Rosenbauer Launches Tour With Unique Aerial

By Ed Ballam

Rosenbauer America has an innovative 68-foot water tower/aerial apparatus with a top rear-mount operator’s panel to control most firefighting and emergency functions.

It’s one of a lineup of five apparatus with new features that will be shown in coming months during a cross-country tour of trade shows and demonstrations that Rosenbauer calls “Tech Drive 07.”

The crown jewel of the tour is the aerial, which is called “The Roadrunner.”

“When we designed this truck, we tried to consider everything firefighters are asked to do and give them a truck where they’ve got all the tools on one apparatus,” said Steve Reedy, general manager of Rosenbauer’s General division, located in Wyoming, Minn. “With this apparatus, departments can combine their [staffing] so maybe they can operate this truck with four guys. It’s got all the capabilities.”

One of the most unique features about Rosenbauer’s Roadrunner, which was introduced at last month’s Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis, is its 68-foot rear-mount aerial device with folding handrails. It has been compared with older model TeleSqurt aerials.

“This is a truck with a 1,500 gpm [Darley] pump, a 700-gallon tank, 30 gallons of foam, 800 feet of 5-inch hose and a 68-foot aerial device,” Reedy said, noting the aerial can be used for climbing as well as an elevated master stream. The handrails fold forward, like an attic ladder, to reduce the overall travel height of the apparatus, he

explained.

Top-Mounted Controls

Pump and aerial controls are located on top of the apparatus at the rear, giving the operator good scene visibility not only for pump operations, but for aerial deployment as well. Controls for the on-board Cummins Onan hydraulic generator and the FoamPro 2001 foam system are also located on the same control panel, which is accessed by a series of steps mounted above the rear intakes and discharges. Reedy said that position keeps the operator up and safely away from the tangle of hoses found at most fire scenes.

“This is a very unique piece, but it’s very functional,” Reedy said.

To help achieve functionality, Rosenbauer equipped the apparatus with an auxiliary set of pump controls built into the front bumper. That mini pump panel allows an operator to charge a 1.75-inch hand line stowed in the front bumper extension, Reedy said. The electric controls open the tank to pump valve and other controls bring the engine up to a preset speed for a department-specified pressure on the handline. Reedy said the unit will come factory preset to deliver 90 psi at the nozzle with 250 feet of hose. The operator will also be able to control the foam delivery system at the front bumper, he said.

The Raptor features a Metz aerial device and a Hale 1,500 gpm pump. It’s built on an HME MFD cab and chassis, and it also has a polypropylene 200-gallon tank. (Rosenbauer Photos)

Rosenbauer’s RoadRunner is the crown jewel of the Rosenbauer’s 2007 apparatus line up. The unit features a 68-foot rear-mount aerial with an operator’s panel at the rear of the apparatus where the vehicle’s pump and aerial device are controlled.               (Rosenbauer Photos)

The new rescue vehicle being shown by Rosenbauer is a cross between a command vehicle, with a three-foot pull out command center, and a heavy rescue with plenty of space in the walk-around body for a variety of rescue equipment.

Everything Also Up Front

“We designed this to nose it into a car fire, or a trash fire, or something relatively small, and you’ll  have everything right up front to put that fire out without going to the back of the apparatus,” Reedy said. “Our objective here is, because it is a rear-mount controlled pump, we wanted to make it convenient for 90 percent of the calls.”

While the 68-foot aerial on the back might not be used as often as the preconnected 1.75-inch line on the front bumper, the aerial will prove valuable at a shopping center fire or other big conflagration, Reedy said. The device is an all-aluminum telescopic boom with a 500-pound tip load while water is flowing, he said. It’s equipped with a 1,500 gpm Elkhart monitor with wireless remote controls. The monitor will deliver water 90 degrees straight up. For a shopping center fire, Reedy said the aerial can be poked through a window and with a 180 degree sweeping action, it will be very effective for fire suppression.

Other features include rear-view cameras on each side of the apparatus that give the driver side views when the directional lights are activated. Viewing screens are located on both sides of the cab.

The Roadrunner also has a large transverse compartment for rescue basket and backboard storage, an emergency medical service (EMS) compartment in the cab and extrication tools for rescue work, including capabilities for preconnected tools in the front bumper.

“It’s really a versatile truck,” Reedy said.

Rosenbauer’s Tech Tour 07 lineup includes four other apparatus.

Reedy pointed out several features on a new rescue truck that’s sort of a cross between a command center and a heavy rescue vehicle. Built on a Freightliner cab and chassis, the unit has a three-foot pull-out section to form a walk-in command center custom built by Rosenbauer. It also features a proprietary self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) rack in a compartment above the rear wheel on the curbside. The unit pulls out, drops down and swivels to make it easy to deploy SCBAs.

It also has fire suppression capabilities with an ultra high-pressure system that delivers 10 gpm at a 1,450 psi supplied by a 100-gallon water tank and a Class A foam system. In addition it has a traffic directional indicator on top of the apparatus operated by remote control.

A special lift on the rear helps deploy heavy equipment, like large portable pumps and an all terrain vehicle (ATV) stored in the body of the apparatus. The right rear compartment has a ramp to assist with moving bulky fire suppression equipment like a dry chemical extinguisher.

A Rear-Mount Pumper

Also in the lineup for the Tech Drive tour is a rear-mount pumper with a Rosenbauer NH55 three-stage fire pump with normal and high-pressure capabilities, rated at 1,250 gpm for National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) purposes.

On the high-pressure side the pumper can flow 100 gpm at 600 psi while pumping the rated NFPA volume. The pump also features the company’s positive displacement double piston primer that provides “hands off” automatic priming from draft. It also has a 750-gallon water tank, a 30-gallon foam cell and a Rosenbauer Fix Mix foam system.

One unusual feature on the pumper is an electric ladder rack designed and built by Rosenbauer that makes better use of the top of the officer’s side compartment. It also deploys the ground ladders off the back of the apparatus, keeping firefighters out of traffic.

A Ladder Lowering System

Called the Ladder Lowering System (LLS), it can be used to store and deploy a variety of ladder combinations and can carry a three-section extension ladder, as well as suction hoses. The LLS has a capacity of 330 pounds.

Other features of the pumper include a spot for a preconnected hand line in the rear bumper/tailboard, a diamond plate hose bed cover on top of the vehicle and retractable ladder to access the top of the vehicle.

The two remaining vehicles in the Tech Drive lineup are an aerial built on an HME cab and chassis with a Metz stick, called the Raptor, and an urban interface pumper, built on an International cab and chassis, called the Timberwolf.

The Raptor has a Hale 1,500 gpm single-stage pump and a four-section aluminum platform aerial.

The Timberwolf is built on an International 7400 series 4x4 cab and chassis and features a rear-mount Rosenbauer 1,000 gpm pump, a 600-gallon tank with a 30-gallon foam cell and a Task Force Tips electrically-controlled bumper turret.

For information call 605-543-5591 or go to www.rosenbaueramerica.com