Huge KME Apparatus Purchase Draws Praise From LACFD

By Ed Ballam

The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) has taken delivery of the last of 106 apparatus from KME Fire Apparatus, including pumpers, compressed air foam system (CAFS) engines and tractor-drawn quints.

The purchase was heralded as one of the best the department has made in decades, according to retired former LACFD Fleet Division Chief Gary Tepper, who was hired by KME as its western regional accounts manager working out of the company’s facility in Ontario, Calif.

“They’re quiet and they are powerful,” he said. “We had guys sit inside and say, ‘There’s something wrong, it’s too quiet. We can actually hear each other over the engine and road noise.’”

The LACFD apparatus are built on KME’s Predator Severe Service cabs, which are designed for departments with high call volumes where vehicles are expected to perform several times everyday, according to Phil Gerace, KME’s director of sales and marketing.

“We believe these severe service cabs would be good for any busy department, anywhere in the country,” he said.

One of the big advantages of the cab design is the elimination of any ABS plastic and other materials that can crack with impact or be affected by cold weather, he said. On areas such as doors, stainless steel and metal were used instead of plastic to prevent damage from firefighters entering and exiting the vehicles.

The LACFD apparatus order was one of the largest in the history of the U.S. fire service, according to Gerace.

In addition to having a rugged interior, the severe service apparatus also have high performance air-conditioning systems, something Tepper said LACFD firefighters really appreciate.

 

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has taken delivery of 106 new apparatus from KME, including several tractor-drawn quints. The order was one of the largest in U.S. fire service history.  (KME Photos)

Among the units bought by Los Angeles County Fire Department were KME Predator Severe Service pumpers. The department has praised the apparatus for its quiet and powerful ride, as well as the quality of workmanship.

The units have multiple braking systems for extended tire and break wear as well as 17-inch front brake disks and rear air suspension. Body materials are available in galvannealed steel, 3/16-inch aluminum or stainless steel, and water tanks are available in polypropylene, fiberglass or stainless steel.

Pumps can range from 500 to 2,250-gpm, and mid-ship or pto pumps are available. Pump panels can be placed in a top-mount or side-mount configuration.

Foam systems, including CAF systems are available. LA County ordered several CAFS-equipped pumpers from KME and painted the roofs black to differentiate them from the other pumpers in the fleet.

The LA County apparatus have Caterpillar C13 410 hp engines and Allison Gen V 4000EVS-R transmissions.

The pumps are Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm, single-stage units, and the tanks are 500-gallon stainless steel. Each of the units not equipped with CAFS has Hale FoamLogix foam systems and 25-gallon foam cells.

Gerace said the contract price of engines without the CAFS components was $335,000 each. The price of the quint tillers was $722,000.

For information call 800-235-3928 or go to www.fire.kovatch.com