Having a short wheelbase of 206 inches, the unit has a short turning radius. The department needed a compact truck to fit in the existing firehouse, Goyette said. The new apparatus, at an overall length of 26 feet, is shorter than the tanker it replaced.

The Toyne tanker is built on a Kenworth T300 chassis. It has a 40,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating. It’s powered by a Cummins ICS diesel delivering 315 hp. It is paired with an Alison 3000EVS automatic transmission. The Hale HPXB-300-B18, 350 gpm pump is pre-plumbed and hard-mounted. The pump is driven by an 18 hp Briggs and Stratton. United Plastic Fabricating made the 2,300-gallon polypropylene tank. A 2-inch Hale valve fills the tank while 10-inch Newton Kwik-Dump valves, manufactured by A.H. Stock, are located on street and curb sides and at the rear. A 2,500-gallon portable tank rack is also onboard.

The 2,300-gallon 2006 Toyne tanker purchased by the Castleton (Vt.) Volunteer Fire Department is built on a Kenworth cab and chassis, and the body is constructed from extruded aluminum. It has an FRC Tankvision tank level gauge and a 2,500-gallon manual portable tank rack.          (Toyne Photo)

CVFD’s service area is 45 square miles and has a population of 5,000 including 2,000 students at nearby Castleton State College. William Allen, the college’s dean of administration, said there are strong ties between the college and CVFD.

“Each year, several students volunteer with the fire department, and we also coordinate fire drills on campus with the department,” he said. “We’re happy to hear of their new apparatus and know it improves their ability to protect our students and campus.”

Looking For Demo Tankers

Funding for the tanker was made possible through a federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant. The application was written by First Assistant Chief Mark Brown, who has had previous AFG success, with a grant to provide self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs) for the entire department, a portable fill station, a generator for the fill station, portable scene lighting, and a gas-powered positive pressure ventilation fan.

Brown’s truck grant strategy was to look for “stock” demo tankers that were on the assembly lines at several manufacturers while he was pursuing the grant. His first truck grant application, however, was not approved. “I wasn’t quite sure what aspect of the application needed improvement,” he said.

His decided he had to do a better job showing CVFD had the need and met the grant criteria necessary to be funded after attending an AFG workshop in nearby Proctor, Vt.

“I’d recommend these workshops to any department wanting to get started in the grant writing process,” he said. “It was time very well spent.”

What CVFD needed was a single-axle tanker with a 40,000 pound gross vehicle weight. Brown contacted VRS Sales in Clifton Park, N.Y., about Toyne tankers, as well as representatives of four other tanker manufacturers. The Toyne’s cost was $142,900, including a 5 percent match from the town of Castleton.

The application period ended in April 2006. In November, CVFD received an e-mail saying the grant application had received “favorable ratings,” and in December got word the grant was approved.

The department was told that delivery had to take place within 365 days of the grant award notice and that some smaller departments had not been prepared to complete delivery within the 365-day limit and had lost their awards.

But Brown was confident because of the advance work he had done. “Getting a truck spec’d and delivered is not like going to Wal-Mart and ordering a gas grill,” he said. “It takes a lot of time.”

He called the chairperson of Castleton’s Board of Selectmen and a special 6:00 a.m. meeting was held so the board could approve the necessary 5 percent it was contributing in matching funds. “It’s not every day you can get a tanker for only 5 percent of the purchase price,” he said.

Less than 24 hours after receiving word of the grant approval, Brown and Chief Goyette contacted VRS Sales and said they would buy the Toyne tanker at the agreed upon price. Delivery was made on Jan. 27, the plates were mounted and the unit was on-line and ready to respond that same day.

The Castleton department’s total in federal grant support now exceeds $200,000.

“There are many smaller departments out there that could benefit from this grant program,” Brown said. “It’s not difficult to do.”
Dick Shakerley from VRS Sales in Clifton Park, N.Y., assisted with the Toyne tanker sale.

For information call 712-673-2328 or go to www.toyne.com