Pasco County Fire Rescue has put in service two new specialized vehicles—a Mobile Decon Unit to handle decontamination of turnout gear and other personal protective equipment (PPE) at fire scenes, and a Mobile Rehab Unit to make sure personnel are rehabbed properly and have any medical needs attended to.
Scott Cassin, Pasco County Fire Rescue chief, says the Mobile Decon Unit solves the issue of having two sets of turnout gear for each of the department’s 700 firefighters. “About two years ago, our senior staff suggested fitting out a truck with extra turnout gear to respond to fires with sets of multiple sizes of turnouts and other PPE,” Cassin says. “The contaminated gear then was sent to third-party gear-decon cleaners.”
For the department’s new Mobile Decon Unit, Pasco County worked with Meiko to custom-design two SCBA and PPE multi-washer decon machines that could be installed on the new truck to clean and sanitize turnout gear and other PPE. Cassin notes the new truck serves as a full-service distribution point for 100 sets of turnout gear, gloves, hoods, boots, and helmets. “Instead of having a second set of turnout gear for each of our firefighters, we use the Mobile Decon Unit as a distribution point to replace any firefighter’s contaminated gear,” he adds.
Dustin Bouwer, sales rep for Ten-8 Fire & Safety, who sold the two rigs to Pasco County, says the Mobile Decon Unit was built by Pierce Manufacturing’s division, Frontline Communications, on a Pierce Velocity XT chassis and two-door cab, and a 35-foot-long body, powered by a 450-horsepower (hp) Cummins L9 diesel engine, and an Allison 3000 EVS Gen5 automatic transmission. Wheelbase on the truck is 274 inches, overall length is 45 feet 3-7/16-inches, and overall height is 13 feet 5-1/2-inches. The rig’s front axle is a Meritor™ Model FL-943 with a rated capacity of 19,540 pounds, the front springs are a Standens three-leaf, taper leaf design, while the dual rear axle is a Meritor Model MT-44 14X tandem assembly with a capacity of 44,000 pounds having a Ridewell Dynalastic Model 202S rear suspension.
The rear of the truck holds the two Meiko decon units, accessible from each side of the vehicle, with space between them on the interior to hold two basket trucks for contaminated gear. Bouwer notes that forward of that area are two consoles with overhead cabinet storage, and moving forward on the interior, aluminum racks on each side for hanging turnout gear. Immediately forward of the gear storage, against the front wall of the body, are three fold-down seats for firefighters to use when changing into clean turnout gear.
Bouwer says the Mobile Rehab Unit also was built by Pierce and Frontline Communications to the same chassis, cab, and body specifications as the Mobile Decon Unit but with several changes to the body. “The Mobile Rehab Unit has two exterior-access lavatories, and an adjacent area that can be operated as a command center,” he says. “Two slide-outs are a main feature of that area which doubles the interior space of the body. There are benches that allow you to sit, angle, or recline, and Zoll telemetry machines to monitor firefighter vitals, such as blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen levels on a single monitor.”
Six firefighters can be monitored on a single EKG monitor at the same time, Cassin points out. “It’s important that we make sure our personnel is rehabbed properly,” he says. “We try to get crews out of a fire situation after an hour and cycle in a fresh crew. We like to get them back to the station to shower within an hour to clean up, but that’s not always possible, so the Mobile Rehab Unit can be brought to the scene to allow firefighters to rest and let medics check them out.”
Cassin adds that the Mobile Rehab Unit has a Bauer compressor and fill station for SCBAs, and in the rear of the rig, a kitchen area with two refrigerators, two freezers, a microwave, coffee makers, and a sink. “We stock a lot of nutritional support like granola and other healthy foods, water, Gatorade, and coffee,” he says. “We’ve never had one of these before so this truck is a new concept for us, but we believe it will prove to be a positive effort in keeping our personnel safe and making sure they get the necessary rest and health care monitoring after a shift on a fire scene.”
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.
