By Bill Adams
The Midi-Pumper Part 2 described how two volunteer fire departments adopted the midi-pumper concept. One used it successfully for 20 years before discontinuing it. The other, not enamored with its performance, purchased an updated version and eventually replaced it with a full-size pumper within six years. During morning coffee, some Raisin Squad members were adamant I mention two career departments they say rejected mini-pumpers and midi-pumpers – Syracuse and Rochester, New York. Their assertion was unfounded. Both departments successfully used the concepts for three decades. It is difficult for some past-their-prime white hairs to accept that career departments may be subject to dynamics that volunteer entities may not encounter such as career staffing, budgetary constraints and politics.
Because the reign of midi-pumpers in Rochester and mini-pumpers in Syracuse was initiated and discontinued decades ago, formal interviews were not conducted with either department’s present-day hierarchy. Accumulated data is from online research, previous articles, fading memories and published pieces.
Rochester Fire Department
Prior to Rochester, New York experiencing the same misfortunes as many eastern cities, such as declining populations, increased calls for service, and budget and staffing cuts the fire department’s suppression apparatus included 25 engine and 10 truck (ladder) companies.
In the late 1970s, to address financial difficulties, a complete reorganization of the Rochester Fire Department resulted in a suppression fleet of eight engine companies and nine Quint & Midi (Q&M) companies. Engines were staffed with four firefighters. Each Q&M was staffed with six – four on the quint and two on the midi. The original quints were rear-mounted minimum 100-foot aerials or 95-foot platforms with 1,250-gpm pumps and booster tanks.
The midi-pumpers were two-door commercial chassied 1,000-gpm pumpers with 500-gallon tanks. They supposedly met the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 1901 Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus Chapter 5 for full-size pumpers; however, I don’t think they carried 100 percent of the ancillary equipment the standard required. With a two-firefighter crew, they responded alone to emergency medical service (EMS) responses, vehicle fires, and nuisance calls. They laid supply lines for the quint at structure fires. Often on single midi-pumper responses, an additional unit was required to provide sufficient people on scene. The Q&M configuration had 86 members staffing the engines and Quint & Midi companies.
In the mid to late 2000s, the department transitioned back to a traditional engine and truck company format resulting in 13 full-size engines and six truck companies (all quints) staffed by four firefighters each – 76 in total. Staffing figures do not reflect the rescue company, the salvage unit and the white coats of various ranks. With a four-platoon system, 40 firefighter positions were eliminated. There is no attempt to estimate the financial savings in salaries, benefits, pensions as well as future replacement and maintenance costs for the seven pieces of apparatus eliminated. It appeared the Q&M concept worked well for almost three decades.
Rochester Fire Department firefighters and hierarchy were not asked about the pros and cons of the former Quint & Midi concept. Nor were they asked if it was a financial or operational decision. Adding my two cents in as an over-the-hill raisin squad member, I question reducing the number of aerial apparatus by one-third and wonder if it’s a wise decision to roll a million dollar fire truck to a band aide call. However, I applaud having at least a minimum of four people riding each rig.
Syracuse Fire Department
No sane and rational commentator should attempt writing about the mini-pumpers used by the Syracuse, New York fire department. It already has been done. Attempting to would be akin to rewriting history. The writings and postings of Tom Shand and Syracuse Fire Department’s retired District Chief David Reeves are paraphrased or directly quoted below. They are from Reeves’ online post (https://www.firepics.net/MyBB/printthread.php?tid=139) and from a book the duo co-authored titled: Signal 99, The Fire Apparatus of the Syracuse Fire Department. The Reeves posting should be mandatory reading for anyone contemplating purchasing, selling or building a mini-pumper.
In 1970, the Syracuse Fire Department’s aging apparatus fleet of traditional engine and truck companies and multiple fire stations needed replacement. Pending state legislation would require a 40-hour work week for firefighters. In a major reorganization, then chief Thomas Hanlon III introduced what became known as the Mini-Maxi pumper concept. Two-piece engine companies were established with the Maxi being a large capacity full-size pumper with an elevated waterway. Two prototype mini-pumpers had a 10,000-pound gross vehicle weight rated (GVWR) two-door chassis, 300-gpm pumps and 200-gallon tanks. A unique manifolding feature allowed full-size pumpers to pump “through” the mini. They were designed to handle brush, trash and vehicle fires as well as lock outs, downed power lines and calls from emergency reporting boxes where no voice contact was initiated. They were overweight. With modifications gleaned from in-service testing, a second larger order of mini-pumpers with aluminum bodies was made retaining the same pump and tank size. In service weight was still an issue.
By the mid-1970s, 12 of the engine companies were operating with two pieces. In 1974, the department responded to 7,002 alarms with over 48 percent handled by the two-person mini-pumper alone. Staffing the mini-pumper with two personnel allowed the Maxi to remain in service albeit only with two members while reducing the wear and tear on the larger apparatus. The combination of splitting manpower and having additional apparatus at congested fire scenes required modification of initial operating procedures. Mini-pumper drivers were instructed to position their units on sidewalks or driveways to leave room on the street for the maxi pumpers and truck companies.
Continuing weight concerns and performance issues with certain chassis components resulted in a redesigned new generation of mini-pumpers mounted on a larger chassis. While retaining the two-door cab and small pump, the tank size increased to 300 gallons. The increased 26,500-pounds GVWR was close to the rating of smaller commercial chassied full-size pumpers of that era. (The increased GVWR met this writer’s definition of a midi-pumper, however, Syracuse kept the mini-pumper designation; they never asked for my advice!)
Due to a dramatic increase in EMS calls in the early 2000s, the department experimented with EMS-Squads in lieu of the mini-pumpers. The rank-and-file troops liked them. Between 2002-2009, all pump and tank equipped Mini-Pumpers were replaced with pick-up truck sized EMS-Squads that were quartered with each full-size engine company, however, they still carried the designation “Mini” with the corresponding engine’s number. It appeared the mini-pumper (aka midi-pumper) concept worked well for over 30 years.
The midi-pumper is a tool no different than an axe, a gasoline powered cut-off saw and an aerial ladder. If used in a well-defined context, it can have a place in the fire service. And like any tool, changing demographics over decades may render it no longer useful. Multiple photographs of Rochester midi-pumpers and Syracuse’s mini-pumpers and EMS-squads are on the https://kenealyphotography.smugmug.com/CNY-Fire-Trucks website in its Monroe and Onondaga County albums.
