Ames (NY) Fire Department, a volunteer organization with 35 firefighters operating out of one station in a rural upstate New York community, needed to replace an older pumper-tanker with a new rig to better serve the fire district. The department also runs a 2002 International New Lexington top-mount pumper-tanker with a 1,500-gallon-per-minute (gpm) and 1,500-gallon tank, and a 2007 Marion walk-in heavy rescue.
Shawn Bowerman, Ames chief, notes that the department responds to about 50 fire calls a year, and works on a shoestring budget that involves fundraising by the department’s firefighters. He says the department’s 1994 pumper-tanker, with a 1,250-gpm front-mount pump and a 1,500-gallon water tank, needed to be replaced with a more modern version.
“We had height and length restrictions on our new pumper-tanker because it would be housed in our old firehouse that has 10-foot high doors, and an apparatus bay length of 32 feet,” Bowerman points out. “We met with several pumper-tanker manufacturers, and Midwest Fire was by far the most economical than the other apparatus makers because we were on a very tight budget.”
Bowerman notes that the department chose Midwest Fire to build a new pumper-tanker on a Freightliner M2 112 chassis and two-firefighter cab, with an overall length of 30 feet 6 inches, and an overall height of 9 feet 5 inches. He says the pumper-tanker is powered by a Cummins 450-horsepower (hp) L9 diesel engine, and an Allison 3000 EVS automatic transmission.
Brett Jensen, vice president and general manager at Midwest Fire, says his company designed three-quarters height compartments on the rig’s curb side topped by an out-and-down Zico electric ladder rack to satisfy part of the department’s height issues. Jensen notes the pumper-tanker also has a Hale QMax 1,500-gpm split-shaft pump with top-mount pump controls, a 1,500-gallon polypropylene water tank, a Fire Research PumpBoss 400 series auto governor, a 29,380-BTU pump house heater, two Innovative Controls SL-Plus series water tank level gauges, and two 1-3/4-inch hose crosslays.
The rear of the pumper-tanker has a four-inch Fireman’s Friend direct tank fill, and a stainless steel Newton 10-inch square swivel dump valve with a 36-inch telescoping chute, while the full width hose bed holds supply line, preconnected hose lines, adjustable dividers, and hose covers. Two 6-inch by 12-foot flexible PVC hard suction hoses an pike poles are enclosed in a through-the-tank compartment.
Jensen adds that the pumper-tanker has an All-Poly® body and tank construction, sweep-out style compartments, and ROM anodized aluminum roll-up doors with activated LED lighting, vents and floor dry decking. The rig also has four spare SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus) cylinder holders, four Pac Trac mounting boards, OnSpot tire chains, and a Kussmaul air and battery conditioner with auto eject.
Lighting on the Ames pumper-tanker includes Whelen LED warning lights, Whelen lighted folding steps and grab rails, six Whelen LED scene lights, two Whelen LED telescoping lights, and a Whelen LED electronic siren and speaker.
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
