Apparatus Ideas
By Bob Barraclough

FCIC Attendance Tops 28,500 Mark
This year’s Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) was the biggest and busiest display of fire apparatus and equipment that I have ever seen in the USA. Fire Department members and visitors from around the world viewed hundreds of exhibits that covered virtually everything from A to Z (Aerials to Ziamatic equipment).

In some ways it was sad, as this was the last show that will be held in the “Dome” which is soon to be demolished. The larger truck exhibits will be moved to the new and larger venue across the back street from the convention center. It does not have an air-inflated roof so the air-lock doors will be gone. Now if the city were able to add another 5,000 hotel rooms in the downtown area we would all be a little happier.

As I said last year, if one were to spend time at each booth, it would take five or six days, at least, to complete the task. So, let me offer you some of the things that caught my fancy during the four days I spent tooling around the show.

Darley had their usual attractive booth but with an interesting new adaptation to their water pumps. They are now offering PuriFire water purification systems of various sizes that can be built in (attached) to their water pumps or deployed as portable self-contained units. The systems use reverse osmosis to provide potable water to first responders and the general population. Some of the new PuriFire systems are designed to meet situation-specific potable water production needs of the Army and Marine Corps where larger units would not be feasible. A big “Tip of the Helmet” to Paul Darley and his hard working staff.

On the apparatus scene, E-ONE unveiled their answer to the Pierce PUC with a short wheelbase Quest and an interior electronic pump panel. One of the good features of this package is that the panel could be placed anywhere on the rig as there are no mechanical linkages, just wires run from the control station to the operating device.

Talk about no confusion, the latest rescue truck from Summit Fire Apparatus has a very well marked SCBA bottle stowage area – yellow for empty and green for full.

Note the striping on the back of this HME custom pumper. The Office of Emergency Services (OES) in California will be receiving twenty or so.

 

Rosenbauer America (RBA) displayed its new eyebrow warning light system designed especially for the International chassis. It uses a standard International factory-equipped sun shade with Whelen supplied LED warning lights that meet the NFPA requirements for the upper, forward quadrant. Another introduction by RBA was a new “Revolution” body design that is available in stainless, aluminum or fiberglass construction. The sub frame uses a “Huck Bolt” sub-frame fastening system with a minimum of six mounting points, four of which are spring loaded to help absorb torsional twist. An easy-to-reach electrical panel with a hinged door at the rear of the body provides excellent access. A wide variety of wheelbases, compartmentation and door opening sizes are available.

Akron Brass Master Stream
One of the many products introduced by Akron at the show was their new Style 5179 master stream nozzle with shutoff. This is a 1,500-gpm automatic nozzle that can be electrically actuated from shutoff to fog to straight stream from a remote location such as the aerial control station. This will eliminate the need for a shutoff valve below the monitor while saving weight, space and cost.

Marion Body Works had high visibility reflective tool boards on their two units at the show. They really stood out and would be a welcome addition for those departments that spend a lot of time at highway MVAs.

For the first time in many years, the Frisco (Texas) Fire Department had a new pumper on display that was not from E-ONE. Pierce has built Frisco two new CAFS-equipped, stainless steel body and plumbing, rear-mounted pumpers with many of the features that will be required in the 2008 version of NFPA 1901. They even have the chevron striping on the rear of the truck, although it is red and white to match the trucks.

HME/Aherns Fox unveiled its first pumper being supplied to the Office of Emergency Services (OES) in California. The stainless steel rig features bolted construction with the chevron striping on both the front and the back of the vehicle. Paul Beckstrom, assistant chief of the Fire and Rescue Branch of OES, managed the spec process and included many of the features that you have seen in my columns over the past few years. A “Tip of the Helmet” to Paul for a job well done.

Tanker Tests
Much has been discussed about the high vertical center of gravity that has become more common on the tankers (tenders for those of you on the Left Coast) that are currently being used. In fact, the accident rate is much higher with these rigs than any other type of apparatus. NFPA 1901 addressed this in the 2008 edition requiring that one of three methods be applied to all new tankers. They are: a tilt table test to 26.5 degrees; a calculated center of gravity; or an electronic stability control installed on the vehicle. Semo Tank has developed a unique method of lowering the CG by three to five inches by including the mounting cradle as a part of the tank. They even mark the CG on the rear of the tanks.

Stainless steel body material is becoming more popular with fire apparatus purchasers, probably because of the increased durability, especially in the northern climates where all kinds of nasty chemicals are being spread on the roads to melt the ice and snow. It looks like every manufacturer is now offering a stainless version of their favorite body style. With reduced painting required, it brings the price of stainless closer to the other materials.

Smeal Stainless Body
At the FDIC, Smeal unveiled its new stainless body, but it had an interesting twist. The body was built by Custom Fire in Wisconsin and shipped to Smeal for finishing. My guess is it will improve the time it takes to get through the manufacturing cycle, which will benefit both the builder and the customers.

RK Aerials/RBA now offers an operators control seat that not only makes the operation of the aerial device safer, it also offers a newly recognized envelope control system.

Ziamatic continues to come up with new products to meet the needs of our firefighters. Its new SCBA seat bottle storage bracket can be electrically wired through the parking brake so that the bottle cannot be released until the brake is set. Also, they have a compact automated external defibrillator AED storage box available for mounting in apparatus cabs (Due to the revision of NFPA 1901, AEDs will be required on all rigs ordered after Jan. 1, 2009).

Whelen always seems to come up with a few new products for the FDIC each year. I like the company’s new white LED brow and scene lights that are now available. Brighter than any white LEDs that I have seen, they show real progress with this type of lighting. Now we will have to wait to see what they cost.

FRC has been a leader in electronic and firefighter friendly innovations. Their new 48-page catalog includes several new products designed specifically to meet the 2008 requirements of NFPA 1901. Their vehicle data recorder (VDR) has an interesting feature in that it is available with a portable handheld data recorder. According to Toh Meng, vice president of electronic engineering, the unit is wireless and can actually download data even if the apparatus is not in the station.

They also have a seat belt system that will be able to tell the officer if the belt was buckled before the firefighter sits down. Not that that would ever happen in your department, would it? Let’s hope they figure out how to make it work on commercial chassis.

Editor’s Note: Bob Barraclough is a 40-year veteran of the fire service and fire manufacturing industry. He is chief columnist for Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazine and a 20-year member of the NFPA 1901 Fire Apparatus Standards Committee. A principal organizer of the annual FDSOA Apparatus Specification Symposium, he is also a past president of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association. Barraclough serves as a consultant to Rosenbauer America and Akron Brass and is called upon as an expert witness in litigation involving fire industry products. His career includes executive positions at E-ONE, Hale Fire Pumps, National Foam, Span Instruments and Class 1.